Currently I sell prints on my photography site using Paypal as the credit card processor.

The problem is that
1. Paypal requires people to sign up and get a Paypal account - a huge deterrent for online purchases
2. Paypal is not available in many countries in the world

As customers have told me in the past "Paypal is a pain to use".

I need a credit card processor with the following characteristics:
1. will accept payments from as many countries as possible
2. people don't have to register or get an account with this processor
3. since the sales volume is low (less than 400 Euro/month), there should be no or low fixed monthly/yearly fees and ideally the processor should finance itself with a transaction fee. This rules out for instance Worldpay.

I was almost set to get a CCNow account, until I read their TOS. Too much self-promotion, they reserve the right to charge your customer different prices than you charge and they believe that they own your customer.

Any recommendations ?

Actually depending on what country you are in, you might check out: PayPal Account Optional now International (http://paypal.typepad.com/pdn/2005/01/paypal_account_.html).

Also, check out 2CO. They would probably make a good fit as well - in conjunction with Paypal

PayPal Account Optional is now available in the following International countries:

* Australia
* Belgium
* Canada
* France
* Hong Kong
* Netherlands
* United Kingdom
* United States
* More coming soon

Unfortunately I'm not in one of those countries. More coming soon was dated Jan 25, 2005 - half a year ago.

Xcuse me, but as i know your customer doesn't need to register with PayPal to provide payment. PayPal has fixed this option. 2co is a good reliable processor and might be useful in your situation.

I just checked.

Paypal says on their site that "Customers do not need a PayPal account in order to complete their payment". But they have to sign up and get a Paypal account before being able to pay. This is something I'd like to avoid.

It is very difficult for Paypal to open their doors to more countries. They do so as needed and when risk analysis deems that it is feasible. Afterall, it is Paypal's money that we are talking about.

But you are correct Scooter24 - they do have to register unless you, the merchant, is located in a particular country with the correct business account

So, have you found a processor for your biz? Tell us the final result.

People can pay without Paypal account. They just have to live in one of the countries that Paypal serves and you have to choose that option in your settings.

Review some 3rd party processors. With your volume I think it is the best option for you. Just pay higher processing fees but be a free from monthly and setup fee

People can use credit card payment thru paypal without sign up.

Originally posted by Scooter24
I just checked.

Paypal says on their site that "Customers do not need a PayPal account in order to complete their payment". But they have to sign up and get a Paypal account before being able to pay. This is something I'd like to avoid.

PayPal Account Optional is now available for merchants in all countries except Germany. Your customers should not be required to create an account in order to complete a puchase, unless the payment amounts are high enough to exceed the standard PayPal Sending Limit for their country.