| Payment Merchant |
From PaymentMerchant.com
Payment Merchant Guide
Contents |
Also Known As:
Payment Merchants go by many names, including Transaction Providers, Payment Providers, Merchant Providers, Merchant Services, eCommerce Solutions, etc.
Common Features Of Payment Merchants
While most Payment Merchants offer slightly different packages, technogies, and prices, they all have common themes. Here is a list of features to consider / look for in a Payment Merchant:
- User Agreement - this is the fine print, or contract that you are required to agree to to create an account for a particular Payment Merchant. It is very important, and most if not all of the following features are listed within the User Agreement.
- Sign-Up Cost - Some Payment Merchants charge application or sign-up fees for joining their service. This is often non-refundable, so be sure it is a service you will stick with if they require a sign-up fee.
- Fees - fees are what the Payment Merchant will charge its individual clients for a wide variety of services. Payment Merchants usually charge fees for sign-up, monthly account maintenance fees, transaction fees, payout fees, Chargeback fees and sometimes fees for additional services.
- Holdback / Reserve - Many Payment Merchants will hold back in reserve a certain percentage of your transactions for a specific period of time (usually 6 months). This holdback / reserve is a type of insurance for the Payment Merchant in case of charge-backs. The percentage held back and the period held back varies from Payment Merchant to Payment Merchant.
- Payments Possible - Different Payment Merchants have different deals with different credit card companies and banks. As such they offer different payments possible using their service. Most Payment Merchants at least allow payments via Visa and Mastercard, but some might also offer American Express while others offer Debit Card payments, etc. Be sure the Payment Merchant you are considering offers all the payment types you are interested in, or consider offering multiple Payment Merchants options for your customers upon checkout.
- Payment Schedual - or When you Get paid - Always important, check out exactly how often and by what method the Payment Merchant will release your account earnings to your bank account. Some Payment Merchants offer unlimited withdrawal requests, while others will only pay out once a month, while others will charge $50 per withdrawal, etc. Consider how soon you will get paid for each sale when considering what Payment Merchant to use.
- Country - Different countries have different financial laws, currencies, and other differences. Payment Merchants vary from country to country and region to region, while very few offer unlimited international access. Check out which currencies, local banks, and countries a given Payment Merchant is willing / able to deal with.
- Product Database Requirements - Some Payment Merchants are legally setup as 'resellers' of their clients products. In those cases, clients are often required to enter full details of products they are selling into the Payment Merchants own Database. This is not a problem for people selling only a few different, non-changing items. However, for sellers with shops selling thousands of items, and or shops selling items whose titles, prices or descriptions might change from time to time, maintaining a complete and up-to-date copy of all their products on the Payment Merchants product database can be a pain in the butt, to say the least. Also, in some such cases, the Payment Merchant will limit the number of products that can be loaded into a product database.
- Customer / Client Support - From time to time issues of one sort or another will arise using any Payment Merchant. When that happans, contacting the Payment Merchant's support staff suddenly becomes an important consideration. Check to make sure there are numerous methods to contact your Payment Merchant's support staff, such as online live chat, 24/7 phone numbers, email addresses, instant messenger address, physical company addresses etc.
- Affiliate Program - Many Payment Merchants offer affiliate programs or bonus offers to clients who help sign up new clients for the Payment Merchant. While often not an important consideration for the average seller, some Payment Merchants offer reasonable sign-up bonuses for new users, which may help offset fees charged by the Payment Merchant.
Common Problems With Payment Merchants
Many people have many complaints with Payment Merchants. Every major Payment Merchant has a forum or website dedicated to bashing it, somewhere. Below is a list of common sources of complaints from people using Payment Merchants:
- Changing User Agreements - Many Payment Merchants say they reserve the right to change the User Agreement at any time. Legal or not, changing of User Agreements is often the method of conflict (and conflict resolution) between clients and the Payment Merchants. Most of the problems below are listed in the User Agreement, and reflect a specific type of change in the User Agreement.
- Increase In Fees - Payment Merchants can and will change their fees, including per transaction fees, from time to time. A change in fee can drastically affect a clients bottom line, and in most cases clients have no options in face of a fee increase except to stop using a particular service.
- Chargebacks - Credit card companies allow their card holders to demand their money back for almost any online transaction. When they do, the credit card companies demand the money back from the Payment Merchant involved in the charged-back transaction. For full details, check out our Chargebacks Guide.
Payment Merchant Directory
Click on the link below to view all companies and services listed in the Payment Merchant Directory:
Payment Merchant Directory
All Articles
- What Is A Payment Merchant - Payment Merchant basics - including what they are, how they work, common features and more. If you deal with a Payment Merchant, you should read this article! - View
- Chargebacks - Chargeback basics - this article explains everything you need to know about chargebacks, including what they are, who pays, and tips to help avoid them. - Chargebacks View
