Zero-Cost Merchant Account?

Hey all,

I am sure your wondering what this post could be about. I have had my fill with merchant accounts, monthly fees, etc. I had used google checkout but came across an issue that ended that link.

So currently we are using ONLY paypal. Which isnt bad, except I still wonder how many ppl are willing to set up yet another account with someone.

So my hosting company had a link for a new company called Express Transact

This company claims they offer a Zero fee merchant account with 2.1% transaction fees? - Has anyone ever heard of them?

• Has anyone had any issues with them?

I did a search and couldt find anything about them. I used to do research for public companies and I thought I could find anything, but I cant find one good or bad thing about them. I am uncertain if im willing to trust this company not knowing anything about them.

Any suggestions??

OK..

The only thing I have been able to find is that the company used to be named Your Payments Partner until a new company bought them called eharbor.

They have only been in business since 2008 or 2007 if you count the original company name.

Is this something that is even worth trying??

fusionsp:

I had used google checkout but came across an issue that ended that link.

Is this something you can elaborate on?

There are no free lunches - accepting credit card payments will always have fees. The costs behind them are fairly well fixed and you will end up paying them one way or another. That is the way it works.

Kim:

There are no free lunches - accepting credit card payments will always have fees. The costs behind them are fairly well fixed and you will end up paying them one way or another. That is the way it works.

well, its not a completely $0.00 cost. seems their pricing structure is similar to paypal. per usage costs...

My worries are an unknown company handling my customer credit card details...
only accepting visa/MC...no discover or amex

Credit Card information is EXTREMELY valuable information and if you have ANY doubts about the company handling it why would you even think about using them?

Kim:

Credit Card information is EXTREMELY valuable information and if you have ANY doubts about the company handling it why would you even think about using them?

True.

I was just wondering about adding on a merchant account again. I had intuit before but the costs got out of control. So i switched to just using paypal.

But Im wondering if that is hurting business. My site is nearing paying for itself, but traffic is not significant enough to warrant merchant costs.

How many customers do a site lose when they "only" use paypal?

In my personal experience, my sales were 90% CC and the balance used other methods.

In my bricks and mortar store there isn't a day that goes by without at least one call from someone who wants to offer me 'wholesale' credit card rates and they just happen to have a salesman in the area.

You'll NEVER get an apples to apples comparison from any of the numerous clearing houses out there. They'll 'analyze' your statement and tell you that they're eliminating this charge or that charge but they toss in something else that makes up the difference.

I tell them to generate an actual statement with all costs based on a prior month so I can compare and you know what? -
95% of them can't or won't because when they do the math, there is no reason to switch.

Now that said, if your dollar volume of cards is steady or increasing, most clearing houses will cut your discount rate if you ask them, especially if you tell them you're doing some comparison shopping.

Investigate them thoroughly, and like Kim has already said CC data is much to critical to gamble with. It's more than just a couple of bucks, it's your reputation and livelyhood as a merchant.

So for a site to only process with paypal, do you see it as having a disadvantage to other sites that offer direct CC processing?

I see tons of sites that like us, only use paypal. Im just wondering at what point does the customer go to checking out and make the decision not to based on having to setup another acct with paypal even though its hugely known??

Valid question. Probably impossible to answer until you add a credit-card-only option to see for yourself.

Why not try PayPal's Website Payments Pro service for a few months? It's a regular credit-card option where customers enter their card details directly on your (https-protected) website, just like any other credit card option would. They'll never know it's "paypal" processing the card.
Then, review the results after a few months and see whether it's worth the small monthly fee.

As to service charges, remember, there's a sorely-misunderstood fact about PayPal's fees vs a regular merchant account: PayPal's fees are clearly stated, with no hidden extra charges ever. Merchant accounts have different fees because of different discount rates applied to every kind of card brand out there ... there are thousands of different rates, some higher because of points-cards, some lower because they're plain-jane cards. PayPal insulates you from that. They even undercharge on the Amex rate ... you'll never get amex processing at the rate they offer, and you'll never get paid on amex transactions immediately like paypal does if you use another service.

As a frequent Internet shopper, I wouldn't have a problem buying from your (very nicely styled) site because of the niche nature of your products. I expect small Web retailers to use Paypal exclusively, at least until they start generating sales.

If I wanted to order a new laptop from Dell, I'd expect to go through a regular CC merchant account.

Also, one of the first things I do when setting up a Zencart site is change the name of the 'Shipping and Returns' page to 'Shipping and Payment', and add explanations about payment options there. You might try that and explain why you use only Paypal.