Hi there, I have a list of cc processors here.

What I need to know is how each one works, technically. Do they process the transactions and send you a check, do they process the approval only and send the data to your merchant provider, how does each one work?

paypal

2checkout

revecom

worldpay

hostcharge

charge

authorize

firepay

echo-inc

If each person comments on the ones they use we can put together a nice thread which will help others.

Feel free to add any other suggestions, ideally I'd like a snapshot of all the majors.

I'll speak for ECHO.

Website: www.echo-inc.com

Pluses:
Low setup, good rates
Actual merchant account (your name on cc statement, etc.)
Very high acceptance rate
Good phone support

Minuses:
Can only charge monthly, not quarterly or yearly (exception: domain registrations and one-time charges like web design)
Lousy e-mail support

Overall: I recommend them for small-to-medium companies

EDIT: need to answer your question about how it works!

As a true merchant account, they deposit the funds into a checking account after 2 days. You process the charges yourself, which is a plus for me as I can scan for fraud. Also, as a true merchant account you have complete control; you can charge your customers however your TOS sets that up (within reason, he he :D ).

Thanks Lurleene, I guess what I am after is actually how each one works. When I set up an account with them, what next? Is the transaction processed on their site or on mine? Do I get a check, or do I need a merchant account.

That';s the info I need

Well, the answer really depends on what you want to do. You can use a script like Modernbill or WHNbilling and those scripts will post the information to ECHO, or you can create your own custom script. Then echo will return a transaction code, authorization, etc... They don't pay you with a check like the third party payment processors do, they deposit your money into a bank account that is setup for you when you open the account.

-Steven

Website: www.worldpay.com

Pluses:
Many features and good options to protect against fraud
Your company name on cc statement
High acceptance rate
Good phone and email support

Minuses:
Usually, they are excellent, but when something goes wrong, they are really pathetic in solving problems.
8 weeks settlement period... can be quite detrimental to business growth.
Deposit into your account is REGULARLY late!
High setup fee.

Overall: Its not a company i would rule out, but if you have other options dont choose worldpay.

Worldpay offer many different features to suit your business' needs. You can choose to integrate their system into your website or collect credit card details yourself and charge manually through an online interface. Also have automatic monthly billing etc. You will need to have a business account to use them.

WorldPay do BACs every 4 weeks it's NetBanx who do it every 8 weeks and their support is always helpful on the phone to me. I find that the BACs are usually on time but never enough :P

David

Originally posted by dbarker
WorldPay do BACs every 4 weeks it's NetBanx who do it every 8 weeks and their support is always helpful on the phone to me. I find that the BACs are usually on time but never enough :P

David Which is why i said good phone and email support. But I have been waiting for over 3 MONTHS for my settlement, and Worldpay agree that they dont know where my $2000 has gone to. They have been trying to track it down for over a week, but my account is still in overdraft! Sorry but i have no sympathy for them when my business is being seriously affected by this issue.

Also, whats a BAC? All i know is that i, and many other hosts have a 8 week settlement period. It seems Worldpay will make any excuse to keep your money for longer.

This thread has gone off topic. What I was after in my original post is the names of the top gateways, and how they work.

I could find this out by visiting each site and searching I guess, I just figured it would be easier to do it all in one hit here, as there are no doubt people here using all of the ones I listed.

The one we use currently is Australian based (as we are) and works like this;

we send the order details and cc info to the gateway, they authorise the transaction and deposit the funds into our merchant account. Are there any US based ones which operate like this? If not, how do they operate?

Thanks Lurleene, I guess what I am after is actually how each one works. When I set up an account with them, what next? Is the transaction processed on their site or on mine? Do I get a check, or do I need a merchant account.

Hi, I thought I answered all that in my first post. No check; it's a real merchant account, they deposit funds after two days. Insider clarified the methods of processing, though I did say you do it yourself. If there are other unanswered questions, please post them.

My experience with ECHO has been exemplary. Plus, the fees are very low. Finally, they don't even fee you anything for chargebacks (first five per month).

Thanks again Lurleene, anyone else care to explain how the others work?

Dave,

I am also based in Australia, which processor do you currently use?. You mentioned you use an australian based one.


Thanks,
Matt.

We use esec

We've been using Revecom since around October 2001. Revecom processes the transaction. The payout option is up to you. All you do is go into your Control Center & choose whether you would like payments by check or through direct deposit. Pretty simple. ;)

You don't need a merchant account & the transaction is processed on their secure server.

We just signed up with BPSMerchant from http://jaguarpc.com/ecom.php. I will find out today or tomorrow if they approved us also get our information.