OK, I decided to finally bite the bullet and look into a merchant account instead of using 2co (I have been happy with 2CO but the fees are getting too high).

Echo looked like very good fees etc. I called them up and they sent me the application package. One of the things that they wanted was pictures of my "place of business". I called the lady backup up and asked "pictures of what?". She repied "your house, where you run your business". I told her that since it was entirely web based, I could work out of the public library, the free cable modem PC's in the mall etc.

I can totally understand wanting pictures for a "brick and mortar" business. Has anyone else had to supply this for their merchant account?

Echo seemed real good (and has gotten good reviews here) but I think I'll prob. pass based on this wierd requirement.

Frank

Originally posted by ffeingol
OK, I decided to finally bite the bullet and look into a merchant account instead of using 2co (I have been happy with 2CO but the fees are getting too high).

Echo looked like very good fees etc. I called them up and they sent me the application package. One of the things that they wanted was pictures of my "place of business". I called the lady backup up and asked "pictures of what?". She repied "your house, where you run your business". I told her that since it was entirely web based, I could work out of the public library, the free cable modem PC's in the mall etc.

I can totally understand wanting pictures for a "brick and mortar" business. Has anyone else had to supply this for their merchant account?

Echo seemed real good (and has gotten good reviews here) but I think I'll prob. pass based on this wierd requirement.

Frank

For some reason that is a common requirement on merchant account applications. I would just go to your count accessors site they usually have them on the web. That Is what I did.



=)

I'd rather send them a picture of the library ;).

Frank

hehe im sure they have commercial properties on there to.

That is a common requirment and I would not fake it, cause they can send a live person around at anytime to see if it is real and if not freeze all your money. Simply take a picture of your house/office computers etc.

Yeah, they did that to me too. Weird.

--Tina

I guess I can help you

Don't worry Frank. I still have that photo you sent me of your house here (http://www.elecraft.com/DXpeditions/the_shack_1.jpg)

My mechant account company didn't ask for a picture, and yes the request is a little odd. However, if they're a good company, there wouldn't be much harm in obliging them.

Conducting business over the internet is risky business, so taking actions such as that are not uncommon. I have had various accounts online that sometimes take a week to complete the signup process. Constantly faxing papers, DBA's, various things to sign, sending copies of some forms of ID, phone calls, they ask you what kind of loans you currently have out, your dog's name, favorite type of candy bar... etc

It is just to ensure they are not being scammed, just as if you were accepting a new client, you want as many things to verify the order isn't fraud. That is just one of the drawbacks of not doing business face to face.

Yep, I understand all the concern.

OTOH, a picture of my house does not really show them anything. I would think the fact that that we have been an inc. for nearly 10 years and bank references etc. would be of much greater concern to them.

I'll keep digging around. The deals from Merchant Express and Modernbill look very good, but they all have a $25 monthly minimum. I doubt we'd hit that for quite a while and that rases the effective rate.

Frank

This is a fairly common practice. They just want to make sure you are legitimate and not giving them fake information. We had to do it too, not uncommon at all.

Merchant banks lost lots of $ during the .com craze and they can be very skeptical when it comes to Internet based businesses. Because we are not truly an Internet business, ie we have servers, offices, etc. I explained we help others get onto the Internet. This seemed to help a little. It is a little different from an eBay or a porn business where they have no tangible product, just a service on the Internet.

It seemed strange to me too but we have been through two different Merchant Accounts and both required it.

OTOH, a picture of my house does not really show them anything. I would think the fact that that we have been an inc. for nearly 10 years and bank references etc. would be of much greater concern to them. ... they all have a $25 monthly minimum. I doubt we'd hit that for quite a while and that rases the effective rate.

Without wishing to sound rude, if you've been an inc. for 10 years and yet a $25 monthly minimum is a problem for you, then I think that there may be some cause for concern. Or, is this a new business venture? Even so, the merchant account providers that I've looked at don't care about a minimum transactional value per month, but may charge either a monthy or yearly fee, but these can be well under $1K, and you'll save that easily. If you've had a sound business over 10 years then funding a merchant account should be easy I'd have thought.

Even though your computers are hopefully not in your house and on the end of flakey ADSL line, you must have an office of some kind. Just take a photo of your house or apartment. If you have office space set up, and if you've been an "inc. for 10 years" then by now you must have, then take photos of that. Show them the nice leather executive chair, your dual headed flat screens, and your favourite executive toy, provided that's not X rated. If you know where the colo site is and can take photos of that then do so, or send them photos from the colo's web site or something. As stated, it's to make sure that you're not some homeless bum on the street who's operating out of a cybercafe somewhere, even though that's an entirely feasible way to run the business. In fact, I do wonder what they'd say if you did send a photo of your nearest 802.11b enabled watering hole or cafe operating as a consume node.

Originally posted by ffeingol
<snip>
but they all have a $25 monthly minimum. I doubt we'd hit that for quite a while<snip>

Frank

You don't process a minimum of $25 in transactions a month? :eek:

phpa,

It's a new venture. Most of our other clients pay by check ;).

Frank

It's a new venture. Most of our other clients pay by check

Fair enough. Actually the 2co fees going down if you stick with them through december, but I'd be inclined to, ironically, keep them as a backup plan for when/if you hit account problems with whatever your main solution ends up being.

I don't understand people complaining about the fees of merchant account processors (providers is the wrong term as the provider is the bank and it's fees to the processor that are the bigger issue). But it seems that for a few hundred you can be set up to process a modest amount of transactions, and enjoy potentially much lower rates, such as (in my case) < 2% for personal visa, around 2.4% for business visa, and 3.x% for amex. And, rid yourself of unnecessary and/or broken infrastructure from some other company. This last point alone is worth a lot to me if I finally go ahead with a merchant account.

I had to supply these to Echo as well. Not really that big of deal.

Andrew

We supplied ours to ECHO without any concerns whatsoever. We've enjoyed their low rates and outstanding service for quite some time.

I can quite easily understand this requirement, as it helps them keep their rates low...

Cool, well it sounds pretty "standard" so I'll continue to plow through the applicaiton form / read the T&C's.

Frank

did u look at charge.com ?

This is pretty standard, however my merchant provider makes exceptions for businesses that have previously had a merchant account or a home based business.

So you would just need to write home based business on the app and you're done.

In our case, ECHO actually sent us a disposable camera at their cost to take a few snapshots of the office space.

I'm having to remove yearly payment options in order to qualify :rolleyes: but that's ok, monthly revenue is best when you have monthly bills :D

Hi!

I've checked out http://www.echo.com/ but it says:

"Thank you for visiting Echo.
Echo shut down its operations in early 2002.

If you would like to be notified of any changes in Echo's status, please enter your email address below:

(form here)

Echo Networks, Inc.
263 Hatch Lane, Suite C
Burlingame, CA 94010
650-401-8297"

Now, is this the same echo you are talking about? or am I missing the point here? (hehehe).

Thanks.

:)

consul,

It's www.echo-inc.com

Frank