I have been in the ecommerce business for 21 years. I've switched merchant accounts quite a few times for one reason or another. The process was always quite simple, pick a new processor, sign up and integrate.

A few weeks ago I decided to look for a new processor because the one I'm using has changed their checkout process and their prices are not the best.

What has happened to payment processors in the past 3 years? I can't seem to get one.

I applied with 2CO but they declined me because my products do not fit into their approved product list (I sell industrial supplies). I applied with EVO (suggested by Auth.net) but they declined me because I didn't have enough debt on my credit report. They wanted me to be much further in debt to show that I am able to pay large bills (seems backwards to me).

My bank suggested a company (Heartland) but the person I was speaking to for several weeks now just completely disappeared.

I have PayPal as an alternate. However I want something that will work with Auth.net so the checkout process will be seemless.

Each time I apply with a processor, my credit report is pulled and my score drops about 4-8 points. Before I continue down the line of payment processors, I wanted to inquire here for suggestions. Has anyone else run into this problem lately? If so, who did you end up signing with? Any suggestions on an easy to get, easy to use processor?

Have you considered adding paypal payments pro (paypal direct) so customers can checkout on your site.
We have used it for years with much success.
We also have Paypal standard for those wanting it.

Thanks,
David

Hi Tim

I look after my brothers website and he uses Stripe; it's been faultless. He also has PayPal but the vast majority of clients pay with Stripe. Later this year he will be adding Square.

Other sites I look after use a mix of PayPal, WorldPay, & Sage.

I use Square for my own site's and like their virtual terminal and I've never had an issue. I don't like PayPal and neither do I trust them and funnily enough none of my clients have ever asked to pay via PayPal, which is fine by me. My bank account isn't a business account as I'm a sole trader selling my time & service of web hosting & web design. I'm UK based and as a sole trader I am not legally required to hold a business account, but the bank account associated with Square is solely used for work.

Steve
Manchester England

Remember - Any edits to the ectcart.css file will be overwritten by updater's. ALL edits to ectcart.css rules should be placed in your style.css file

Oddly enough, Stripe is the processor I'm thinking about getting rid of. They are very easy to work with and have been very good to me over the past several years. The support is great and the reps seem nice enough. However, when adding up all the charges it seems to be about 5%+ (to me anyway). They just recently demanded that I add the new Radar security system. That is an additional monthly charge now. They used to show a pop-up screen where customers could enter their payment info. Now customers are taken off my website and onto Stripe.com to complete the purchase.

After my experience with EVO and Heartland I am hesitant to apply with Worldpay or Sage. I feel like I might run into the same problem. I don't sell normal every day products, which some processors consider high risk. I have good credit but these big processors want you to be deep in debt in order to qualify for an account.

dbdave, does the PayPal Payments Pro require a new account, or can I just switch over from Standard which I am using now?

You can just add services to your existing account. I recommend keep the Paypal standard, and add the Paypal direct.
You might like having all of your money flow into one account.
The Paypal debit card is also a must have and will give you cash back rewards and instant access to your paypal balance.

ASP - https://www.ecommercetemplates.com/help/ecommplus/paypal-pro.asp

PHP - https://www.ecommercetemplates.com/phphelp/ecommplus/paypal-pro.asp

Dang, I sound like a commercial..

David

How do you get to 5% with Stripe? I haven't come across anything other than 2.9% + 30c with them, no monthly and Radar is free. Their checkout flow varies according to which API you use, it may be that the ECT integration could be updated to be a bit more sophisticated than going off-site to complete a purchase. Square charge the same and there's no credit check. Both are very good on service with transparent policies, straightforward pricing.

My honest appraisal on the others: PayPal Pro/Direct is good, but it is a separate application (easy) and involves a $30 monthly fee last time I looked. It's seamless in the cart like authorize.net and I'd definitely place them next in line. As for the rest, 2CO are terrible to deal with, expensive and quirky, really for people in third world countries that can't get anything else. EVO will let you bleed out with a myriad of opaque fees that will quickly turn a 2% rate into 5%. SagePay are OK but break a lot of stuff because they keep changing things, but anyway they are UK only as far as I know. Worldpay is ugly and dysfunctional, not to mention dishonest with fees and also takes you off-site to pay. If you want to use authorize.net (who are excellent) then you will need to add a merchant account from somewhere else, but it's a scummy industry and they are pretty much all bandits. Good luck.


Peter


Professional ecommerce web hosting services
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There is the basic Radar and then there is the "Radar for Fraud Teams". The Radar for Fraud Teams is an extra small cost per transaction. I had some purchases in October of last year from someone using stolen credit cards. The basic Radar didn't detect the fraudulent charges so they "strongly suggested" that I purchase the Radar for Fraud Teams package. It really isn't that much extra but it adds up when compared to other processors.

One of the processors that I applied with was charging 0.77% per transaction. Nonetheless....I'm shopping around. Square doesn't sound bad, I might check them out. I was thinking about FirstData but they don't use Aut.net anymore as far as I can tell.

dbdave - Just to make sure I'm doing this right, the options for PayPal in admin is PP Direct Payments, PP Payflow Pro and PP Payments Advanced. The ECT instructions in the link are for PP Payments Pro. Going through the instructions, it appears that the option I want is PayPal Direct Payments.? I say that because the instructions don't seem to line up with the other options. Do I have that right? (haven't tested it yet)

Hi, yes for the longest time I have never understood (why) the name difference, but Paypal Direct = Paypal payments pro

David