Well I won't go into details about the site as it is still being worked on but I was wondering if any members know of a good service to use for processing payments in Germany.

I'm familiar with the credit/debit system in the US but was curious what service would be good to use for German customers.

I would be processing payments under 50€, and more than likely under 35€ but could perhaps be in the 50-100 range if multiple orders are processed by the same customer. I also have not fully decided if I will use USD or Euros yet, so if there is a service that processes both than that would be good.

If this is under the wrong heading to post this thread please move it mods as I am a noob to this site and the forum format.

Thanks in advance guys.

There are several options for you one of them could be pago or to use a MSP for Pago which have the local payment methods integrated. Some MSP’s have great deals with Pago and can offer you rates and fees below the standards rates of Pago.

What I think of is that in Germany you have lastschrift/Direct Debit ELV and Giropay and a few other payment methods like bank transfer which are convenience for your customers to use.

Also most European Payment service providers or MSP’s are able to handle both USD, EURO and a lot of other currencies at the same time under one merchant account, which makes it easy for you to get a overview of all transactions processed.

There are several options for you one of them could be pago or to use a MSP for Pago which have the local payment methods integrated. Some MSP’s have great deals with Pago and can offer you rates and fees below the standards rates of Pago.

What I think of is that in Germany you have lastschrift/Direct Debit ELV and Giropay and a few other payment methods like bank transfer which are convenience for your customers to use.

Also most European Payment service providers or MSP’s are able to handle both USD, EURO and a lot of other currencies at the same time under one merchant account, which makes it easy for you to get a overview of all transactions processed.

Great.

Thanks fionix I have heard good things about Pago from previous researcf. I will check into it. Thanks again for the response.

Bank transfers is the strange one for us in the US. It is not quite as popular, I think we have "direct deposit" but my only experience with it is in regards to payroll. As well as Maestro and DB cards etc...

If you're targeting the German market you absolutely need to have direct bank debit, since it is far more popular than credit cards over there. Best to get in touch with providers like 2000charge or webbilling about setting that up.

Why go to a thirt party if you can go directly to the source, the bank ?

For instant you can use WireCard Bank AG they are also a bank, and you will get better rates there too.

Wirecard is a great choice... Pago offers Giropay and they're a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank.

Cool. I just want to be able to do things beyond taking Visa/Mastercard, as I have had many problems in Germany with places not taking Visa. I can tell you one thing it is not "everywhere you want to be" or at least it does not seem to be that way for me :)

Thanks for the replies guys.

What kind of payment options would you like to accept?

What kind of payment options would you like to accept?

Credit/debit, direct bank transfer, etc...I'm not very familiar with the German banking system and various debit/credit cards. I'm really looking for flexibility, I would rather have more options than I need than not enough. I can always adjust in the future for customers needs and if everyone uses Maestro/Visa/Master then that is the direction I would go in.

This is all very new to me. Here in the US I have a credit card/debit card and a checking account, beyond that I've only dealt with direct deposit as an employee.

I will be in Germany in two days for a 3 week period so I will keep my eyes out and look around.

There are several processors that offers several payment options under one roof.

There are several processors that offers several payment options under one roof.

Yes, I'm on the lookout for someone that has lots of flexibility. I hope my earlier response did not come across in a jerk way. I think that I can always adjust (?) or so I think for future use. It is also important to use a service that will be around a year from now and will not go under or have security issues.

Thanks again for all of the replies, it really helps to get some different opinions on things, especially when they cost so much money!