Online Payment Services Review - Guide to Keeping your Money

[Karen]

There are a lot of methods to make money. I’m just getting into the
internet marketing scene, but I want to try to help some of you as
best as possible given my limited expertise. Obviously I do not have
some method to win you all thousands of dollars, but perhaps I can
help you all better understand payments so that you can keep more of
your money.

Options to Receive Money

- PayPal
- Western Union
- Dwolla
- Stripe
- Google Checkout
- Amazon Payments
- Braintree
- Money Bookers (best in UK)
- Paymate (best in NZ and Australia)

PayPal

Obviously PayPal is the most prevalent payment method in the world
today. It is easy and it is typically quite safe and secure. It is
also kind of like Facebook – even if you don’t like it you are kind of
forced to use it anyway.

If you are a PayPal merchant you can expect to pay some hefty charges
for transactions.

Standard Merchant Services:

a) Accept credit cards on website
b) Add PayPal as a payment option (express checkout)
c) Email invoices for online payment
d) Sell on eBay

$0 to $3000 = 2.9% + $0.30
$3000 to $10,000 = 2.5% + $0.30
$10,000 + = 2.2% + $0.30
$100,000+ = Call 1-888-818-3928

If you are selling on PayPal with volume, take advantage of these
reductions. If you are receiving micropayments from many CPA
networks / affiliate groups take advantage of the micropayment
discount as well:

Quote:
“If your transactions typically average less than $10, you could save
money with our ‘5% plus 5 cents’ rate.”
– Application required.

Additional fees associated with PayPal merchant accounts:

International sales: 1.0% cross-border fee and/or 2.5% currency
conversion fee (View Fee Calculator)

Western Union

Costs for Western Union vary depending on the location (domestic
U.S.A. or international etc.) You can find western union calculations
on their website.

Dwolla

Dwolla is new service that is somewhat revolutionary for transferring/
processing funds. They are also a very simple service.

Cost to receive micro payments (amounts less than $10.00) = $0.00
Cost to receive money in amounts great than $10.00 = $0.25

Everything else is free. If you are getting many payments under
$10.00, think about convincing clients / networks to also pay in
Dwolla. At least broach the issue as it could save everyone a lot of
money.

Stripe

Stripe is also a new service that is best for subscription billing.
For anyone on BHW that offers a monthly service, this is a perfect
method that is gaining a lot of traction internationally and in the
U.S.A. Stripe has the industry standard cost of 2.9% plus $0.30 of the
transaction, however they maintain simplicity. No setup fees, no
monthly fees, no card storage fees, no hidden fees. When you earn you
pay.

Data portability with Stripe is also great. If you choose to move to
another service they will export the data for you. Basically they are
the nice / simple guys.

Google Checkout

The Google Checkout function is relatively new and does not have the
same traction as PayPal, but can nonetheless be useful. Here is a list
of the transaction processing fees associated with this service:

Monthly Sales Through Google Checkout

Less than $3,000 = 2.9% + $0.30
$3000 to $9,999.99 = 2.5% + $0.30
$10,000 to $99,999.99 = 2.2% + $0.30
$100,000 or more = 1.9% + $0.30

An additional 1% fee is assessed on transactions where the merchant’s
country is different from the buyer’s billing country.

Amazon Payments

The Amazon Payments function is almost identical to Google Checkout:

Less than $10 = 5% + $0.05 for all transactions
Less than $3,000 = 2.9% + $0.30
$3000 to $10,000 = 2.5% + $0.30
$10,000 to $100,000 = 2.2% + $0.30
$100,000 or more = 1.9% + $0.30

Braintree

This service is also good for subscription based billing. It does have
data portability (meaning you can move your data around if you change
providers). They have a different way of billing, but high volume
subscription-based merchants should definitely use Braintree for their
lower percentage fees.

Merchant Account:

Monthly fee = $35
Monthly minimum = $75
Setup = $99

Visa/Mastercard/Discover payments
Qualified = 2.29% + $0.30
Non-qualified = 2.89% + $0.30
International = 0.5%

American Express = 2.89% + $0.30

Money Bookers

This service is based in the U.K. and is authorized and regulated by
the Financial Services Authority of the U.K. They offer a number of
benefits including sending money to anyone with an email address even
if the recipient does not have a Money Bookers account. Their fees are
on a flat per transaction basis, where uploading fees to a Money
Bookers account is free, but withdrawing funds from your account costs
you.

Pay Mate

Pay Mate is a service found most often in Australia and New Zealand,
though it is gaining ground in the USA and UK as an alternative to
PayPal. There are set monthly fees for merchant accounts. In the
U.S.A. the fees are as follows:

Seller fees for a standard account = 3% + $0.50 per succession
transaction
Account application fee = $12.95
Monthly fees = $5.00
Monthly MC/Visa Compliance fee = $2.50
PCI Annual fee = $39.95