Merchant account newbie, lol

Dennis Miedema · 01-10-2009, 06:20 PM

First of all: I only recently joined warriorforum.com and learned TONS of stuff on here way faster than I could ahve all by myself...and not only that, I also got myself a top notch virtual assistant to help me grow my business, she's also a warrior

So much respect to these forums for that.

Anyways...the distribution and payment gateway part of the business story is kinda foggy for me: I'm a complete newbie in that area, lol. So I just set up a shopping cart with 1shoppingcart.com and now a question pops up...but first: here's my info...

- I currently have Paypal selected as the single way of accepting payments (but it's Paypal express checkout that allows your customers to pay with PP directly in your cart...PLUS I accept paypal e-checks)
- I want to get my hands on a merchant account, as in...I want a payment gateway that can process credit cards payments AND recurring payments

Problem 1
I live in the Netherlands, that's Europe guys and girls. And it's not really clear to me but...do I absolutely, 100% sure need a business account with some bank before I can get a merchant account that processes my stuff?

Call me the newbie here, but I think what that would mean is that I need to write an entire business plan to get a business account with the bank..which will take me months, so I'll need to postpone business. Correct?

Problem 2
I've already sent an email to Authorize.net just now, but...there are SO MANY merchant account providers out there! 2checkout, authorize, and others...but which one do you prefer (or do you use multiple?). I prefer getting an account up and running a.s.a.p. so what do you recommend, if that's possible at all?

Wow...I must say: I'm having some trouble with the whole USA vs. Europe dilemma, because everything is different here and there's not much info on how it SHOULD be done in Europe.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Kindest regards,

Dennis

radhika · 01-10-2009, 07:57 PM

To charge your buyer creditcards, you need -

* Payment gateways (like authorize.net, linkpoint.com etc) YOU DON'T NEED PAYPAL OR 2CHECKOUT etc., IF YOU HAVE your own payment gateway.

Payment gateway is DIFFERENT from Payment processor.

* Bank account

* Integration into your web site cart system.

If buyer buys from you, your payment gateway charges the card and you can transfer amount to your bank account. No need for paypal or 2checkout.com with your own payment gateways.

.

forous · 01-10-2009, 10:39 PM

Try to 2checkout they are pretty fast and they deal with internationals.
Paypal is a little funny when it comes dealing with internationals.

Glenn Grundberg · 01-10-2009, 10:45 PM

Personally in your situation I'd stick with Authorize.net

You won't need a business account (although that's an excellent idea that you should work on) and you can get up and running fast.

Their fees are pretty good, too, and you avoid all the hassles with PayPal and even 2Checkout that come with cross-border business.

I've been really pleased with my experiences with Auth.net.

Hope that helps!

Gman

PS - You should get with a freelancer for your business plan...just ask around here, and I'm sure you can find a good Warrior who knows the ropes on creating one! Shouldn't take more than a few days, much less months...

Dennis Miedema · 01-11-2009, 08:55 AM

Radhika, thanks for clarifying...it was unclear before, but now?

@ Glen, great tips buddy! Thanks a bunch. Authorize has a setup fee of $300 but 1shoppingcart allows me to get auth for free if I use their Powerpay, so we'll see.

What I heard about 2checkout is that although they're great, you somehow are dependent on them for processing..unlike with Auth. I don't know all the technical lingo of why this is so, but ahh well.

I'll try and see what I can do: a business account, a businessplan..because sooner or later I'll need those

thanks again Glen.

TLTheLiberator · 01-11-2009, 09:03 AM

Can't pp and 2checkout process recurring payments?

If you're making that much money so that you'll save a few percentage points adding up to significant savings on every transaction with your own credit card processing vs. using paypal or 2 checkout - more power to you.

Most people don't and won't ever need to get a real merchant account but if your sales are like that then congrats are in order.

TL

Dennis Miedema · 01-11-2009, 09:48 AM

You're confusing me...

So let me get this straight...if I use authorize.net for my shopping cart I will be able to:

- Process recurring payments
- Collect the payments a.s.a.p. and not wait for days or weeks
- Skip the whole "let's go to the bank" thing, because the payments are deposited in an account I specify
- And do all of that while I don't have a business in the US, but in Europe

Correct?

And from what I understand...I need to contact authorize, wait until they point out a reseller to me, and pay $300 setup cost..right?

I find it really hard to find a step-by-step, detailed explanation of what I need to do if I want to accept payments in installments (recurring) with my 1shoppingcart.com while I live in Europe. 1001 sites can get kinda confusing for this newbie haha!

SeanyG · 03-23-2009, 07:21 PM

Authorize.net is a payment gateway that takes the customer info from the shopping cart (the page on your website where they put in their information). The Payment Gateway takes this information, verifies it and then deposits it into your merchant account (bank account).

So it goes:

1) Customer enters info to purchase
2) Info is taken by payment gateway, is verified
3) Once verified, payment is deposited into your bank account (also called a merchant account).

01-10-2009, 06:20 PM	#1
Dennis Miedema Marketing Ninja Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 82 Thanks: 8 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Merchant account newbie, lol First of all: I only recently joined warriorforum.com and learned TONS of stuff on here way faster than I could ahve all by myself...and not only that, I also got myself a top notch virtual assistant to help me grow my business, she's also a warrior So much respect to these forums for that. Anyways...the distribution and payment gateway part of the business story is kinda foggy for me: I'm a complete newbie in that area, lol. So I just set up a shopping cart with 1shoppingcart.com and now a question pops up...but first: here's my info... - I currently have Paypal selected as the single way of accepting payments (but it's Paypal express checkout that allows your customers to pay with PP directly in your cart...PLUS I accept paypal e-checks) - I want to get my hands on a merchant account, as in...I want a payment gateway that can process credit cards payments AND recurring payments Problem 1 I live in the Netherlands, that's Europe guys and girls. And it's not really clear to me but...do I absolutely, 100% sure need a business account with some bank before I can get a merchant account that processes my stuff? Call me the newbie here, but I think what that would mean is that I need to write an entire business plan to get a business account with the bank..which will take me months, so I'll need to postpone business. Correct? Problem 2 I've already sent an email to Authorize.net just now, but...there are SO MANY merchant account providers out there! 2checkout, authorize, and others...but which one do you prefer (or do you use multiple?). I prefer getting an account up and running a.s.a.p. so what do you recommend, if that's possible at all? Wow...I must say: I'm having some trouble with the whole USA vs. Europe dilemma, because everything is different here and there's not much info on how it SHOULD be done in Europe. Any advice is much appreciated. Kindest regards, Dennis

01-10-2009, 07:57 PM	#2
radhika Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Jamaica. Posts: 2,405 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 71 Thanked 135 Times in 109 Posts	Re: Merchant account newbie, lol To charge your buyer creditcards, you need - * Payment gateways (like authorize.net, linkpoint.com etc) YOU DON'T NEED PAYPAL OR 2CHECKOUT etc., IF YOU HAVE your own payment gateway. Payment gateway is DIFFERENT from Payment processor. * Bank account * Integration into your web site cart system. If buyer buys from you, your payment gateway charges the card and you can transfer amount to your bank account. No need for paypal or 2checkout.com with your own payment gateways. .
	* Follow up Autoresponder PRO - FREE Shopping cart, FREE Digital download protection and FREE Membership area protection!! * TRACKtheCLICK - CLICK & LINK Tracking, CAMPAIGN Tracking, ROI Tracking Script!

01-10-2009, 10:39 PM	#3
forous Autopilot Cash Machine War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: , , USA. Posts: 371 Thanks: 0 Thanked 25 Times in 22 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Merchant account newbie, lol Try to 2checkout they are pretty fast and they deal with internationals. Paypal is a little funny when it comes dealing with internationals.
	Autopilot Profit Methods Any Newbie Can Follow http://www.kwameoforiatta.com - Your Autopilot Cash Machine http://www.internetbasedbusinesses.biz - Internet Based Businesses

01-10-2009, 10:45 PM	#4
Glenn Grundberg And The Winner Is... War Room Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Libertyville, IL, USA. Posts: 790 Thanks: 26 Thanked 78 Times in 40 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Merchant account newbie, lol Personally in your situation I'd stick with Authorize.net You won't need a business account (although that's an excellent idea that you should work on) and you can get up and running fast. Their fees are pretty good, too, and you avoid all the hassles with PayPal and even 2Checkout that come with cross-border business. I've been really pleased with my experiences with Auth.net. Hope that helps! Gman PS - You should get with a freelancer for your business plan...just ask around here, and I'm sure you can find a good Warrior who knows the ropes on creating one! Shouldn't take more than a few days, much less months...
	Smoking Hot, Private Placement, 2-Tier JV Opportunities... Hand-Holding Support... And Even Exclusive Swipe Copy Just For YOU... JV With Gman

01-11-2009, 08:55 AM	#5
Dennis Miedema Marketing Ninja Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 82 Thanks: 8 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Merchant account newbie, lol Radhika, thanks for clarifying...it was unclear before, but now? @ Glen, great tips buddy! Thanks a bunch. Authorize has a setup fee of $300 but 1shoppingcart allows me to get auth for free if I use their Powerpay, so we'll see. What I heard about 2checkout is that although they're great, you somehow are dependent on them for processing..unlike with Auth. I don't know all the technical lingo of why this is so, but ahh well. I'll try and see what I can do: a business account, a businessplan..because sooner or later I'll need those thanks again Glen.

01-11-2009, 09:03 AM	#6
TLTheLiberator Please get a net biz plan War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: , , USA. Posts: 1,428 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 1,105 Thanked 559 Times in 427 Posts	Re: Merchant account newbie, lol Can't pp and 2checkout process recurring payments? If you're making that much money so that you'll save a few percentage points adding up to significant savings on every transaction with your own credit card processing vs. using paypal or 2 checkout - more power to you. Most people don't and won't ever need to get a real merchant account but if your sales are like that then congrats are in order. TL

01-11-2009, 09:48 AM	#7
Dennis Miedema Marketing Ninja Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 82 Thanks: 8 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts	Re: Merchant account newbie, lol You're confusing me... So let me get this straight...if I use authorize.net for my shopping cart I will be able to: - Process recurring payments - Collect the payments a.s.a.p. and not wait for days or weeks - Skip the whole "let's go to the bank" thing, because the payments are deposited in an account I specify - And do all of that while I don't have a business in the US, but in Europe Correct? And from what I understand...I need to contact authorize, wait until they point out a reseller to me, and pay $300 setup cost..right? I find it really hard to find a step-by-step, detailed explanation of what I need to do if I want to accept payments in installments (recurring) with my 1shoppingcart.com while I live in Europe. 1001 sites can get kinda confusing for this newbie haha!

03-23-2009, 07:21 PM	#8
SeanyG Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 741 Thanks: 282 Thanked 43 Times in 25 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Merchant account newbie, lol Authorize.net is a payment gateway that takes the customer info from the shopping cart (the page on your website where they put in their information). The Payment Gateway takes this information, verifies it and then deposits it into your merchant account (bank account). So it goes: 1) Customer enters info to purchase 2) Info is taken by payment gateway, is verified 3) Once verified, payment is deposited into your bank account (also called a merchant account).