Does someone know or uses a merchant account based on Europe for Europeans?

Im really thinking about trowing the t-shirt with the US. Everything is so hard and impossible, from getting a bank to a merchant, so i think i will just base my online business with Europe. Opening a bank account in Europe took me minutes against the months and $$$ against US. Know its even harder to get a US merchant.

Does someone know if there are any Europe Merchant account which has the same rates or at least close to the ones in the US?

Thanks guys

There are several options for you.

One of them is WorldPay another one is EuroConex and finally there is Pago or WireCard.

Some of above should be able to help you. I am not sure with the rates, I doubt that you will find any CC processor which can match the rates of a US Merchant Account.

You might check out the gateway Protx. And then also Barclay's, HSBC, and Lloyd's of London.

For a US bank, you will need to satisfy the YKYC (you know your customer) regulation. Which for US citizens, that can be done via a Social Security number or maybe even a passport number. Some merchants have had success with eTrade or Valis international in establishing a US bank account. You might also check with your local banks to see if they have a relationship with some US banks.

You might check out the gateway Protx. And then also Barclay's, HSBC, and Lloyd's of London.

For a US bank, you will need to satisfy the YKYC (you know your customer) regulation. Which for US citizens, that can be done via a Social Security number or maybe even a passport number. Some merchants have had success with eTrade or Valis international in establishing a US bank account. You might also check with your local banks to see if they have a relationship with some US banks.

The YKYC regulation is almost impossible outside the US. It doesnt matter if you have a TAX ID, if you send them US consultate certified passports, it doesnt matter, banks say NO in the US. Even when you are doing things like the consulate told you.

I have sent Etrade the documentation, did not received any reply until today, that was 2 months ago. Valis doesnt seem to open a bank account anymore. Easycorp LTD scammed me 525$.

I called almost everywhere bank in the US. The first bank in Europe i called opened my account with my passport number they checked it on the computer and now they only have to send them a copy of the pass. I wanted to deal with the US, but all those dumm regulations do more damage then the real terrorists that actually will pass all those regulations anyway.

You are correct in that it is quite difficult for a non-U.S citizen to open a merchant account in the U.S.A. I see this quite frequently. Some U.S banks require that the principals of a company be U.S citizens in order to be approved.

Generally speaking, it is much easier for a merchant to operate in the territory in which their business is naturally based, rather than trying to incorporate in another territory (particularly the U.S) and open an account within that territory.

The only advantage in doing so is that traditionally speaking the rates may be slightly lower in the U.S than in Europe, but not necessarily in every case. Furthermore, the requirements for approval and tax issues may make it prohibitive to the point where it would be far more effective to keep it local.

When staying local currencies can become a problem, as USD is the global online currency. Do you need to process in USD, Euros or GBP? In terms of the gateways another user has suggested above, one of the gateways I sometimes work with is WorldPay, and they do a good job of supporting these currencies. I am not knowledgeable in terms of supported currencies with the other solutions the same user mentioned.

If you definintely want to operate outside of Europe another option for you to explore would be potentially opening your business within Canada or Australia (or any other country). I am not recommending this, but do believe it would be easier to accomplish in those countries, rather than opening an account within the U.S.A.

Yes thats true. They ask that at least one of the owners is the US. What i dont know if it would work, or why did nobody has done it before or offer a service for this. You can actually correct the articles of incorporation and put someone in the US. Then that person could sign for a bank account and merchant in the US. After he has done that you erase that person from the company as well from the bank account. I dont know if its legal, but i dont understand how nobody offered a nominee service for this yet in the US. They would win a lot of money since me and tons of others would hire the nominee service for setting those services. I know you can hire an attorney that can accomplish this on your name too but that costs a lot of money.

The problem with that is the purpose the banks have these policies in place is to stop people or businesses from operating in the U.S who should not be operating within that territory. (The how and why of how Visa / MC break down their territories I do not know... and there are probably many reasons we are not considering within the context of this thread.)

If a company were to offer such a service, I would expect the banks would catch on very quickly and move to stop it from happening. Plus, (just on a thought) if the person with signing authority within an organization were to change hands, the contact on file would need to be updated and the same information would again need to be reviewed.

What is your goal in trying to operate in the United States? Is it the currency of processing on your site? Because if so you would do better to go with a multi-currency processor. If for other reasons (perhaps your suppliers are based in the U.S?) then yes, you should probably be talking to a lawyer who specializes in that area of business!

The long to short of it is it's usually best to respect Visa / MC's policies and work within the framework of the established territories. Swimming against the current is rarely easy!

David

Both, i work with USD and providers are in the US and work with US. Its just a cost issue. Save costs. Also i really need the low fees of merchants since we only have a small earning per sale. I prefer a 10% fee but no transaction fee then a 2% fee and a .045cents per transaction. Of course i would prefer more both. I dont remember where but i saw a merchant some time ago where it was pay a only a monthly fee, they had not transactions fees, you could have for example 100 transactions per month for a monthly fee and so on.

It's always best to work within your system and not really 'trick the system'. If you incorporate in the US, don't forget you need to pay taxes there, then you need to pay taxes in the EU. Do you really want that hassle? Better just to pay a slightly higher discount rate rather than get into the complications of a foreign tax system, in my opinion.

We've dealt with all that and frankly don't want the hassle. Best to stay within your own territory and not really setup 'virtual spaces' anywhere. Rules and regulations are your friend ;-)

I agree completely with ReyoxHosting. Stay in your territory is the rule of thumb. The only exception is really with a larger company that has a legitimate presence and offices already established in both Europe and the U.S.A. In that case the principals may be European... but I guess now I'm just making up situations. If it were to happen I'm sure that I could find a solution if needed.