Dear all,

please kindly advice payment processing company which is in line with following requirements:

provides us with merchant account (as far as i understand this is crucial if we want to have money fast, not wait for 3-4 weeks)
accepts Visa Electron
has no problem to forward money later on to non-European / non-US bank (we will have bank account in Asian region)
has fair transaction fee (let's say - below 3%). Fixed monthly fee is no prob
not mandatory, but we would appreciate to have:
online tracking tool
sms/email alerts on transaction

As for business - one of the most fraudless possible - online education.


Thank you all for help!

Have you tried your local bank for a merchant account?

Have you tried your local bank for a merchant account?
Working on that currently. Still the first impression is that they won't accept Electron (negotiating that now), that's why started this thread.

Paypal supports Visa electron.

Paypal supports Visa electron.

But they do not provide with merchant account, right?
How quickly do they transfer funds to my bank? Is there online tracking tool available to control payments made?
Thanx!

ECSuite.com should provide you with all that you're looking for

Where is your business located ?

They (Paypal) do provide a merchant account, easy enough to get your money, guess it depends a bit on the country you live in. You also have a nice online tool to monitor payments. If you're using a shopping cart you can in most cases also integrate with Paypal providing automated payment tracking.

r u selling a product deemed as high or low risk?

ECSuite.com should provide you with all that you're looking for
Does anyone guys have experience with them? Any weaknesses noticed?

They (Paypal) do provide a merchant account, easy enough to get your money, guess it depends a bit on the country you live in.
Where is your business located ?
Hong Kong. Does PayPal support? No clear info on the website...

You also have a nice online tool to monitor payments. If you're using a shopping cart you can in most cases also integrate with Paypal providing automated payment tracking.
Mmmm... shopping cart.. well, this is a bit grey area for me. So the customer goes to my webside, clicks on merchandise (s)he wants to purchase and clicks "Checkout". I always thought this code (shopping cart) is provided by the online payment processing company we choose. Ain't it true? I got your message as there is possibility to shop without shopping cart, but i hardly can imagine how this may be done.. Could you please kindly clarify? Is shopping cart provided by processing companies or should it be us who gets the code somewhere? Thank you!

r u selling a product deemed as high or low risk?
Lowest possible. Training courses.

Thank you all guys for comments!

I think PayPal would be your best bet. I can't remember anyone know if moneybookers.com does visa? I use them for some clients but can't remember if I saw visa on there payment setup.

I think PayPal would be your best bet. I can't remember anyone know if moneybookers.com does visa? I use them for some clients but can't remember if I saw visa on there payment setup.
PayPal should possibly work, but i heard they could be terrible when it's about transactions exceeding $700-800 and you have to use some tricky ways to get the money....

That's true, never really did to many over $800 so ya!

That's true, never really did to many over $800 so ya!
well in my case possibly $800 would be max, but i need to be 100% sure that would work with no headache for me.
In any case, guys, any other service providers come to your mind? Please feel free to comment, i appreciate your help.

How much payment processing volume do you need per month? Do you have any processing history?

How much payment processing volume do you need per month? Do you have any processing history?
New business. Are you representative of some payment processing Co.?

Transparent Quote:

Originally Posted by TechNomad
ECSuite.com should provide you with all that you're looking for

Does anyone guys have experience with them? Any weaknesses noticed?

I've worked with them, they haven't shown any weaknesses and are very straightforward in their billing process and fees.

Yes. However, we do not work with any start-up companies. But I am sure you will find some good solutions from others on this forum.

Transparent, it is worth consulting with your local banks first, ask them about merchant accounts they provide and payment gateways they work with. I believe there is HSBC bank in Hong Kong, they are compatible with some gateways, so you could contact them at www.hsbc.com.hk directly...

Transparent, it is worth consulting with your local banks first, ask them about merchant accounts they provide and payment gateways they work with. I believe there is HSBC bank in Hong Kong, they are compatible with some gateways, so you could contact them at www.hsbc.com.hk directly...
Yes, makes sense XCart... Could you please tell in 2 words how the system works (i am @ the very beginning of the way, so not everything is clear), in particular:

- could i create merchant account in any bank which provides this service or there are some peculiarities (except gateways the bank is compatible with)?
- is it merchant account which should be compatible with payment gateway or is it simply the bank which either works with certain gateways or not?
- do i assume right, that i need to start my analysis/search from bank firstly, not from the gateway? (as gateways bank works with should be reliable in any case, as they already passed bank "security filter")

Thank you a lot for your comments!

They (Paypal) do provide a merchant account

-------- correspondence with PayPal ------------
* Do you provide us with merchant account, which serves as an agreement between a retailer, a merchant bank and payment processor for settlement of card transactions?

No
---------- end of quote ----------

Any comments guys?

It might be useful to state exactly what you need.

It might be useful to state exactly what you need.

Well, the merchant account - i wrote them. They answered "we don't provide you with merchant account" (as stated in the previous post). I want to clarify - is this misunderstanding of my question from PayPal side or someone on forum is mistaken that they provide merchants with merchant accounts...

Guys, no comments on PayPal so far??? :-(

Guys, no comments on PayPal so far??? :-(

Transparent, what are you selling? estimated volume?

Paypal is good! My comment is when I have people do work for me i send cash via personal, meaning i take the .02 fee or .10 fee!

Moneybookers is a good way to go!

Paypal is good! My comment is when I have people do work for me i send cash via personal, meaning i take the .02 fee or .10 fee!

If i understood right - you use PayPal to _send_ money. My case is the other way round - i need to _get_ money from customers. Could you approach work in my case as well?

Just figure in to count that you are going to be charged what $.02 per $1.00 to make up for that loss just charge sales tax that should work! Not sure the exact amount paypal charges per dollar but it would work.

Just figure in to count that you are going to be charged what $.02 per $1.00 to make up for that loss just charge sales tax that should work! Not sure the exact amount paypal charges per dollar but it would work.
Wrote you to PM... :rolleyes:

You might be able to get an account with WorldPay. (I'm not certain about this though). We're their Canadian partner so we don't operate in the Hong Kong region.

I do know that at one time WorldPay was supporting merchants in Hong Kong, but don't know if they still do. I wish I could be of more assistance. I don't even know the best email address or a person in particular to refer you to, but if you contact WorldPay sales I'm sure someone can send you in the right direction. Being a startup won't be an issue unless your volumes are particularly high.

dgoodale, thank you. I am communicating with them currently, seems they have what i need. In any case makes sense to have plan "B", "C", etc. What i found out - a lot of companies are afraid to work with you if you are not 3-5 year old business. Stupid.
By the way - regarding shopping carts - are they usually included into payment gateway service or not? If not - should they be somehow compatible with payment gateway or i can choose whichever cart?
Thanx for clarifying this!

Hi Transparent - you never want to go with a shopping cart just because it's included. The shopping cart is your interface through to making the sale. I understand that a start-up is always on a budget, so I do understand where you are coming from. With that said, a small investment into the correct cart will make a big impact on your business. If you do end up going with WorldPay there are tons of carts to choose from. What I woudl suggest is looking in the threads on the forum here at recommended carts. Most of them will already be compatible with WorldPay.

*EDIT -- Yes, you must absolutely make sure your shopping cat is compatible with the gateway. When you determine who your gateway provider is going to be then, and ONLY then can you figure out who your shopping cart provider is going to be.

As far as approval goes, most people don't understand that the processor is liable for the payments their merchants trade. The super-short explanation is that if a dispute happens, the card issuing bank decides in favor of the cardholder, and in that event if the merchant does not have the funds to pay back the cardholder, the processor is on the hook for that transaction. So when you get a merchant account your processor is exposing themself to risk from chargebacks and disputes. When I say that, I don't mean you specifically, this statement is the same with every merchant. That is why if you are a start-up, it is easier to be approved with a lower trading limit. With less money being processed, there is less potential liability, and less than can go wrong. Don't be too worried about apporval, as long as you have a low risk product or service and do good business I'm sure you will find a processor that can help you.

dgoodale, TONS of thanx and respect. Very detailed answer and 100% on the substance of the question. :agree: I will drop you a private mail as well.