Realex criteria vs Worldpay

mneylon

We're toying with the idea of switching processor...

My understanding of Realex is that you need a merchant account and the AIB is rather strict about who they give merchant accounts to.

What's the story with them exactly?

Zaltais

In a nutshell - yes Realex require you to have (or set up) a menchant account (doesn't have to be AIB though - can be Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank, etc).

Worldpay also require you to have a merchant account, the difference is they can set one up for you - and they say they accept about 95% of merchant accounts....

However, as far as I know, once you're a merchant (and not a dodgy one, or one that's got a habit of going bankrupt, etc.) then there should be no problem you getting one set-up. Infact, if you tell them you'll be doing online order processing with a company like Realex, they are more likely to give you a merchant account than if you say you're going to do the processing offline or something. (Bank of Ireland actually recommended Realex to the company I work for....)

mneylon

We bank with AIB and when we spoke to them about it they were not very helpful or encouraging
I also didn't like the way they ONLY work with REALEX, which negates any chance of choice.....

dynamic.ie

Hi blacknight,

I have been using realex for some period for my own PSP and for clients. Even with a choice, they are still top of the market.

AIB are very dodgy about giving merchant accounts for Internet transactions. They just don't want the business and to discourage you, they will charge a higher rate... e.g. 5%. You have an established business and can submit financial history and projections, so this could come down. Still, AIB don't really want the business.

You can get a better rate from www.euroconex.com and still use your AIB bank account. The remittance of funds increases by a day or two though. Your other option for a merchant account is Ulster bank but they are reluctant too or just not customer driven. They usually are only on the ball when it comes to their existing customers, and even at that it can take months before you finally get an account.

If you go with euroConex, a starter Internet merchant rate is 3.5% and you will have your account in 2 weeks at the max.

Here's a quick comparison:

Worldpay:
Typical Rate: 4.5%
Funds Lead Time: 30 Days

Realex and Euroconex:
Typical Rate: 3.5%
Funds Lead Time: 1-4 Days

Don't worry about using the realex system though. It's a great system and you will be well impressed. Hope that helps!

Dave

mneylon

Dave

Thanks for the feedback. I thought I was imagining things with AIB, but you've proved me right - they don't want the business.

M