ForumsMerchant Services

My two cents worth:

True PayPal doesn't exactly give the most professional image. But it is far superior to any of the Palpal 'wannabees' out there and is a smart solution for merchants just getting started. Why? Two reasons. (1) No monthly minimums or start up expenses which allows new merchants to walk before they try to run. Spend your money on promotion and advertising instead of gateway a shopping cart monthly fees, not to mention merchant account fixed fees and minimums. (2) No monthly contract, again the 'walk before you try to run' scenario. Use Paypal for a few months and when you're ready to upgrade to something more sophisticated, you're not trapped by a contract. And authorize.net DOES have a contract as do virtually all shopping carts and merchant account providers. Here's an EZ link to apply for Paypal merchant account:
https://www.paypal.com/us/mrb/pal=2SXM26U7ZHJUA This recommendation comes from the heart. We are traditional merchant account providers and Paypal is in direct competition with our product. But..........the truth is the truth.....small start-ups have no business getting in over their head with the expenses associated with individual gateways and merchant accounts, there are more important areas for them to spend their money. Much smarter to start out with Paypal baby steps, get your business rolling, then come consult someone like me for a traditional merchant account when the time comes, not before.

Still not sold on Paypal completely? There's a second alternative you might want to consider in this case. QuickBooks merchant services has decent rates, built-in gateway, and again no contractual obligation. Virtual terminal and starter software are available at no cost to you, no setup fees,, and it's a LOT cheaper than paying for a merchant account and gateway provider individually. Here's the link to online application:

https://merchant.intuit.com/signup/?b=ao319&p=bn2943

Hope this helps.

hello,

My name is Patrick I am approved reseller of merchant services with central payment corp.
Im pretty sure as a buiness man you want the best for your business and pay pal is good but you cant track your money your paying money for a system thats not working for you join metamorf process cards online 24/7 maintaince threw your inernet presence bring business to your website track your data with our online data base save money time and increase revenue.

Hi everyone,
just a quick note , there seems to be some confusion about PayPal. PayPal can be integrated into your website without customers ever going to paypals site. it is called Website Payment Pro using Direct Payments. Customers don't even need to have a paypal account. You use PayPal's API calls (you'd most likely need an experienced web programmer to do this for you), and then paypal processes the payment behind the scenes, but to put it simply, you sign up for the system, have the API's in place, and then you can have your customers buy from your site without ever leaving your site. To look even more professional, use SSL (should go without saying) and buy a SSL certificate from verisign or whoever. (all of which can be integrated to be used with paypal)
At anyrate, since millions of people use paypal (which was developed by ebay) there's really no reason not to use it to get a business online quickly. Of course there are benefits to using other providers, mostly some savings over paypal, but the argument of stating that paypal looks less professional is not valid if you use API's.

just an FYI, I learned all of this while developing a website, learned the API's on my own and have had no problems. I don't get anything from paypal to promote this info, just wanted to make sure that the info is out there to whoever wanted it.

Just my 2 cents!
Thanks
Darrick

I will also speak to PayPal, particularly Pro as a "second stage", as that is what our company currently uses. My main merchant needs are "seasonal" in that I don't put on training every month and the minimum fees (particularly in a month with little cashflow) can be a burden.

Do note one downside to the standard PayPal that hurt us in the early days. Although I have personally never had a problem with them, the company does have a stigma in some companies and particularly govt and military entities. If you are a B2B, consider going to a standard merchant account (or PPPro or Amazon Payments - my second choice). Many businesses refuse to allow purchases through PP. Cost me over $5K in lost sales in my first year...

Best of luck!

Charles