-----Original Message-----
From: Guido A.J. Stevens <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>We've been approached by a colleague who has been approched by the ad
>agency of the ad agency of a big client ...... and wants a web shop
>with credit card processing backend. From my research I gather this is
>pretty well possible in the US, but quite unheard of in Europe.
Your main problem isn't the merchant credit card processing. That's do-able
by setting up an account in the US, etc.
The real problem is getting people to use credit cards in Europe. Credit
cards simply aren't that common. Only 17% of Germans, for example, have
credit cards. They prefer to buy in cash or by girochecks. In contrast, it
seems as if every American has three credit cards.
If your client is depending on credit card sales, they had better consider
the reality of credit card usage in Europe. If your client is American, they
probably aren't aware of this difference. I worked for an American company a
few years ago that specialized in selling their software by mail order
marketing. They tried to enter the European market and were totally shocked
to find that they couldn't sell their products by phone and credit cards.
Few Germans even had credit cards at all, and of those who have them, yet
fewer even use them. French, British, etc., all have low rates of credit
card usage.
You may want to look into other forms of online payment, esp. if it is a
European product aimed for the European market.
Your fantasy of incorporating in Nevada along with "dubious porn shufflers"
(as you put it) is a projection of your Dutch culture. If you look into this
seriously, you'll find that you can incorporate in California, for example,
for only a few thousand dollars and in only a few days. French companies are
incorporating here in California because it's easier, cheaper, and faster
than in France. You'd also be able to charge much less in sales tax and that
would be a competitive advantage.
___________________________________________________
Andreas Ramos [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.andreas.com
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