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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    London, England
    Posts
    171

    What are the best Payment Gateways/Methods?

    Hello,

    I have been working on getting my own company up and running ready for January 1st 2011, and I've done pretty much everything except decide which payment methods to use.

    In the past, I have used PayPal but then had to stop due to my account getting limited under what PayPal say is "Suspicious Activity".

    I have been trialing Google Checkout for the past 6 months and so far I havn't found anything wrong with it, its reliable and fees aren't too extortionate either.

    I was hoping to get opinions and views from potential customers here at WebHostingTalk on what YOU think is the best Payment Method and the reason for that.

    I appreciate all feedback,
    Robbie Plenderleith
    Operations Lead - Trivu Digital
    http://www.trivudigital.com

  2. #2
    unfortunately we find that by far the most common form of payment nowadays is paypal.
    Thats not good for you as you stated

    Our second most popular payment method is Google checkout and as you say it works very well and is far better in that fact the fees are much much less than paypal.

    you could try other forms or gateways like alertpay perhaps
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  3. #3
    Ah, the PayPal limited problem occurs to a whole bunch of people.

    However, PayPal is yet number one for me.

    I'd also say that Google Checkout and AleryPay are great. AlertPay mainly because of it's simplicity.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Posts
    531
    2Checkout will work for processing credit cards, though Google Checkout does something similar.

    I've not been able to decide between either one myself, but it seems that 2Checkout appears slightly more professional.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Hull, UK.
    Posts
    911
    Paypal is definitely the most used in my experience, but you could try AlertPay, Google Checkout, 2Checkout, there's plenty of options.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Los Angeles, CA
    Posts
    272
    If you are serious about your business, PAYPAL should NEVER be the only payment method you accept. We use AUTHORIZE.net and have PAYPAL only as a backup (and for customers who think PAYPAL is the next best thing after sliced bread)... Once you start having a lot of customers you will get chargebacks, fraudulent signups a so on. PAYPAL is not the best company to handle these issues. They consider everybody guilty until proven innocent. PAYPAL also does not have any fraud protection, they will approve most transactions, and then go back and say.. oh, you have a fraudulent order we need to limit your account.. Google checkout has a very good FRAUD protection system, they also slip, but not as much as PAYPAL... in fact and in our experience GOOGLE approves transactions sometimes only to cancel them within minutes... PAYPAL takes weeks!

    In short, a good business practice is to offer as many payment methods as possible, but do NOT rely on PAYPAL as the only one.
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  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    London, England
    Posts
    171
    Hi folks,

    Thanks for your feedback, I appreciate it, however I am still looking for some more opinions on this.

    Thanks everyone,
    Robbie Plenderleith
    Operations Lead - Trivu Digital
    http://www.trivudigital.com

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Chennai
    Posts
    682
    you can also have a look at 2checkout. Its good. Authorize.net also has many positive feedbacks, but i haven't used it personally.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    London, England
    Posts
    171
    Thanks for your feedback.
    Robbie Plenderleith
    Operations Lead - Trivu Digital
    http://www.trivudigital.com

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    US/EU/UK
    Posts
    4,886
    We have never use Google Checkout and do not have plans to use it. PayPal works as a an alternative to credit card processing (although people can pay there using their CC) and it is good to have it! My advise for you is to open real merchant account.
    HostColor.com Edge Infrastructure - US Dedicated Servers & Europe Dedicated Hostingsince 2000
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  11. #11
    Google Checkout is currently only form UK / USA sellers, can anybody confirm about that.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Oregon
    Posts
    310
    We have been the Paypal, Google 2CO and others. If you are here for the long run, and don't want to spend any more money than you have too, If you are in the US, get yourself a free business bank account and a free merchant account and use a REAL vendor checkout system. I assume you are using WHMCS, many modules for REAL payment gateways are there. 2CO and Authorize Net are but a few you can use without breaking the bank and not having them dip into your back account for every whim of a sour customers. And forget chargebacks, unless you not doing your job as a great customer service host. Our monthly charge is $10, plus 1.67% per transaction. We have used our 2 favorites [MeS Merchant Services] and [Beanstream]for many years now. Modules for WHMCS are reasonable and easily available as well as many others.

    Regards!
    Hostmy1stweb.com - Affordable Web Hosting
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  13. #13
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    England, UK
    Posts
    13
    PayPal is popular for our customers, but not with me - heard too many bad things and don't like some of their policies.

    Google Checkout is fairly good too.

    I have got a lot of customers to pay via BACS.. and then we can just log into our business banking and check and mark invoice as paid... no fees!

  14. #14
    We use Plimus as our payment processor, they accept PayPal, MoneyBookers payments, and other payment methods such as credit cards, bank transfer, etc. We also use AlertPay as an alternative payment processor.

    Both of them have been providing great support so far.
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  15. Authorize.net and paypal are by far the biggest

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Asia
    Posts
    304
    Paypal and Worldpay seemed to be fine with me.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    UT, USA
    Posts
    159
    Quote Originally Posted by Alliedcardprocessing View Post
    Authorize.net and paypal are by far the biggest
    Ditto on that.

    I use PayPal now, and will be adding Auth.net soon.
    Aaron Eaton
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  18. #18
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA
    Posts
    3,381
    Robbie,

    Where are you based? That is where I would start.

    If you are based in the U.S. - then I would suggest considering getting a combination of a direct merchant account plus a PayPal account. Your direct merchant account could utilize Authorize.Net or any other payment gateway and your PayPal account could be used specifically for those clients who would like to pay through that method - this way you cover all of the bases.

    I know that you are just starting up your business right now but one day - perhaps in the far future - when you have aspirations to merge or sell your business to another party, the more direct control you have over the billing the more secure a buyer will feel giving your business as high a valuation as possible. I mention this because I've worked with many clients who had a lot of business tied into 3rd party services like 2CO, PayPal, etc. and this was a little bit detrimental when they got to a point of having a high volume of billings through those services.

    That said, there is definitely nothing wrong with offering multiple payment options to best accommodate your customer's preferences. Other options to also consider would include a direct e-check option down the road as well. The more control you have over you billings, the better the position you are putting yourself in long term.

    Now, with all of the above in mind... if your business is more so a hobby or side business and you are not looking to grow it beyond just have it produce some side income, then your choice of payment solution is a little bit less critical.

    And if you are based outside of the U.S., your options for a direct merchant account are going to be a lot more limited so something like PayPal or 2CO or WorldPay might then be the best venues available. Like a lot of other services, the ideal solution will vary with the specifics of the merchant's needs, growth objectives and other parameters.
    CDGcommerce.com - Trusted Merchant Account Solutions since 1998
    Many thousands of successful, growing businesses benefit from our expertise every day. You can, too!
    We help merchants to eliminate gateway costs, reduce & mitigate fraud and achieve streamlined PCI compliance.
    Learn more today at http://www.cdgcommerce.com - we look forward to helping your business grow!

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Oregon
    Posts
    310
    Quote Originally Posted by Alliedcardprocessing View Post
    Authorize.net and paypal are by far the biggest
    That's funny, Authorize.nets payment gateway is the Trident Gateway, which is also MeS Merchant Services the largest processor of credit card transaction in the US! Even Paypal Pro uses the Trident gateway!

    So who knows the difference between a payment gateway and a processor. If your looking to save money doing credit card transactions, why not use a processor that is the largest gateway in the US too. Makes sense to us.

    Oh, and I forgot, 2CO also uses the Trident Gateway!
    Hostmy1stweb.com - Affordable Web Hosting
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  20. #20
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Chesapeake, VA
    Posts
    3,381
    technut,

    I'm not sure that I follow what you are saying here. It does not seem correct at all but maybe I misunderstanding what you are trying to say?

    To begin with, MeS merchant services is most definitely not the largest processor of credit card transactions in the US. First Data, Global, Paymentech and others are the largest acquirers and processors.

    I also do not understand what you mean when you say Authorize.Net's payment gateway "is the Trident Gateway" - Authorize.Net is its own payment gateway. It would not make any sense for a company as large as Authorize.Net or any other major gateway to have to license 3rd party systems or somehow resell another gateway- they would do their own direct certifications with the front-end networks.

    Additionally, the PayPal Pro gateway used to be the Verisign Payflow Pro system which prior to that used to be the Signio Gateway. All of these gateways certify to various front-end networks in order to allow as many ISO/MSP's as possible to sell their gateway service even if they board their merchants on different networks.

    As far as 2CO goes - I really do not know what they are using on the back-end for a gateway. With the volume that they do I would presume that they have probably certified their own direct solution as well instead of having to incur gateway costs on every transaction with a 3rd party.
    CDGcommerce.com - Trusted Merchant Account Solutions since 1998
    Many thousands of successful, growing businesses benefit from our expertise every day. You can, too!
    We help merchants to eliminate gateway costs, reduce & mitigate fraud and achieve streamlined PCI compliance.
    Learn more today at http://www.cdgcommerce.com - we look forward to helping your business grow!

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Montreal canada
    Posts
    28
    Interesting thread hearing what you guys are using.
    Paxum

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Arizona
    Posts
    200
    * Looking into Webmoney at the moment *

    - Moneybookers
    - Paypal
    - Alertpay

  23. #23
    I personally like Paypal, 2Checkout, & Alert Pay.

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2010
    Location
    Oregon
    Posts
    310

    Thumbs up Payment gateway off-shore or in the US - MeS gateway facts.

    Quote Originally Posted by cdgcommerce View Post
    technut,

    I'm not sure that I follow what you are saying here. It does not seem correct at all but maybe I misunderstanding what you are trying to say?

    To begin with, MeS merchant services is most definitely not the largest processor of credit card transactions in the US. First Data, Global, Paymentech and others are the largest acquirers and processors.

    I also do not understand what you mean when you say Authorize.Net's payment gateway "is the Trident Gateway" - Authorize.Net is its own payment gateway. It would not make any sense for a company as large as Authorize.Net or any other major gateway to have to license 3rd party systems or somehow resell another gateway- they would do their own direct certifications with the front-end networks.

    Additionally, the PayPal Pro gateway used to be the Verisign Payflow Pro system which prior to that used to be the Signio Gateway. All of these gateways certify to various front-end networks in order to allow as many ISO/MSP's as possible to sell their gateway service even if they board their merchants on different networks.

    As far as 2CO goes - I really do not know what they are using on the back-end for a gateway. With the volume that they do I would presume that they have probably certified their own direct solution as well instead of having to incur gateway costs on every transaction with a 3rd party.


    Hello cdgcommerce,

    I know you may feel you might have all the answers, but as a VAR and a Integration Partner to MeS Merchant Services, as well as a user of their gateway and their processing services for many years, we have better things to do than make up things at this forum that you might believe are not true or not!

    You say you don't under stand what we are trying to say? It seems very clear to us. Should you like to check up on the facts, you can certainly talk to the VP of operations for MeS, we will even give you his personal name and number to do so with. Just PM us with your request.

    As far as 2CO, PayPal Pro, and Authorize.net using the MeS/Trident gateway, that also is a fact not a story that we made up. You can also check up on that fact while your on the phone with the VP of MeS.

    Because of Authorize.net's in ability to meet MeS's gateway stringent requirements lately, MeS is not really sure how much longer they will allow Authorize.net to use their gateway.




    But we do have a question for your company though?

    How did you wind up associating yourself with a payment gateway called Quantum Services, LLC, that is an off-shore company registered and working out of an address and location in Charlestown on the West Indies island of Nevis that has no incorporation or LLC listed in the United States or as far as we could find, no physical location in the US? We are glad that MeS Merchant Services is a US corporation and has several physical locations in the United States. That just gives us a warm and fuzzy feeling to know they are in the US.

    Why off-shore you ask!
    Nevis is an excellent jurisdiction in which to open a Limited Liability Company (LLC). The Nevis Limited Liability Company Ordinance was passed in 1995 and has become very popular.

    It offers a full range of financial services and products including asset management and protection, company formation and administration, insurance, foundations, mutual funds administration, offshore banking, investment management, and trust services.

    Nevis offshore companies are free from taxation and are protected in privacy by the 1985 Confidential Relationship Act.

    Nevis international financial services sector offers numerous taxation benefits to offshore companies, limited liability companies and trusts. These include exemption from income taxes, social security taxes, capital gain taxes, withholding taxes, gift taxes, estate and succession taxes. Under the Fiscal Incentives Act, several enterprises qualify for tax holidays, such a concessions and full exemption from import duties on parts, raw materials and production machinery.

    ref: http://<b>http://www.sknvibes.com/Bu...t.cfm?Vz=1</b>



    Why MeS Merchant Services?
    Merchant e-Solutions currently processes more than $14 billion dollars in payments for more than 65,000 merchants, supporting 150 global currencies and all major credit, debit and alternative payment solutions. The company specializes in services for e-commerce and card-not-present merchants and provides a comprehensive suite of payment solutions that are PCI compliant and designed to reduce merchant risk exposure.

    Merchant e-Solutions is headquartered in Redwood City, CA, with operations in Spokane, WA, and satellite offices in Minneapolis, MN, and Columbus, GA. For more information, go to http://www.merchante-solutions.com.

    We hope this has cleared things up for you, and look forward to your reply to our question.

    Regards!
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  25. #25
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    106
    I suggest you open a new paypal account under your wife's name.
    1. As a customer, it is enough bother for me to have a paypal account. The last thing I want is another online account like Google. And paypal is much more often accepted.
    2. I avoid buying online from anyone who does not accept paypal, because I do not want to give my credit card number. Even a reputable vendor can always be hacked, which happened to me once. As a last resort, chase or bank of america will generate safe one-time card numbers. But it is simpler to use paypal. Also I like the permanent online record. Sure makes my tax returns easier.
    3. As a seller, sure, avoid using paypal. Have other options above paypal in the line-up. I currently use only paypal because I am not yet making a profit. Always best for startups. But as soon as you have any substantial profit, you can afford to be sure to include "real" merchant accounts that only take credit cards. (This does not mean Google.)
    4. The last I checked, "real" processors also have accounts wherein YOU the vendor do not store the credit card numbers. They consider these "low class" and they are cheaper. But this is best for the small business because then you do not need to clear the online database every 12 hours as a precaution against hacking. Also do not need to worry about being blamed for a customer's imaginary hacking that never happened.
    5. If you want to play tough, give a 5% discount for not using paypal. (Enom does this.) This is preferable to not offering paypal at all.
    Last edited by krystofo; 12-10-2010 at 05:13 PM.
    Krystof
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