Recommend credit-card processor?

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Hi All,

I hope this is the right forum to post this as it’s not strictly a Windows only query.

I run a small premium IT Support business / service. I used to work as a system administrator for a large accounting firm for over 17 years and recently got made redundant late last year, so I started my own business and all my clients from the Accounting firm (about 200 or so) came with me as part of the package.

My problem is when clients want to pay via credit card.

I’ve had a business PayPal account for quite some time that can do this for me, however it requires the client to also have a PayPal account in order to transfer money to me for my Tax Invoices. This is especially difficult for new clients as I have a policy of receiving at least part payment first before I undertake any works and establish a working relationship with the individual or business.

I’m finding that many people do not like PayPal and do not want to open a PayPal account. Indeed, many haven’t even heard of PayPal. I’ve checked with my bank (CBA) to establish merchant facilities but for the amount of work that would be paid via credit card, it’s financially nonviable and far too expensive.

So I need a credit card processor that will allow clients to make payments online that I can verify as successful immediately upon them making the payment and also if at all possible, for clients to be able to provide their credit card details to me over the phone so that I can do the online transaction for them if that’s their preference.

Can anyone recommend such a service I can utilize? I realize nothing is free and I’m happy to pay a reasonable amount for membership to such a service – it just has to be reliable.

Any suggestions / hints as to where to look would be gratefully accepted.

Many thanks..

Andy

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Paypal will accept CC payments.
SagePay are good – don’t know if they work for an Oz business.
Basically you need to use a 3rd party service – non bank.

cheers, Paul

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You might also ask around at some other banks, etc., to find out their fee structure.

Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

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Many of my regular customers pay me via Internet Banking. I email them an invoice which has the BSB & account details; they go into their Internet Banking and transfer the funds to my bank account.

If the customer transfers the funds via “direct transfer” the transaction is usually completed within an hour-or-two, depending on which bank the customer is with (Westpac in particular seems to take up to two days to process such transfers).

If the customer transfers the funds via BPay it takes at least two days, sometimes three, for the credit to appear in my online banking.

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Hi Coochin,

Many of my regular customers pay me via Internet Banking. I email them an invoice which has the BSB & account details; they go into their Internet Banking and transfer the funds to my bank account.

If the customer transfers the funds via “direct transfer” the transaction is usually completed within an hour-or-two, depending on which bank the customer is with (Westpac in particular seems to take up to two days to process such transfers).

If the customer transfers the funds via BPay it takes at least two days, sometimes three, for the credit to appear in my online banking.

Many of my clients do exactly that – pay via bank transfer which is fine for those that I’ve established a great working relationship with and have proven that they are good payers. The problem with this however is that when they also bank with the Commonwealth Bank, the transfer is instant, however any other financial institution takes up to 48 hours to show up in my account, which is less than ideal for new clients that I have no history with.

Surely there must be a credit card processor in Australia that will suit my needs? I’ve google a few but I’m not sure if they’re any good or not so was hoping for some recommendations based on personal experience of you folks.

Anyone else have any ideas?

Many thanks..

Andy

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Sadly, you’re at the mercy of the banks. I think you’ll find that intra-bank transfers typically occur on the same day but inter-bank transfers typically take two working days (sometimes more). In the interim, neither the payee nor the payer has access to the funds (on which the banks make 1-2 days interest). If you want to offer credit card facilities, you’ll have to shop around.

Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

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My son is an Outfitter in Montana and uses a product called Square.
https://squareup.com/

Before you wonder "Am I doing things right," ask "Am I doing the right things?"

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Berton
I was just about to reply and post:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square,_Inc. when I read the post before yours . The OP needs Austrailian service and that is not listed in the Square website. New Zealand is however so maybe soon!
It seems like a great way for the little guy to do CC acceptance. I an not a user so user beware!

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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I’ve been using the Square for about 3 years (USA). It accepts Visa, MC, Discover, Amer. Express, etc. Their fee is 2.5% which is MUCH less than most merchant fees via a bank. It has a ‘reader” chip that plugs into my iPhone’s headphone spot (or tablet). It will work via Service provider or WiFi if available. All data is encrypted. You can also phone in the credit card number. They deposit the transaction(s) at the end of the day directly into my bank account.

Never have had a problem, and have saved much $$ compared to my old bank merchant account. It is great for the small business owner.

Jim

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Hi akjudge (aka Jim)

Thank you very much for the information. I’ll definitely look into square and ask them a few questions. When you say you can phone in a credit card number, is this to an Australian line or do you have to phone USA? If you could please clarify that it would be much appreciated.

Many thanks..

Andrew

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Andrew,

I am not sure how it would work in Australia, BUT IT APPEARS THAT SQUARE IS AVAILABLE in Australia. Here is a link for Square’s Australia Help Center:

https://squareup.com/help/au/en

You should be able to find answers to most of your questions there. Besides offering credit card services, their services include downloadable records of sales (in Excel format), sales taxes collected, etc. at no additional charge. Very handy if you are not a born accountant.

Hopefully this will get you started. If you have any other questions, PM me.

Jim

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I’ve been using the Square for about 3 years (USA). It accepts Visa, MC, Discover, Amer. Express, etc. Their fee is 2.5% which is MUCH less than most merchant fees via a bank. It has a ‘reader” chip that plugs into my iPhone’s headphone spot (or tablet). It will work via Service provider or WiFi if available. All data is encrypted. You can also phone in the credit card number. They deposit the transaction(s) at the end of the day directly into my bank account.

Never have had a problem, and have saved much $$ compared to my old bank merchant account. It is great for the small business owner.

Jim

Just chiming in to say I have used Square for years too (also USA). I vend at large Quilt Shows and those venues want to charge you $100 or more for 3 days of wi-fi access plus $100+ for electricity for your cash register. With Square, I use it on an iPad (large enough so the older ladies who make purchases can see what is going on) and it runs on the cellular service in the area. When it gets really busy, I can pull out my phone and use it as a second “register”. I can buy the little (non-chip) card reader for $10 at Target and other stores so we have several in the booth at all times. We have a battery backup unit that recharges phones and the iPad if it runs low during the day so I can eliminate those excessive venue charges.

I can use Square to take credit cards, but also to manage cash payments. That way my daily totals are all together in one place. At the end of the day, they send me a total count including all the payments I have put into the Register program in Square. I do have a PayPal card reader but I’ve never used it because the fees are higher.

The great part about Square is that there are no monthly fees (like the banks want to charge you). Since we do about 6 shows a year, I am really only paying when I actually use the service. I only pay per transaction. Occasionally someone’s credit card won’t swipe through the reader, but you can type the credit card number in directly. There is a tiny percentage more in the fee charged for that so we have gotten REALLY good at swiping! LOL

Square is terrific alternative when you don’t need daily service like a brick and mortar store would.

Best wishes,
GiGi

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I use Wave for creating invoices (they have a great mobile app for iOS and Android) and they include a free Stripe account for credit card processing. It might be worth a look: https://www.waveapps.com

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As someone who has been in the merchant credit card processing business since 1987, I can add a bit of professional advice to the discussion.
Square and Paypal are very useful for small amounts of monthly volumes and transactions. Both can be problematic when you process monthly
amounts over $5K and larger transactions over $100. Paypal can freeze your deposits without notice and working with them can be difficult. Square
is not a processor per se, but a middleman, transactions are not insured, and good luck if you need to talk to a human for problem solving.
Your best bet is to look for a local credit card processing company who has a professional agent who has been in the industry more than five years. In the U.S.,
your swiped rates are in the 1.5% to 2% range, add 1.5% for non swiped transactions. For non U.S. banks, you are subject to the local bank rates which
typically can be in the range of 4-6% if available. In the U.S., equipment for an new client can be provided free. Unless you have a business with multiple
checkout counters, it is rarely ever necessary to lease your equipment.

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As someone who has been in the merchant credit card processing business since 1987, I can add a bit of professional advice to the discussion.
Square and Paypal are very useful for small amounts of monthly volumes and transactions. Both can be problematic when you process monthly
amounts over $5K and larger transactions over $100. Paypal can freeze your deposits without notice and working with them can be difficult. Square
is not a processor per se, but a middleman, transactions are not insured, and good luck if you need to talk to a human for problem solving.
Your best bet is to look for a local credit card processing company who has a professional agent who has been in the industry more than five years. In the U.S.,
your swiped rates are in the 1.5% to 2% range, add 1.5% for non swiped transactions. For non U.S. banks, you are subject to the local bank rates which
typically can be in the range of 4-6% if available. In the U.S., equipment for an new client can be provided free. Unless you have a business with multiple
checkout counters, it is rarely ever necessary to lease your equipment.

SQUARE does not work on a Windows tablet or phone.

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“Your best bet is to look for a local credit card processing company who has a professional agent who has been in the industry more than five years.”

rel 323, would my credit union be able to help me find a local processing company which has a professional agent who has been in the industry more than five years?

My customers have been in the US and Canada. So far, I’ve been able to request payment in US funds by check drawn on a US bank. (This works because my contract states I retain all rights until my client pays me in full.)

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I’ve been using the Square for about 3 years (USA). It accepts Visa, MC, Discover, Amer. Express, etc. Their fee is 2.5% which is MUCH less than most merchant fees via a bank. It has a ‘reader” chip that plugs into my iPhone’s headphone spot (or tablet). It will work via Service provider or WiFi if available. All data is encrypted. You can also phone in the credit card number. They deposit the transaction(s) at the end of the day directly into my bank account.

Never have had a problem, and have saved much $$ compared to my old bank merchant account. It is great for the small business owner.

Jim

I also have a small IT consulting and repair business, and ran for almost 5 years without the need to take a credit card, mostly because I wasn’t willing to pay the per-charge and then the monthly maintenance fees associated with processing them.

Square fixed that. I’m willing to take a 2.5% hit on my business income on a transaction, although I am considering putting the fee back on the client for the priv to use a card as a payment device. Most will then pay with a check, saving me (and them) the fee.

IF you manually enter the card number, Square charges you a slightly higher rate to process. Not sure why.

Square does not charge a monthly fee – only per-charge transaction fees.

BTW, Ive only used Square one time and that’s been in 5 months – no fees, no nagging to use it, etc. So it silently waits until I need it and then it will work. And I got the payment in my bank account in 2 days.

One thing to be aware of: Cards with Chips require a special reader from Square and its not free, I think I remember the least expensive adapter is around $30 USD, and they do also offer a chip reader with NFC for $50. The old mag stripe reader without chip reader is still free, but I keep hearing noise that there will be surcharges by the CC industry if a card is presented and the stripe is used without trying the chip first (I guess that they can tell if chip was tried and then the card was swiped). So I spent the $30 and got the least expensive one (another BTW – you have to charge a battery in the new Square chip readers using USB, the old stripe reader didn’t require special power connections)

I would strongly recommend Square – especially for a small business or hobbyist.

Good Luck!

Will G aka wmgoat

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Try Bendigo Bank and there is a stand alone service based in Qld I think. Also MYOB offers a payment processing service if you use their software (I think). Right down to a pay now button on the Tax Invoices! [AccountRightLive?] Check them out (http://myob.com.au/products/small-business/mobile-solutions/myob-paydirect-1424567012785)

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Hi, I’m not sure if these credit card payers work in Australia but they may be what you’re looking for, and many even come with card machines if you have the client with you.
iZettle
Payleven
SumUp.co.uk
Worldpayzinc.com
Intuit.co.uk

Rates seem to be typically 2-3% of the transaction

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My problem is when clients want to pay via credit card.

I’ve had a business PayPal account for quite some time that can do this for me, however it requires the client to also have a PayPal account in order to transfer money to me for my Tax Invoices. This is especially difficult for new clients as I have a policy of receiving at least part payment first before I undertake any works and establish a working relationship with the individual or business.

I’m finding that many people do not like PayPal and do not want to open a PayPal account.

Andy

Yes, there are people who just do not like PayPal. But, people do not need to open an account to pay with PayPal.
I give my clients the following message and it seems to help:

[*]If you do not have a PayPal account and do not want one, click ‘Don’t Have a PayPal Account?’ to use your credit/debit card without a PayPal account (You do not need to open a PayPal account to pay by credit/debit card ).

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We use Cayan. https://cayan.com/payment-processing Payment processing is what they do. Competitive CC rates. We’re in the USA. Not sure about down under. I would assume that there are focused Payment processing companies available there too.

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I studied what is called Merchant Services for a year and a half to cut through all the BS and lies, and there are tons in this business.

First it is important to understand the terms even though they are commonly misused in the MS industry. There are many “retail” front ends that will tell you they are the processor, they are not. There are only a few in the US.

The industry is split in two on purpose. The first layer is called the gateway and the second is called the processor.

The gateway is responsible for the retail sale transaction authorization and security. The gateway hands off the transaction to the processor and the processor then handles the transaction on the private secure network of the all the banks. Only processors can operate on this network and that is why there are only a few like Chase Paymentech, First Data owned by Wells Fargo, Sage, and as I recall, Hyperion. It has been a while since I researched them.

Now even if you are talking directly to them and they offer a gateway as well as processing you will find that even their gateway operation is separate from their processing operation.

PayPal does have a full on Merchant Services operation in addition to your ability to take credit cards through your PayPal account. If your monthly gross is less than $1200 then this is the best way to go and I believe they have a QB plugin as well as point of sale devices to swipe cards. Now I have not checked on this in several years, so you will need to recalculate that monthly based on transaction fees and monthly fees. The point is if your transactions gross is small, then go PayPal Merchant Services, 402-935-2032 direct to Keely Ernst, keeping in mind it is different from being able to accept a credit card through your premier PayPal account. If your gross is higher, then you want to go with a processor AND a gateway, AND they don’t have to be the same overall company.

If you are doing your accounting in QB, then you do want to use a gateway that provides a QB plugin like Charge Anywhere. I recommend Charge Anywhere. 800-404-2014 However, any good gateway will work. Charge Anywhere will tell you who are all of the major processors are that they work with so you can do your own research.

I recommend Chase Paymentech, 214-849-3663 direct to Munira, but it can be a little clunky getting set up, so pay attention, ask a lot of questions, and make sure they know what your largest and smallest transactions will be as well as if there are any international transactions. They have a really tough security department, which is a good thing, unless you fail to give them this info and wonder why your account is shut down. 

If anyone tells you they are the processor or you have to pay yearly or quarterly “security checkup” fees, you are talking to liars – run screaming in the other direction. Stay away from banks and First Data owned by Wells Fargo.

Here is the sequence: you swipe a credit/debit card through a point of sale machine to do the transaction, the gateway gets an authorization via the processor from the cards bank, at the end of the day the gateway sends the “batch” of processes to the processor – a trick here, to speed things up have the gateway company “close” your day a couple of hours earlier than midnight on the US east coast – The processor then goes onto the secure network to do the exchanges between the banks – the card issuing bank is sending money and your bank is receiving money directly into your account, which means you can have your bank account anywhere.

That said, it has been a few years since I researched all this and the whole process could go faster now, and transactions could be done individually or in daily batches, so ask questions.

Fees: there is a transaction fee from the gateway as well as a monthly fee to have the account. Similar for the processor. If anyone wants to put more fees on you, run screaming in the other direction. If anyone says we can’t ping your IP, switch companies.

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I’m afraid I can’t help on the Australia end but for those in the US, Canada, or the UK a viable option is USBSwiper (usbswiper.com — surpriise, surprise!). My setup with them is a little clunky but I’m going to be looking at upgraded equipment sometime in the near future. Good alternative for the three of us on the planet that don’t have smartphones, and they advertise being cheaper than Square (I haven’t compared prices myself, so can’t comment on the veracity of that claim).

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:DThanks to everyone for a most informative discussion.

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