I'm in the UK and setting up my hosting business. I have a basic reseller package sorted, and now need to get the cc side of things going. I think worldpay are the best choice, but I'm just wondering if i need to register my company name anywhere or anything like that?

thanks

Just wondering, but have you tried contacting them for the answer to your question? Sometimes it's quicker to go direct to the source! ;)

Yeah I'm not sure about that, we use them and are a registered business. What I do know is that they are really there 24/7, so call them any time and ask. :)

yeah i did that aswell, same time as posting this, mailed them. no response yet. i thought it might seem slightly... unprofessional though, y'know, if it was a stupid question. 'hello do i need to be registered or anything?' 'rofl'. type thing. :)

and ta for replies

I dont think you need to be registered, they do say you need a business bank account, but if you talk to them they will let you use a personal account as long as it is only used for business funds

Hi,

I registered with them a couple of months back. It's actually a bit of a pain registering. You need to provide your Registered Company number (from companies house) and your bank needs to sign a form to say you are who you say you are - therefore you need a business bank account.

Once it's up and running I've had no problems though. They seem very good.

Mat

Originally posted by MeanSquare
Hi,

You need to provide your Registered Company number (from companies house)


Mat

Yes but that is only if you are a company, you can be a UK business without being a company

Hi,

you don't actually need a business account. As long as your bank signs the compliance form, you are fine.

thanks for the responses y'all. worldpay have *almost* gotten around to telling me most of what i've got from you guys :)

I registered with them a couple of months back. It's actually a bit of a pain registering. You need to provide your Registered Company number (from companies house) and your bank needs to sign a form to say you are who you say you are - therefore you need a business bank account.

Isn't this only for a BankDirect Merchant Account thiny. If you want to open a WorldDirect account you don't need to do all this and you don't need to be registered.

David

Worldpay seem VERY pricey to me. For the same amounts or less I am sure you can get a real merchant account in whichever country you are & do CC transactions properly.

It's simply more professional to NOT redirect people to strange looking payment forms such as it is by using a 3rd party processor.

It's my opinion that in the end the successful resellers will be the ones who have put a little more effort at the start ..

Anyway since this isn't what you asked I am shuting up now :)

Yeah but you can't always get a merchant account. Say if you're not 18 or don't have a great credit reference. Also you would still need a payment processor like WorldPay anyway.

As for the unprofessional page. Most people don't care but you can always get an SSL certificate and then use the COM component (free) so that it's on your pages.

David

If you're underaged and/or in debt then maybe starting a hosting business - or any business for that matter, isn't the wisest idea anyway ..

As for 'caring', the people you are referring to are the inexperienced ones who run a personal homepage, often also characterized by their 'hopping from hosts A to host B because host B has udnercut host A by $0.05'

Anyway, enough about that .. I'll really shutup about it now.

Yeah ok we are getting a little off track here.

David

Hi,

the prices are actually very reasonable, providing you stay in the UK. If you don't, then you'd be best to look elsewhere if you find it too expensive.

As for professionalism, if you approach most major banks in the UK asking for an Internet Merchant Account, 9 out of 10 they will point you to WorldPay. Why? Because WorldPay is linked with Natwest and is the ONLY bank in the UK that processes foreign currencies online. WorldPay also happens to be the one of the oldest and most established payment processors on the internet.

Papillion they are definitely cheaper than real merchant accounts in the UK Lloyds TSB Cardnet charge about £200 a month and you have to be earning a hell of a lot to even get an account with them

Didn't realize the situation with merchant accounts was that bad in the UK. We have it easy downunder then .. about $10-$20 (usd) per month for merchant accounts & pretty much any startup can get one from StGeorge (a bank here)

Yeah they are quite tight about it here.

:'(

David