Merchant accounts

[WHARTY]

Hi i will soon be adding shopping facilities to my web site and i was wondering if anybody can recommend a good merchant account?

Needs to take all the major cards and not cost a bomb!

Also what about shopping cart software can anybody recommend?

Cheers, Lee

 

[Christiane]

SagePay (ex-Protx) is usually popular with a Streamline merchant account.
I wouldn't open the merchant account through Sagepay though, they seemed to want too much info than going directly to Streamline (part of RBS).

If you're a member of the FSB, you get discounted rates with Streamline.

 

[wdltd]

Alliance & Leicester have a low cost set up fee, and no recurring fees (last time I looked), but I'm not sure how competitive their transaction rates are - which will depend on your projected turnover.

 

[Viewfax]

Hi there,
We currently have a Streamline account for processing card payments which we will be terminating shortly. We wanted to use our Streamline account to process website payments parsed through sagepay, but they wouldn't let us use our existing merchant number and insisted that we re-applied for another (eCommerce) account. The setup fee for this was £200. They also charge £15 per month for a merchant account before you even incur any processing charges.

We now have an Elavon merchant account (applied for through sagepay). No setup fees, no monthly fees and no additional authorisation charges. Yes they do ask for a heap of info (certificate of incorpoation, audited accounts, bank statement) but this is only due to money laundering legislation. Sage do not pass the original documents onto Elavon anyway, they simply photocopy them and initial the photocopy which then is passed onto Elavon. Sage were also very helpful and easy to get hold of on the phone.

Let us know how you get on!
Tim.

 

[benjamin_c]

I've been told that Barclay card ePDQ is good although i'm not sure of their fees. worth having a look

 

[Adam_Watson]

Streamline account Use it..

 

[Conrad]

thanx for information

 

[PMSToys]

Conrad,

Who did you go with in the end? I've just signed up with Nochex for a Merchant account.

It was £50 fee up front but I don't have monthly charges which suits me for the time being.

 

[Snowgoat]

The RBS/Streamline deal through the FSB was unbeatable in our experience, then research the best payment gateway (we tried CreditCall/eKashu then changed to SagePay). We've been surprised by the upfront costs paid by non-FSB members, both for merchant account and PSP.

Financial turnover / what you're selling / number of widgets/month all come into the equation for choosing the best deal and whether you need MOTO plus ecommerce.

 

[Sam Boogie]

I was all set to go with Elavon vis SagePay but the kind lady at Sage has informed me there is currently a 6-7 week turnaround for merchant accounts due to a backlog.

Any other recommendations for a merchant account with no monthly fee?!

Sam : )

 

[Ethecol]

Please take a look at what we are doing at Ethecol it is with AIB merchant services there is no MMSC ,we make a residual commission per transaction and pay 100% of it into the Ethecol foundation to help environmental and social enterprise projects (customers can choose what projects)we also give a £30 energy efficient lighting voucher to all new customers taking a chip and pin machine.
Competitive rates, Countertop, Mobile and GPRS terminals available.

Cheers
Peter

 

[Sam Boogie]

Hi Peter, I like the sound of what you're doing but not exactly sure what it is you're doing!

Are you saying you could be a cheaper merchant services provider than Evalon and ALSO that a percentage of the money you process goes towards charity.

If Ive got that right could you also explain how thats possible!

Sam : )

 

[Ethecol]

Hi Sam

Yes we have got some very competitive rates ,we set up your merchant account and receive a residual/recurring commission per transaction and pay 100% of the residual commission into a foundation that we have set up with the Community Foundation of Greater Manchester ,its not just for the Greater Manchester area we hope to help charities,social enterprise and environmental projects all over the UK.

Would be happy to give you a quote against Elavon
Our current set up time is approx 2-3 weeks

Peter

 

[Sam Boogie]

Okay Peter, how do we go about sorting a quote out?

Sam : )

 

[Ethecol]

Hi Sam

Would you like me to give you a call ? or you can contact me on 07576244690.
Will need to get some information about your business and how it will take card payments.

Peter

 

[leadsrus]

hehe so many people now taking a cut on these, ive arranged appointments for reps of Elavon and United Merchant Services and in my experience Elavon will beat 90 percent of any quotes and current tarrifs they had a conversion rate of nearly 70%, but as has already been stated the FSB rate for streamline customers is a tough beat.

suppose it depends on the rep you get and how much he wants the contract though so bear that in mind

the savings made on these rip of costs are remarkable at times, its also interesting when the cancelation request for the exsisting machines is through just how much the ex or soon to be ex suupplier re-adjusts the costings.

 

[other]

I have found Elavon's rates beat those of Streamline (FSB).

 

[Setfire]

Try Secure Hosting, part of UPG plc.

They run a pre-pay system where you buy a block of transactions, depending on your volume. They can also sort out a decent rate with a merchant account since they deal with all the banks.

API or payment pages for integration.

PM me if you want contact details to talk to them about merchant accounts.

 

[eonezl85]

When you member of FSB you'll get discount rate

 

[other]

When you member of FSB you'll get discount rate

yes, but their FSB rates are still poor (1.95% CC / 30p DC). i've been a member of FSB for two yrs and now wish i hadn't bothered.

 

[LBDano]

how do you apply for streamline, the only option there seems to be on the website is to fill in the form for a call back.. I currently have a natwest business account, and would prefer to use streamline with sagepay if I can get it setup...

How do I go about opening a streamline? or just wait for the m to call me? surely it cant all be done over the phone

 

[TotalWebSolutions]

As a Payment Gateway, we send the application to Streamline on the merchant's behalf just to get the ball rolling. That way, Streamline knows they are looking to use our EcomMerchant service and will contact the merchant to discuss setting up the merchant account. Of course the merchant can call Streamline directly but we have links into their merchant IDs so that they are already coded once approved. If you would like to consider an alternative payment provider please drop me a PM with your details and I would be happy to call you.

Thanks,

Simon