Switching from paypal to realex/merchant services for small business

Printer

Hi all

I am a Director of a small business. On average we take in about 2500-3500 per month via paypal at the moment on our website. The rest of our income comes via cheques or EFT's.

We are paying about 70-80 per month in charges to paypal and so we are now looking at getting a laser/credit card terminal in the office and on our website.

I have done some research and it is cumbersome to say the least to set up and costly. However we feel it may be worth it as lots of people often ask to pay by laser which you cant do on paypal.

So...

There are lots of "merchant services" companies (banks) and all seem to have varying rates and charges.

Then there are lots of "gateway providers" (card processors) and again they all seem to have varying rates and charges.

My understanding is you have to have both a merchant services provider and a gateway provider in order to take payments this way so can anyone recommend a good combination that will be cost effective for a small company.

Thanks

Sposs

We use AIB merchant services and realex for all credit cards / lasercards, but we also offer paypal as it's very widely used, ideally the more payment choices you can offer your customers the better.

There is also a fixed monthly fee for the merchant account and realex ( entry level bundle i think includes 350 transactions per month) so ensure your customers will pay by these methods before you set-up.

Also note that AIB merchant services can be very slow to get this done for you.

ICCM

Worldpay is another option for your online business, you can pay a % of each transaction or if you have an IMA they also offer 300 transactions for EUR20/mth

The Apprentice

Laser cards are being phased out ... Everyone will have a debit visa soon wont they ??

billybunty

Hi. I use paypal & i use ulster bank streamline with realex

Ulster bank were fastest in getting back to me. Git set up fee reduced by €100, as i asked. Guy came to see me & it was done 10 days later. I dont have a terminal as my business is web-based. I haggled the fees too per card & got them reduced also

I pay realex €30 per month,this is standard. Again, very efficient & seamless set up.
I know ulster bank are having their current glitches but payment made are getting to my bank account

Aib were too much hassle& more costly & have read on here that they planted more fees on customers a few months back with no negotiation. I bank with aib and didnt want to have all my eggs in one basket so it suited me to go somewhere else!

I cant remember the other company i could have used instead of realex but didnt puck them as they were painful in initial dealings

Order realex (or equiv) but dont sign up the bottom line till you have approved merchant service as realex charge from time of signing, but they tell you this anyway!
Long post! Hope it helps

sandin

as billybunty says but also if you don't have a huge amount of office based transactions you can use the realex online dashboard to process "walk-in" customers - this will save you the terminal charge. Though afaik, if you want a terminal you need a second merchant account anyway (different T&C's)

Printer

Thanks everyone.

Sandin, im a little confused by your last post. What do you mean by the realex online dashboard to process walk-in customers? And I wasnt aware you need a separate Merchants Service account for having a terminal.

How much do you all averagely pay per month on realex plus merchant services?

sandin

Printer wrote: »

Thanks everyone.

Sandin, im a little confused by your last post. What do you mean by the realex online dashboard to process walk-in customers? And I wasnt aware you need a separate Merchants Service account for having a terminal.

How much do you all averagely pay per month on realex plus merchant services?

Realex will give you a password and user name to access your account and "dashboard" - on this you have an online terminal taht can be used for either a phone order or if someone hands a card in for an in-shop purchase. Its unsuitable if you have regular shop customers, but ideal if its just a couple a day.

Difference in account - Online = You are responsible for costs involved if a card ends up being stolen as the card holder is not present and you need to be vigilant regarding where goods are sent (e.g. if it looks suspicious, don't send it). Usually there is no monthly fee with this account.

Normal off line account - customer enters pin number on key pad and once they've done this you are guaranteed the money. Usually a €20-30 per month fee applies for rental of terminal.

If you want both, you will need 2 different accounts as the terms and conditions for both are different.

Mickk

Realex have an interesting pricing model, the first 350 transactions are 8c each, over that they are 12c each! So the more you spend with them instead of a discount you get a 50% increase in what your charged?!

MarkWN

Printer wrote: »

So...

There are lots of "merchant services" companies (banks) and all seem to have varying rates and charges.

Then there are lots of "gateway providers" (card processors) and again they all seem to have varying rates and charges.

My understanding is you have to have both a merchant services provider and a gateway provider in order to take payments this way so can anyone recommend a good combination that will be cost effective for a small company.

Thanks

Not only can eWallet type solutions (like PayPal) be quite expensive, they can also tend to have a limited range of services.

I work for WorldNet, we are an Irish payment gateway. If you private mailed me your contact details I would be more than happy to give you a call to discuss various merchant bank options and find the one most suitable for your requirements.

Sposs wrote: »

but we also offer paypal as it's very widely used, ideally the more payment choices you can offer your customers the better.

As Sposs said, it's best to have a wide range of payment options. WorldNet's integrated multi-channel processing services can work alongside PayPal.

Oh, and don't worry, we don't charge until you're live and have started processing transactions.

Herbalist

You will need a merchant account in order to use a payment gateway provider.

You will then need a secure payment gateway provider in order to take secure payments by phone. If you also wants to take payments on your website you will need a compatible shopping cart integrated to your ecommerce site.

In terms of providers you could look at the likes of Sagepay Realex, Worldpay. If you have not yet got a merchant account Sagepay can help you to get one set up. I am connected to the company.