Question about accepting credit card payments online

**Lubaolong** · 02-14-2008, 01:38 AM

I have a few questions for people that might know about this better. I have it setup to accept credit cards online, but I'm thinking of switching to maybe Paypal or Google checkout. Is there any reason not to? If I switched, it looks like customers could pay directly from the site using their credit card or paypal/google account.

Benefits:
Efficient invoicing
No merchant account fees
No need for a Payment Gateway
Save money on hosting

Drawbacks:
????

Btw, Google doesn't charge any transaction processing fees when you use AdWords.

Anyone have any ideas? Am I missing something?

DanKO · 02-14-2008, 01:42 AM

All i know is Paypal jacks 20$ for every $400 I bring in.

Bas Rutten Gear · 02-14-2008, 08:04 AM

When you say "it" what is "it" you have setup?

Paypal is secure but not good if you have a ton of products IMO. It does however show that your cc processing is secure. If you are doing a large number of transactions I would not go with them as you will end up paying more in the long run.

WUchi · 02-14-2008, 09:36 AM

epassporte is a terrible company, but it's a necessary evil if you wanna play online poker now that neteller is gone.

gasguzzler · 02-14-2008, 10:05 AM

When I had my company, I accepted credit cards online and with Paypal. I had my website set up so that the cards could be processed as well as Paypal payments through the website, and we did 95% of sales via the online POS (Point Of Sale - but the service definitely was a piece of $hit). So, I'd say the pros of having the ability to accept credit card payments is that you'll be able to serve a larger market share then if you only accepted Paypal. Many people don't use paypal, but most have a major credit card. The downside of accepting credit cards online: liability. By accepting credit cards online, without having the card in hand and running it through a card reader, you open yourself and your company up to fraud, theft, and other issues that you won't have via Paypal. If you accept credit cards online, you take full responsibility that the person purchasing the goods from your website is the actual owner of the card. Also, even if they are the owner of the card, its very easy for them to dispute the charges and win, even if goods were shipped or services rendered. I accepted credit cards online for 3-4 years, and it was inevitable, every 3-4 months, someone would do a chargeback saying they never received their items, when I had shipping confirmation they had received them. Unfortunately, the way the CC companies have the rules set up, it errs in favor of the purchaser almost every time.

In a nutshell, all of the liability is on you. If someone decides to do a chargeback and they paid online and you don't have a real signature, its coming out of your bottom line. If someone decides to steal a CC and purchase goods or services through your website and you process the card, you are liable for the refund to the real owner of the card.

On the other hand, the fact that you can accept credit cards lends your company just a little more credibility then if you only accepted Paypal. What I would do though is offer discounts to those willing to Pay with cash or via Paypal, as opposed to CC, due to the saved money and hassle.

**Lubaolong** · 02-14-2008, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bas Rutten Gear

When you say "it" what is "it" you have setup?

Paypal is secure but not good if you have a ton of products IMO. It does however show that your cc processing is secure. If you are doing a large number of transactions I would not go with them as you will end up paying more in the long run.

I have a translation business. I don't have any products, just service.

I have no idea how many transactions I will be doing in the future. I am about to advertise on google adwords, so I expect more smaller orders each day. Minimum charge is $20, and most of the work would probably fall within the $50-250 range I would guess. Larger orders I would request a check for.

Soulbane · 02-14-2008, 02:26 PM

Well it depends, but despite Paypal's merchant fees, I've always been satisfied with their security and fraud protection.

**Lubaolong** · 02-14-2008, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gasguzzler

...

It's not whether or not to accept credit cards. It's whether to switch to google account from my current setup of credit card processing/merchant account.

Bas Rutten Gear · 02-14-2008, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lubaolong

I have a translation business. I don't have any products, just service.

I have no idea how many transactions I will be doing in the future. I am about to advertise on google adwords, so I expect more smaller orders each day. Minimum charge is $20, and most of the work would probably fall within the $50-250 range I would guess. Larger orders I would request a check for.

For what you are saying, with a Paypal account you could charge people stuff and swipe their credit card when you are ready.

It should work for you for now.

If you start doing hundreds of orders a month (which is possible with Google Adwords), then I would switch to something larger.

**Lubaolong** · 02-14-2008, 05:35 PM

Of course I know it will work. I'm asking if there are any drawbacks that I'm overlooking. I have a payment gateway and am paying higher hosting fees now. I can eliminate that if I switch to google checkout. My question was is this worth switching or are there any other costs or benefits of a merchant account setup that I'm overlooking.