Which Payment Gateway?

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M

moonrust

  • #1
    Hello all

    I really need some help here...

    I'm based in the UK and have been looking into expanding my payment options from just Paypal, but I'm stuck!

    I've managed to narrow my options down to Protx (or Sage Pay as it is now known) and Nochex. I'll also need to set up a merchant account with whoever I choose as my payment gateway, but I just can't decide between these two.

    Can anyone give me any help regarding who to choose?
     
    W

    webpayments

  • #2
    Hi moonrust,

    What criteria did you use to narrow it down to nochex and sagepay? To me they seem like an odd pair to choose.

    Have you spoke to a financial institution about getting an Internet Merchant Account to use with SagePay?
     
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    M

    moonrust

  • #3
    The reason I narrowed it down to Nochex and SagePay is that I'm currently a sole trader and don't have a business account, therefore, I need someone who can provide me with a merchant account as well as the gateway. Both Nochex and SagePay can privide a merchant account.

    Also, because my budget is so small, I can't afford the set up fees and monthly fees of a lot of other payment options.

    If you can let me know of any other options that would be available to me, I'd be very grateful.
     
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    M

    moonrust

  • #5
    Still on the subject, I have also been looking at Paypal Pro as an option because with Pro, Paypal effectively remain unseen unless the customer chooses Express Checkout.

    I want an option that makes my site more professional and makes the checkout process easier to navigate, therefore avoiding customers abandoning checkout before they make payment.

    Is this a viable option?
     
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    T

    Tiffany

  • #6
    I had the same thoughts about paypal pro ......in fact I did actually go with this option in the end.

    I also set up a business bank account as my takings were increasing - I didn't want my bank to start asking questions about putting all the transactions through a personal account - it was ok to start with but I am glad I now have the business cheque book etc. I registered etc with Inland Revenue at the same time.

    Several months down the line and I am now having to look at another payment option. I have had a lot of problems with paypal pro and I am certain it has lost me sales.

    I am now looking at worldpay......as this seems very similar.....has a small set up charge......and I would hope will work better. However the only problem seems to be that they keep your money for 4 weeks before transferring to your account!!!

    Does anyone know....do Protx keep money for this long before transferring it over?
     
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    M

    MGSteve

    Free Member
    Apr 29, 2009
    49
    4
    Walsall, UK
  • #7
    Just a word from experience, if you haven't got a business account you'll find that its next to impossible to get a merchant account. Nearly all the banks want to see trading history before they will give you a merchant account.

    Another provider we've worked with before is NetBanx - they don't require a merchant account either.
     
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    M

    moonrust

  • #8
    Thanks for your replies so far everyone.

    I think I've settled on Protx. They can provide a merchant account as well as a payment gateway and are quite popular amongst webmasters throughout all the research I've done.

    :)
     
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    J

    jolew

    Free Member
    May 11, 2008
    19
    4
  • #10
    Another thing to note is that most High Street Banks still offer 'Free Business Banking for new accounts' for varying periods, with HSBC it's 18 months. I'm sure you'll probably get even better if you look around. And i don't think Protx do an 'all in one' package? Worldpay do (think it's called WorldDirect), but they do hang onto your money for 4 weeks, and it's £15 a month with 15p per transaction and around 3.3%.
     
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    J

    Joe_SagePay

    Free Member
    Apr 23, 2009
    29
    6
  • #11
    Hi everyone,

    I'm here to help if you have any questions about Sage Pay. I don't want you to think im repeating the same old sales pitch, so if you do have questions, feel free to ask here on the board; or PM me directly.

    I will, however, provide some direct answers the questions in this thread. I hope thats ok.

    Merchant accounts
    We can provide you with a merchant account in partnership with the Bank of Scotland. You can make your application for this account as part of your application for a Sage Pay account. I'd be happy to answer questions on this.

    Tiffany - Sage Pay do not keep the money for any period of time. The amount of time it takes for funds to reach your account is technically based upon your agreement with your acquirer but the standard for most of our customers is 3 days.

    Paypal - as this is such a popular method of payment, Paypal is intergrated into our payment pages so if your customers didnt wish to pay directly by card, they could use their Paypal details and be transferred to your Paypal account

    If theres anymore advice or help I could offer, please dont hesitate to get in touch. I'd be delighted to help.

    Many thanks,

    Joe
     
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    J

    Joe_SagePay

    Free Member
    Apr 23, 2009
    29
    6
  • #13
    Hi Steve,

    Glad to hear you are a long term partner of ours! Great to hear from you. I can fill you in with the details directly if youd like me to call you about it?

    Perhaps you could PM me your contact details?

    This is a brand new launch (last week!) and as such we are holding off the active advertisement just while we ensure the process of these accounts is as solid as we would like it to be.

    Im sure our partners manager Aline will fill all of our partners in on the finer details in due course but I'd be happy to call you to give you the specifics if this would help you

    All the best for the holiday weekend,

    Joe
     
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    J

    Joe_SagePay

    Free Member
    Apr 23, 2009
    29
    6
  • #15
    That's right - WorldPay are RBS and this merchant services package that we are offering is from the Bank of Scotland, processing powered by the First Data Group

    Its definately something to consider, being a partner of ours! I look forward to letting everyone know more about it and hope that you hear from Aline in due course. As before, if you need a phonecall from me to discuss it then consider it done!

    Many thanks,

    Joe
     
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    N

    naturalbeautyscotland

  • #18
    I am a sole trader too - I went with Protx and Streamline in the end - and if you join the FSB (the fee was £150 but they offer are lots of benefits & clout plus you get Streamline for free - which saved me £200!) - in addition, the FSB offer business bank accounts with the Co-op Bank and free business banking too - so far it has all worked very well. :)
     
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    D

    davidakerr

  • #19
    Just be careful with Bank of Scotland/First Data. They will try and lock you into a 3/5 year contract which might just not be the best move for you. The Streamline FSB deal is very good, so before making your mind up check that out!!!
     
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    C

    CatchFriday

  • #21
    moonrust said:
    Hello all

    I really need some help here...

    I'm based in the UK and have been looking into expanding my payment options from just Paypal, but I'm stuck!

    I've managed to narrow my options down to Protx (or Sage Pay as it is now known) and Nochex. I'll also need to set up a merchant account with whoever I choose as my payment gateway, but I just can't decide between these two.

    Can anyone give me any help regarding who to choose?
    Click to expand...

    I suggest HSBC and if you need any help to set up - we can help you with a tinker.
     
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    C

    CatchFriday

  • #22
    MGSteve said:
    Just a word from experience, if you haven't got a business account you'll find that its next to impossible to get a merchant account. Nearly all the banks want to see trading history before they will give you a merchant account.

    Another provider we've worked with before is NetBanx - they don't require a merchant account either.
    Click to expand...

    HSBC will set up your business account free, the merchant account is £20 a month. Works a dream!
     
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    M

    moonrust

  • #23
    CatchFriday said:
    I suggest HSBC and if you need any help to set up - we can help you with a tinker.
    Click to expand...

    Thanks for the offer but I've decided to go with Sage Pay and RBS for my payment gateway and merchant account.

    As I've been with Natwest for years as a personal customer (who are part of the RBS group), I've also applied for a business account with them.

    Lets just hope all goes smoothly!! :eek:
     
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    B

    bustersdirect

  • #24
    HEllo

    I would not recomend RBS or sagepay i would either go with worldpay or HSBC or get a merchnat account with HSBC and then go with protx as they are number 1 on the market please avoid PayPal

    Hope this helps

    please let us know how you get on with opening an account with RBS:eek:

    Thanks
    Austin
     
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    M

    moonrust

  • #25
    bustersdirect said:
    HEllo

    I would not recomend RBS or sagepay i would either go with worldpay or HSBC or get a merchnat account with HSBC and then go with protx as they are number 1 on the market please avoid PayPal

    Hope this helps

    please let us know how you get on with opening an account with RBS:eek:

    Thanks
    Austin
    Click to expand...

    Thanks for the advice, but I think you should know that Protx IS Sagepay. How can you recommend avoiding Sagepay and go on to say that Protx are number one on the market?

    Also, you can apply for an RBS merchant account through Sagepay/Protx, but HSBC say they prefer you to have been an HSBC customer for at least a year before they will accept you for a merchant account.
     
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    J

    Joe_SagePay

    Free Member
    Apr 23, 2009
    29
    6
  • #31
    Lark said:
    Hi Joe

    how does this work? Does this mean that if we use Protx/SagePay then Paypal is included?
    Click to expand...

    Hi,

    Dingbat is correct in regards to PayPal.

    If you have a PayPal account and you have PayPal set as a payment option on your Sage Pay payment pages (or your own hosted payment pages) then your customers will have all the standard options to select Credit/Debit cards but will also be able to select PayPal and be transferred to your PayPal account page to pay there.

    The main aim was to accommodate different payment options in one area.

    Kind regards,

    Joe
     
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    I

    Idontbuy

  • #32
    We use Paypal Pro and have no problems , we use Google Checkout as well as that makes our adwords ads stick out id say 10% of sales are through GC.
    Dont forget that some people still like to phone in and make a sale over the phone we have HSBC card machine for those people and id say 25% of our orders are taken that way.
    There is a Paypal equiv to that i think its called virtual terminal.
    Good luck.

    IDB
     
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    J

    Joe_SagePay

    Free Member
    Apr 23, 2009
    29
    6
  • #33
    Hi,

    Just to comment on this, Sage Pay will also include a 'Virtual Terminal' for free, included in the gateway fee, which will be accessible through your 'My Sage Pay' administration area; used for reconcilliation and settlement reports, fraud scores and so on.

    Our API would also allow you to create your own terminal or build the payment system into a call centre, or any sort of application you, your business or your clients require.

    As always, please contact me for support or information and I'd be delighted to help.

    Best wishes,

    Joe
     
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    W

    waveuponwave

    Free Member
    Nov 24, 2008
    46
    6
  • #34
    I'm using SagePay and while it's early days I don't have any complaints. Refunds are easy and setting it up with our merchant account was really simple. It's nice to have the Paypal option too.

    Whatever you do, don't use HSBC's own payment gateway, which I was using previously - absolutely shockingly bad!
     
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    K

    Kerrib4

    Free Member
    Jun 6, 2009
    301
    7
    West Lothian
  • #37
    Hi,

    We are new here and just about to launch our new online store.

    We are really interested in using RBS through the FSB as a merchant account and Sagepay as a gateway, but we are also thinking of using Sagepay as both merchant and gateway.

    After having a look on the Sagepay website we weren't sure what it meant by '3D Secure' and 'Non-3D Secure '. Could someone please let me know what they mean by that? I would post the URL for the page but it won't let me as I have not had enough posts yet.

    Thanks,
    Kerri
     
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    C

    CatchFriday

  • #38
    waveuponwave said:
    I'm using SagePay and while it's early days I don't have any complaints. Refunds are easy and setting it up with our merchant account was really simple. It's nice to have the Paypal option too.

    Whatever you do, don't use HSBC's own payment gateway, which I was using previously - absolutely shockingly bad!
    Click to expand...

    I use it - I got my programmer to set me up on it and have no problems with it.
     
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    J

    Joe_SagePay

    Free Member
    Apr 23, 2009
    29
    6
  • #39
    Kerrib4 said:
    Hi,

    We are new here and just about to launch our new online store.

    We are really interested in using RBS through the FSB as a merchant account and Sagepay as a gateway, but we are also thinking of using Sagepay as both merchant and gateway.

    After having a look on the Sagepay website we weren't sure what it meant by '3D Secure' and 'Non-3D Secure '. Could someone please let me know what they mean by that? I would post the URL for the page but it won't let me as I have not had enough posts yet.

    Thanks,
    Kerri
    Click to expand...

    Hi Kerri,

    I hope you are well.

    The reference there to '3D' rates being different from non-3D rates relates to a security scheme called '3D Secure' that was introduced by Visa and Mastercard some time ago. With SagePay, 3D secure will be applied to your account by default for no extra charge but it is up to you as a merchant to choose (at the moment) if you wish to use 3D secure or not. It is essentially 'chip and pin' on the internet and you may well have seen it if you have been shopping online yourself.

    Acquirers will give you different rates for 3D secure transactions vs. those that are non-3D secure due to the different risk profile and also as a means to encourage the application of 3D secure accross the board.

    Please let me know if you need more detail on this or if you would like me to phone you about it.

    Best wishes,

    Joe
     
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    Y

    ymk101

  • #40
    We have been using World pay and they are very good and excellent, only problem we head with was the high fee per transaction, so we moved to Sage pay but their costumer service there is disaster , average waiting time 20-30 minute, and not so helpful as World pay!
     
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