Hi Ian > The fist and biggest question is. Where is the best place to > get a merchant account from?
In addition to the other posts that you have received, just a couple of my own. Be wary of dealing with a company called CardSave if you come across them. A photographer I do some work with took out a contract with them, mainly to have the facility to take cards when he exhibited his work. They seem to offer a reasonable deal - rates on cards are around 2/2.5% and debit cards somewhere around 35p (ish) from memory. AMEX was a slightly higher %, but they always are. You are, like many others, tied into a 12 month contract. What they don't make clear is their termination terms! The photographer decided that over the year he hadn't really used it enough to justify the monthly fee, which included a manual machine and also an electronic terminal for instant authorisation for any phone orders. So a letter was sent informing them that he wished to terminate his contract, cancelled his standing order and sent back all the equipment. Their reply was that, according to their small print - clause xx of the agreement - the termination notice period was 12 months. i.e you had to inform them 12 months in advance of when you wanted to terminate or you had to pay 12 months 'termination fee'!! Basically, he fought it and it helped his case that on the agreement that he had signed, the wording was very ambiguous and difficult for them to fight. In the end, they accepted that it wasn't clear and waived the fee. I'm sure their lawyers were quickly informed to amend that wording! So, be very careful with any company - read all small print and make sure you clarify exactly what their interpretation is of the termination procedure and get it in writing if the small print isn't crystal clear. If you happen to use QuickBooks software (Standard or Pro) there is the facility to set up a credit card facility online with a company that Intuit has teamed up with. You pay no monthly fee and have no machines/terminals to deal with. Authorisations are carried out either over the phone or if you are at your computer, directly through QuickBooks. You only pay for when you use the facility. No sign-up fee or any other ongoing fee - you just pay the % on each transaction. The only catch is that this % is higher than the 'contract' companies - it's 4%. So you have to weigh up how much you think you will take with credit cards and work out which is best for you. Paying an extra 1.5% on each transaction but no monthly fee, or a monthly fee with lower % per transaction! HTH Duncan Lawson =============================================================== GO TO http://www.prodig.org for ~ GUIDELINES ~ un/SUBSCRIBING ~ ITEMS for SALE
