Getting a merchant account etc?

barryd09

Hi

I have a few questions about getting set up for accepting credit card payments on my website.
I am very new to online trading (and trading in general) so some help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

• I am a sole trader (business registered in October 2012)
• I am also a PAYE worker in a large company
• I have a .ie web domain (also registered October 2012)
• I have been and still am using Paypal (Merchant account) for accepting payments through my website, mostly through the "Dont have a Paypal Account" option that was setup in Opencart for me by my web designer.
• I am accepting through paypal and then withdrawing the funds into a seperate specially opened personal account with Ulster Bank
• My registered business address is also my home address

The reason I would like to accept credit card payments in methods other than through paypal as i outlined above are that I dont want my account frozen like paypal are notorious for leaving me with no payment options at all and also it can be a real pain explaining to people that while the payments they are making is through paypal that they also dont need a paypal account to do so. I think alot of people are still abit suspicious of/reluctant to use paypal.

So my questions are as follows:

1. I know I cant continue using a personal banking account for my business, will Ulster Bank look negatively on this if I apply for a Merchant Account? It is a merchant account that i need first before i can get someone like Realex to start processing payments?
2. Is my home and business address being the same going to affect my application? It is a solely internet based company, no physical shop or sales anywhere else.
3. I dont have a bad credit rating, infact quite the opposite but my personal banking is with BOI and has been since I was about 16. The reason for opening an account with Ulster Bank was it was quick and also their fee free banking just to get me started, would I realistically have more success with BOI getting a Merchant Account?
4. Is Realex the best payment acceptance company to go with if I do get a merchant account?

Im sorry if Ive forgotten any other important information & thanks to anyone who can answer any of my questions or provide some help on my situation.

Woody_FX

I'd also very much like to see some answers to those questions as I'm in the same situation.

Thanks everybody.

Peterdalkey

I would talk to Ulster Bank , they have very good online banking and merchant services. They will give you two years free banking as a start up..and more

.. see http://www.ulsterbank.ie/roi/business/products/business-loans-and-finance/specialist-finance/start-ups.ashx

Transaction fee-free banking for the first 2 years from account opening
Expand Subscription-free access to our on-line cash management channel, 'Bankline', for 1 year from account opening

Expand First arrangement fee waived for asset finance with 'Lombard'

Expand Subscription-free 'Business Card' for the first year

Expand Joining fee waived with Merchant Services

Expand Grow your business

Expand More than just business banking - let us look after your personal banking needs





Cheers


Peter

Fr_Dougal

barryd09 wrote: »

Hi

I have a few questions about getting set up for accepting credit card payments on my website.
I am very new to online trading (and trading in general) so some help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

• I am a sole trader (business registered in October 2012)
• I am also a PAYE worker in a large company
• I have a .ie web domain (also registered October 2012)
• I have been and still am using Paypal (Merchant account) for accepting payments through my website, mostly through the "Dont have a Paypal Account" option that was setup in Opencart for me by my web designer.
• I am accepting through paypal and then withdrawing the funds into a seperate specially opened personal account with Ulster Bank
• My registered business address is also my home address

The reason I would like to accept credit card payments in methods other than through paypal as i outlined above are that I dont want my account frozen like paypal are notorious for leaving me with no payment options at all and also it can be a real pain explaining to people that while the payments they are making is through paypal that they also dont need a paypal account to do so. I think alot of people are still abit suspicious of/reluctant to use paypal.

So my questions are as follows:

1. I know I cant continue using a personal banking account for my business, will Ulster Bank look negatively on this if I apply for a Merchant Account? It is a merchant account that i need first before i can get someone like Realex to start processing payments?
2. Is my home and business address being the same going to affect my application? It is a solely internet based company, no physical shop or sales anywhere else.
3. I dont have a bad credit rating, infact quite the opposite but my personal banking is with BOI and has been since I was about 16. The reason for opening an account with Ulster Bank was it was quick and also their fee free banking just to get me started, would I realistically have more success with BOI getting a Merchant Account?
4. Is Realex the best payment acceptance company to go with if I do get a merchant account?

Im sorry if Ive forgotten any other important information & thanks to anyone who can answer any of my questions or provide some help on my situation.

You'll never have your PP account frozen if you upload all your documents and use it for the purpose you've stated on your account. Most of the time when people get their accounts frozen it's because they don't bother uploading as much as their ID. People forget that these are bank accounts too. I think you have the facility in OpenCart to leave the credit card payments section "open" via PP. If you need any help with any of this let me know.

Herbalist

You will need to have a merchant account in order to use a payment processing solution to accept credit cards on your website. In terms of which you could use there are a number of providers you can look at. One of the main things to check is the fees / commissions - how much will you be charged per month and how many (if any) transactions does that price include? How much will you be charged for additional transactions?

It is also important to check that the service provider can process the type of cards that you want to allow your customers to use to pay (credit card, debit card, laser etc). Also if you are adding ecommerce functionality and a shopping cart to your website check that the payment processing solution you have in mind is compatible with that.


One possible service provider would be Sage Pay. They can assist you in setting up a merchant account if you do not already have one. I am connected to the company.

DubPerryman

barryd09 wrote: »

[*]Is Realex the best payment acceptance company to go with if I do get a merchant account?

Hi Barry,

I did a lot of research in to this before and found WorldNet by far the best payment provider. They were the most approachable, explained everything very well and were the most willing to tailor their products to my needs.

Can't recommend them highly enough.

Good luck!