Accepting Credit/Debit Cards

chris f

chris f

Veteran
I had a talk with my banker the other day and she was giving me the run down on adding Credit/Debit card processing to my business and the pricing and process seemed pretty reasonable for the convenience.

I wanted to see if anyone on here does this with their clients. My thinking is that it might be easier to close larger contracts, stay firm on price, and not worry about clients not paying up if for example they can put it on their American Express and then work on their own payment plan on their end.

Also, are there any drawbacks that I might be overlooking here? (besides processing fees)
 
My experience has been great with CCs, it speeds up payments. Clients wont give you a check today, but will give you a credit card (you can then let them deal with CC interest if they cant pay). For new clients, I request that they give me 1/2 down to begin work, and 75% of the time this is how they do it (they're looking for airline miles and such).

I use Google Checkout to send emails that clients can pay directly from. They charge (I think) 2% + $0.20 per transaction, with no monthly fees. When I get a call from a CC processing company and I tell them I use Google, the conversation ends quickly. Google accepts payment then transfers the payment directly to your bank in 2 days.

I have a corporate client whos accounting dept can pay by check in 2 months, or she normally pays SAME DAY by credit card.

The only drag on using CCs in this manner is you dont get the full amount of a check (2% + 0.20 to Google). I would still rather have a check for $1000 from a good customer. But payment of $978.80 deposited directly to your account for a customer you've never worked with before- eliminates any fears of collections.
 
Hm, I've never heard of Google Checkout, sounds like a much better deal than my banker was offering. I'll have to check it out.
 
I've been using PayPal for years and it works well, especially for getting deposits. I pass on the 3% C.C. processing fee (4% overseas) to the client but always give them the option of paying by check (preferred). Never had anyone complain. Money is usually in my account within 2-3 days. If you're doing a lot of C.C. transactions, then it may be better to go with a terminal/bank and lower processing fee.
 
Yeah. I was going to suggest paypal as an option as it would be easy. You coud get some free online store software, and then use the paypal module (which would be good anyways, since your store will likely not have an ssl certificate unless you buy one). When they go there, it would give them an option (being non-paypal members, or not logging into their paypal account) to pay by credit/debit card. The money would, of course, go to your paypal account, and if you have that linked to your bank account, it takes 3 days to get the money from paypal your bank on average.

Worth looking into at least, as it would likely save you some hassle and money.

NOTE: I am not an expert on this, nor do I have much experience with accepting credit cards, via paypal... Just wanted to throw out an option for you to look into :)

Later,
Jason
 
I'll have to go back and look at Paypal. I was thinking the fees they charged were quite a bit more than other venues so I didn't even consider using them, but I like that people can still process their credit/debit card without having to set up an account. If I'm adding credit/debit acceptance as a convenience to the client, the last thing I want to do is inconvenience them with having to set up an account.
 
That's why I use Google Checkout. No need for a client to setup an account. And while most people have heard of Paypal (reffering to my clients) they feel more comfortable with Google since they use it to search the net. As mentioned, 2% +.20 (no monthly fees), is the lowest rates I've found anywhere.

Regardless, (which ever one you use) it should help you keep the money flowing, and keep you out of collection nightmares since they can pre-pay easier.
 
They can use Paypal without sign up. They would simply use a credit card. That's the general idea. You can click on any option for the downloads. Also my paypal is linked via Tradebit which makes it that much more easier. So as soon as they click it's sets up for the transaction. The DVDs should go directly to the Createspace shopping cart. I should link to Amazon but I only do that for the books. Do a google "TimeCode Mechanics" and the site will show up. You can check the set up from there.

-Nate
 
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