Accepting card payments (please help)

[sano1]

Hello all, (from a newbie!:| )

Wondering if anyone can help me here, would be very helpfull.

I need to be able to accept card payments.

I am just about to start my first self emloyed job, a 3 month sales and marketing contract i have set up with a business and will be selling a service to consumers face to face at a cost of £147 per person.
I have no merchant account and feel the likelyhood of getting one will be very hard, therefore i have set up a paypal account (just waiting for verification at the moment) and am looking at using their virtual terminal to accept card payments.

I have projected 420 sales (in 3 months) at £147 which means i will be taking over £60,000 in transactions, so it is very important to me to get this right first time.

I have been doing some research on the web about merchant services and paypal and it seems to offer everything i need and looks easy and affordable to set up and use.

My concern (question) is i have seen quite alot of people talking about paypal accounts being frozen which could cause my business to end straight away if happend to me!!:eek:

Your thoughts on all of this would be very apprieciated, also maybe you no how long it takes from taking a card payment to being able to have that amount in your bank account?

Kind regards
Stuart.:)

[bebygirl]

You can try worldpay that accept creditcard from u'r customers.

[Nigel B]

There are horror stories from people who've had problems with Paypal, but we never have...

[Redalfie]

try netbanx - but don't forget, fees are generally higher than bank merchant services. Contact your bank about thier merchant service, it takes a couple of forms and a terminal - whether electronic or manual. E terminals are difficult to obtain, due to security risks and you may need to sign personal guarantees. Remember - your bank is not faceless, they have an interest in developing a relationship with you - paypal doesn't.

[sano1]

Thanks for the comments.
To get a merchant account with credit card proccesing services - am i right in thinking you normaly need a couple years worth of good business accounts and a good credit rating?

[lynndevine@streamline.com]

As long as you don't have any adverse data such as CCJ's or defaults you should be fine. New companies set up with terminals and/or on-line solutions all the time.

[Redalfie]

It is probably prudent to create a financial document showing your anticipated bankings and evidence that the funds you accept on a merchant account is yours, not clients money held in trust. I think all you will need to do is demonstrate how you will transact; i.e. instantly before sale of service / product, via invoice etc, your refund policy, the information you will keep about the card holder to dispell any disputed transactions. Combined with a clear credit history, your bank should have no problem providing you with facility to accept payment. Banks have no interest in restricting trade- thier main concern is risk elimination and fraud protection. If your terminal is to be at home, expect a visit to assess your premises also.

[SimonC]

Are you going to be selling from a business premesis ?
Usually credit card transactions would need to be taken at a fixed site, i.e shop or office. If you're taking orders over the phone, goods must be sent to the card holders registered address. If yo're not selling goods, but just a service, I'm not sure how this will work.
In any case, if you talk to your business bank adviser, they should be able to help. It shouldn't matter that you're a start up company, although you probably won't get a particularly good rate to start with.
I've been taking paypal for a couple of years via my ebay sales. I've not had any problems at all with them. Do watch out for all the spam emails, people trying to claim they've sent payments etc. just ignore them. any genuine disputes will go directly through Paypal.