The value of our SKUs are small so I am looking for a processor without a fixed fee. Just the Percentage charge.

Thanks!

The value of our SKUs are small so I am looking for a processor without a fixed fee. Just the Percentage charge.

Thanks!

What I mean is that if they're giving you their cost and a transaction or percentage it is transparent. I dealt with two guys from Payment Alliance who explained everything and how it worked. I then had multiple companies come in afterwards and it was easy to catch them in lies. If you need the processor's email it's wd@gopainyc.com

Thanks for the replies guys. Yes I do realize that the fixed fee would always be present. But if the price of my SKU is USD 1, I would be better off using a processor with a higher % fee and no transaction fee. What I plan to do is have 2 processors, one for higher priced skus and the other for sku's below USD 5. I am currently looking into paypal's Micropayments (5% + .05/transaction) but would like to have other options.

PayPal and Moneybookers. Moneybookers supports a lot of CC as well.

I think your options will be limited. The problem is that the interchange rates have these fixed portions build into them -- like 2% + $0.10 (just an example, several factors determine the percentage and the "plus" portion). So if I were a MSP, I would have to quote you a 12% fee based on your $1 amount. But, after signing you up, if you dropped your $1 ticket to $0.50, I would be losing money and would have to increase your discount rate to 24%.

The Paypal micropayment option might be your only option -- at least until the card brands solidify their micropayments structure.

You may be in a situation where "authorized resellers" may be a solution for charging only x% with no $z per transaction. For example, on the home page of Fastspring:
5.9% plus $.95 per transaction or a flat rate of 8.9% (minimum fee of $0.75 per transaction)

I think ClickBank also has an option, something like 10% flat fee (for amounts <$40) or 7.5% + $1.00

If you go with a direct MID, you are going to have fees and assement plus your discount rate.

You may want to look into revelution card, you can do a google search

No processor HAS to charge you a per item fee. There is always an option for what we call a 'bundled' fee, that is a percentage only without an item fee. However, be aware that this does not mean you aren't being charged the per item fee, rather is built into the percentage. This is because, per enterchange, the processor cost includes a per item fee and, like any other overhead, the processor has to cover that overhead one way or the other. So the truth is, bundled fees ALWAYS end up costing the merchant at least as much, 99% of the time more thank a non-bundled fee plus item fee. Processors make a lot of money this way from foolish merchants who play the 'label' game; i.e. don't focus on the components of the cost to drive a transaction, the ONLY number that counts is the bottom line number regardless of how many smaller components the total number of components is broken into.

Interchange dues & assesments, are the fees assesed by Visa/MasterCard, not the processor.

True, interchange refers to the fees assessed by visa and MC, not the processor. They are assessed by MC and Visa TO the processor, which makes them part of the processor's overhead when the processor re-sells the processing services to the merchant. That's why, one way or the other, the per item fees that are part of Interchange are built into the pricing the processor charges the merchant, just like any other overhead item, either directly in the form of a stand alone per item fee, or bundled in the percentage rate.

AMSPCS

The value of our SKUs are small so I am looking for a processor without a fixed fee. Just the Percentage charge.

Hey Chuck,

The lowest for a "normal" merchant account will be .08 cents per transaction. If you're doing high volume (80 million a year+) then they can go much lower because the bank has more wiggle room to absorb the costs to get your business. Virtually no bank will wave the transaction fee entirely. You're on the right track to go for a low transaction fee compared to the rate.