Taking Payments

[Richard1989]

Hello

I had a question regarding taking payments through a website;

We are currently setting up an OpenCart online store and have been trying to research various checkout methods, the main ones that seem to come up are PayPal, Amazon Checkout, Google Checkout - which all have the same deals - 3.4% + 20p. (& drops with more sales, up to something like £55,000+ is 1.4% or something).

We were looking into something like WorldPay or SagePay aswell but not sure if there would be any particular benefits of doing so compared to a PayPal account?

Would it be more beneficial to stick to something like PayPal seeing as it is so widely used and can take a guest checkout anyway if they dont have paypal - until such time as we can justify forking out for something like SagePay / Worldpay?

Also looked at Lloyds Cardnet too and on Natwest its part of Worldpay i believe?

Not sure whats best... Extra info: Its a startup - we havnt actually begun trading yet (would be difficult without a payment system ) we are currently in the process of opening up a business bank with natwest as one of the directors banks with natwest currently and likes their services and may have a good standing with the bank already.. Not sure what else to include.. May be more threads coming up with other questions

 

[DavidWH]

Firstly good luck getting your bank open with Natwest. Both myself and the other director banked with natwest all our lives, both had sole trader accounts with them. They couldn't open a Ltd Company account though without it taking way to long.

We user worldpay/cardsave. There's a monthly fee associated with it, but the transaction fee's are cheaper. I would possible start with paypal until your volume is high enough to warrant the commitment and expense of a card processing provider.

 

[Nochexman]

Hello, I work for Nochex.com (online payment services), so clearly I am biased and you should do your own research!

Nochex would be good for you in terms of you can set-up an account for zero cost and no monthly fee, so there is no risk associated with signing up to a long contract - certainly something to consider carefully for a start-up.

If you would like to know more, please feel free to PM me.

Good luck!

 

[Richard1989]

Thanks i will look into this a bit more.

David - who did you end up banking with if you dont mind me asking?

Nochex, i will have a look into this aswell. Will take a look around your website, and PM you if i have any questions relating to it if thats okay?

 

[Nochexman]

Nochex, i will have a look into this aswell. Will take a look around your website, and PM you if i have any questions relating to it if thats okay?

Be my guest!

 

[VictorBD]

I am using cardstream for taking payments, happy with it! Cheaper than paypal and from my experience I can say that having payment gateway makes you look more reliable comparing to the ones who use paypal.

 

[DavidWH]

@Richard1989 We ended up with HSBC, after 30mins in branch we had account numbers and sort codes, credit cards arranged... something Natwest couldn't arrange in 4 weeks.

 

[Richard1989]

Thanks i will bear that in mind.

The other partners seem pretty keen with going with Natwest still at the moment so going to give it the benefit of the doubt - the forms are sent off.. God knows now.. But one of the points that the Business Manager brought up was that they can get good deals with WorldPay so sounded fairly tempting..

For now i think we are opting with PayPal as it seems the easiest just to set up and implement. We don't want too much expense without seeing if its worth it first