Merchant account + Payment processor

The Guvnor

Hi all,

Just looking for some personal experiences with the various payment processors and merchant accounts available - pros and cons!

Our business will mainly be selling online with some offline/telephone orders as well. The majority of the business will be in UK and rest Ireland and to a much lesser extent mainland EU.

I would like to make it as easy as possible for potential customer's to pay for goods whilst adhering to all necessary security etcetera.

What sort of rates should one expect to pay for processing credit cards? Less than 2%.

I like the look of protx - now sagepay but this is not based on experience!

Merchant accounts - no idea really - just want a good, reliable, efficient operator, not too much to ask?:)

There was also a post on here about how much people were paying for lodging money to their business bank accounts.

at €0.48 per €100.00 with BOI albeit on not large sums, we are probably not getting value for money?

BC

I've used Realex Payments and always found them great.

The Guvnor

Thanks BC!
Realex are Irish aren't they?
Are their prices transparent?

fiscalstudent

For online payments I would recommend paypal, I have a merchant account there . There is no set up cost and prices are transparent, you pay a % on each transaction




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The Guvnor

Thanks FS.

We would like to have paypal as an option but not the exclusive payment processor. A lot of people feel that if the company uses paypal it is a bit dodgy.

I know this is garbage as Dell use paypal but it is a perception.

I did read that paypal are fine to a point but that if your sales increase to a reasonable level online that they may not be the most cost effective option?

fiscalstudent

Are you serious? I would of thought that paypal has one the best reputations around as it doesn't directly use your credit card number. If I am purchasing from a new company I am more concerned if they're not using paypal as they have a good arbitration system in place as well in cases of non payment, faulty gods etc.

Possibly for large sales they may not be the best prices, but you do get a quality, easy to use, reliable product.

(I have no affiliation with paypal, other that perhaps being an evangelist customer)



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The Guvnor

I'm afriad so mate!
I agree with you 100%!
Their view was that a paypal only payment option is a negative image for the company.
Now tbf this was only the view of 4-5 online forum users but they were potential customers.
It is not a view I share.
The ease of implementation is a big positive.

TheWaterboy

Here is a post I put on irishbusinesswomen.com a few weeks ago regarding various payment processor options available and what my opinions are:

Paypal
Known throughout the world and very secure. It is easy to implement into the back end of your site and has loads of documentation available. You dont pay any signup charge but pay a % of the money you receive. If you withdraw over 100 euro from your Paypal account then it costs nothing to transfer. Customers who want to pay you dont have to me a signed up Paypal member.

Aadvantages
Free to setup and easy to implement in the site
Multi Currencys accepted
World renowned and safe
You dont need a merchant account from your bank

Disadvantages
Doesnt accept Laser cards
Transaction fees can be expensive to use when you are receiving a lot of transactions


Worldpay
The second option is Worldpay. Worldpay offer a full processiong service but they also offer a service whereby they act as your merchant bank. This cuts out having to deal with your bank to try and get a merchant account which can be tricky. They have a signup chare (~250 euro) and then a yearly fee. They also have loads of little charges for each transaction, transfer money etc. Their one big disadvantage is that it takes about 4 weeks to transfer the money to your account from the day you receive it. This can cause problems with cash flow.

Aadvantages
Accept Laser Cards
Act as your Merchant Bank
Very good reporting systems
Easy to implement
Lower transaction costs to Paypal

Disadvantages
Sign up and recurring fees
Long time to transfer funds into your account


Realex
Realex are different to Worldpay in that you need to have a merchant account with your bank in order to use their service. Merchant accounts can be tricky to get as the Bank need to check out all the risks associated with your business, the fact that your a registered company/sole trader etc. Loads of paperwork involved and can take time. Realex are Irish and, like Worlpay, charge a setup fee and then a recurring yearly charge. The also charge per transaction. Funds are transferred two your account with 2/3 days.

Aadvantages
Irish - support is very good and quick to respond
Accept laser cards
Funds transferred very quickly
Easy to implent to your website

Disadvantages
Sign up and recurring fees
Need to setup a merchant account


I currently use Worldpay on my site - While I havent had any real issues with their services, I hate the fact that it takes a few weeks to get my money. At busy times it has played havoc with my cash flow. I did use Paypal for a year and also had no problems. However loads of people wanted to pay by laser hence the changeover. Laser only costs 80 cents to process which is much cheaper than CC.
I think longterm i might change to Realex - the 2/3 day transfer of cash to my bank account is a huge appeal. I also intend to put paypal back on the site so shoppers have an alternative. At the end of the day all of them have pretty similar charging structures.

The Guvnor

Thanks TW!

I think the long wait would not be acceptable. We can get slightly better rates from our suppliers if we pay up front but this only works if our cash flow is good.

Thanks again - great detail in the post!

fiscalstudent

Another option that you could provide customers

http://www.zong.com/zong/



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di11on

Another couple of things to consider:

- The Worldpay payment transfer delay can be reviewed once you have established a track record with them

- Paypal and Worldpay are third party payment processors and the transaction will happen off-site - i.e. they will have to leave your site and pay on either the Paypal or Worldpay site. The Realex solution can be integrated to your own website.

podgeen

Hi there,

Do you already have an Internet Merchant Account (IMA)? If so then I would go down the route of IMA and a payment gateway. Payment Bureaus (PayPal, WorldPay etc) that do not require an IMA tend to be more expensive in the long term. Obviously this depends on rates you have negotiated with your IMA and your service package with your payment gateway. If you expect to be doing a regular trade online then the minimum monthly payment required by your payment gateway and IMA should not cause issue. If you do go down this route then I would consider adding PayPal as an alternative method of payment, you will only pay money to paypal when you make a sale. The easier you can make it for your customers to pay the better.
I am going to plug my own site here but it is relevant will will be useful to you. There is an online payments guide that explains the differences between a payment service provider and a payment bureau. It also discusses the other factors that should be considered, price is not everything.

byrne0f56789

I used WorldPay in conjunction with 1ShoppingCart a while ago. It was ok. However, it was a massive hassle to set up. I would recommend looking at Yahoo Merchant solutions they have a shopping cart. Amazon web services also have a shopping cart. Google checkout is also quite good.

I haven't used any of these but I understand that the set ups costs are much lower and you save time and enegy integrating their systems into your website. They are worth checking out.

The Guvnor

Thanks for the info guys!

Does anyone know what realex charge?

ugg

Hi there

Realex has no setup charge and the monthly fee is e29 for up to 350 transactions. Each additional transaction costs 19c.

I'm setting up an online business and I've decided to go with them over PayPal. The hassle is having to set up a merchant account. So much paperwork!

The above quote is for an online shop so it might be different for you.

Hope that helps

Cordner

I do accounts for a client. She sells mainly online- with some direct/offline sales. She uses Realex. From a tracking & accounting point of view, its great, very easy to use, lots of detail & history, and in 2 years she has never had a problem with it. Sure you have to set up a merchant account (in her case Elavon via BOI) but then thats it, it all works smoothly- and as I say from an accounting point of view, reporting etc is very easy and clear.. Hope this helps.

R3al

If you are thinking of worldpay then you should be aware that they have a minimum contract period of 12 months and depending on your service /products may also require a fraud reserve where they will hold several thousand euro to protect against credit card chargebacks.
Worldpay are flexible in that they can act as a combined Merchant account and payment processor (around 3.35% per transaction + 1 month before they release your funds) or you can arrange your own IMA and they will just act as the payment processor(around 1% per transaction and 24hour release of funds)

Worldpay is a good way of building up an ecommerce history to present to a high street bank at a later stage to arrange a full Internet Merchant Account, it is easier to get an IMA if you have a proven track record in online selling and can show the bank turnover figures

The Guvnor

Thanks a lot guys. I did contact Realex and I have to say I was very impressed with their service. I had a call within 2 hours, prices were all laid out, no messing just straight to the point.

Cordner - that sounds top notch. My issue from reading boards is elavon. I read very little good things about them but Ulster Bank MS aka Streamline seem to be better?

What do you guys think in terms of merchant account - elavon, Ulster Bank or someone else?

No set-up fee would be a good start and a good selection of cards plus the necessary debit cards for UK & IRL initially.

Thanks again.

podgeen

The Guvnor wrote: »

What do you guys think in terms of merchant account - elavon, Ulster Bank or someone else?

Have you tried AIB Merchant Services? I have used them in the past few a number of clients and have never had any problems or difficulties with them.

Dave

The Guvnor

Thanks Pod. Is AIB using streamline? I think that would make them the same as Ulster Bank?

Anyone any experience of accepting Amex or Diner's Club - will it make much difference (probably not) and do the cost a lot (probably).

Thanks!

GerardKeating

The Guvnor wrote: »

Thanks Pod. Is AIB using streamline? I think that would make them the same as Ulster Bank?

Anyone any experience of accepting Amex or Diner's Club - will it make much difference (probably not) and do the cost a lot (probably).

Thanks!

Streamline is RBS, so in Ireland, it would be Ulster Bank.

According to the website AIBMS is a joint venture between AIB and FirstData.

sartay

Hi all, just wondered if anyone knows what Ulster's bank charges are for a merchant account? I rang for them for a quote but they said it would take 48 hours to get back to me. I could do with some info before then. Do they have a set up fee? And minimum monthly charges? Roughly what % do they take on the credit card transactions for a small biz i.e. approx €30k t/o per year?

Thanks a mill

mcaul

Ulster bank are between 1.25% & 2% depending on the volume of business. A monthly fee of about €15 per terminal is also charged.

TheCostumeShop.ie: Ronan

Careful with AIB, we've had massive problems with them - from a tech point of view i feel their very behind and wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy.

Both Realex and World TPS have excellent service. Eavlon seem very helpful to clients. PM me if you want some direct contacts to some very good folks.

sartay

mcaul wrote: »

Ulster bank are between 1.25% & 2% depending on the volume of business. A monthly fee of about €15 per terminal is also charged.

Thank you!

baap86

Hi,

Apologies for dragging up a thread from the past but I can't seem to find the information I need.
My business is still in the conceptual stage and I'm looking at software and payment processors.
I know they all change their fees based on your business type etc, but I just want some generic figures to try and do an initial cost analysis. I've contacted AIB, BOI and Worldpay and they won't tell me anything.

My main question is this.......
.....
If you're using Realex, you need to have a merchant account. And therefore if you're paying Realex fees, are you also paying fees per transaction etc for your merchant account with AIB/BOI etc?

I can't seem to get a break down of what I've to pay to whom.

Thank you!