Web Payment Processing? If not PayPal, then...?

[drmaximus]

I am just wondering if there are any other comparable payment processors apart from Paypal? After having read articles from www.paypalsucks.com I am getting worried about the latter. If the services are available to Canadians, then all the better. Thanks for any and all help!

 

[drmaximus]

Originally posted by axl
Actually, ikobo.s fees are pretty similar 1.99%-2.99%+$0.29, but their coverage I think is better with 170 paying countries and 220 receiving. There aren't any hidden fees, and their service is quite fast. They look like a good alternative from 2CO or paypal; it's true paypal have a history of "appropriating" people's money without any reason. :red:
In reply to drmaximus, ikobo covers Canada, and is, in my opinion an improved version of paypal. :hehe:

I learnt that withdrawing money (from Ikobo account) in Canada incurs pretty hefty fees (US$5 or C$5), so this would factor in as cost too.

 

[axl]

I wouldn't know that since I don't live in Canada. It might be true, but it might also depend on what ATM (from which bank) you are using. Some banks might have higer withdrawal fees than others. You should try and find out and let us know!

 

[Spirited]

And now, it's even easier for your buyers to complete their transactions. PayPal no longer requires your customers to create a PayPal account. This means the purchase process is more streamlined, resulting in an increase in completed sales and higher customer satisfaction.

https://www.paypal.com/uk/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/mer/WAX_acquisit_landing-outside
That is on the uk part of paypal, I think not having to sign up really improves paypal. My partner has been using paypal both privately on ebay and as a buisness for his hosting company, with no problems.

I intend to allow people to either pay by paypal or send a cheque/postal order (if they prefer) when I set up an online buisness. I don't think paypal is generally as bad as the horror stories (at least the uk arm isn't) plus I would rather go with paypal than with a small unheard of company that could do a disappearing act with my cash.

Of course I will be sensible and read the small print , if and when I sign up

 

[axl]

I can understand your reluctance regarding ikobo. It's true they are a relatively new company, about 2 years I think, but so far I haven't heard about somebody ending up without their money. I'd like to think I did my homework quite well before signing up with them. Anyway, I'm just stating my personal opinion, not defending ikobo or something like that. So far they've been ok for me, and I hope they'll stay like that.

 

[xieqiu]

Because ikobo is a relatively new company, So it has some better services. From its rate to its coverage, Ikobo is better than paypal. I have used it for one year. I have not met any problems. so I think Ikobo is really good. But if you want to attract more customers. I think we should add both ikobo and paypal into our webpage.

 

[axl]

Being a new company doesn't automatically mean their services are better. I know they have to be competitive and all, but alsi because they are new they may also lack in experience. So far I had no proof of that at ikobo.
Using both ikobo and paypal seems like a good enough idea, since there will always be people reluctant to use ikobo because they may not have heard about them, although if they are outside paypal's area of coverage then there's not much of a choice.
Anyway, good luck with your webpage.

 

[xieqiu]

Yes, Being a new company doesn't automatically mean their services are better. That is not a direct reason. But because Ikobo is new, it can learn more from other competitors's experiences. In fact Ikobo's services are really better than paypal in some aspects.

 

[aww]

People have been whining about PayPal since before they were x.com

The reality is 99% of the people are happy and 1% make the most noise. There are millions of people using PayPal, nothing can give you that kind of customer base.

Sure everyone would jump to another provider if they were even 1 cent cheaper because of human nature but the reality is that after a decade of internet commerce, no one else has come even close.

Amazon is testing their own system like PayPal and I can tell you its much harder to setup and use and the fees are much higher.

If you don't like PayPal, bite the bullet and pay the fees to get real merchant services. There's a good reason why the 1% who made the most noise weren't using that solution. Deal with chargebacks a few times and you'll go running back to PayPal.

My solution is don't keep more than $100 in a PayPal account, isn't that more reasonable answer for most of the complaints?

 

[theparrot]

Originally posted by aww


If you don't like PayPal, bite the bullet and pay the fees to get real merchant services. There's a good reason why the 1% who made the most noise weren't using that solution. Deal with chargebacks a few times and you'll go running back to PayPal.

My solution is don't keep more than $100 in a PayPal account, isn't that more reasonable answer for most of the complaints? [/B]

While a resonable thing to do, it is not an answer to the complaints, as paypal will and has withdrawn funds from the linked bank account.

 

[aww]

I've actually overdrafted my PayPal account and they have never touched the linked checking account automatically. It sat negative for a week and all they did was send me alerts. If they ever had a legit reason to do automatic transfers that would be it. They didn't even charge a fine, try doing that at any bank.

I believe the recent lawsuit settlements have ended any withdrawls without authorization (if that ever happened, because I have never seen a real case of this).

 

[aww]

This other thread is extremely similar to this one, should be merged somehow:

http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=35612

 

[axl]

Yes, you are right; these threads should be merged somehow. They both are about paypal alternatives like ikobo, 2checkout, e-gold and so on. One could learn a thing or two here. :]

 

[theparrot]

Originally posted by aww
I've actually overdrafted my PayPal account and they have never touched the linked checking account automatically. It sat negative for a week and all they did was send me alerts. If they ever had a legit reason to do automatic transfers that would be it. They didn't even charge a fine, try doing that at any bank.

I believe the recent lawsuit settlements have ended any withdrawls without authorization (if that ever happened, because I have never seen a real case of this).

Well there are real cases of it,
btw, was this before or after the big change of service agreements last year? do you have an older account? Prior to that older accounts were immune to this, as the old TOS did not let them do this. My account for example is unverified, yet just this money I spent almost 4K through it, and can continue to spend, I don't think new accounts can do this while unverified.

 

[TWM]

ikobo.com

people send money to you, and ikobo sends you a visa! its as easy as that

 

[xieqiu]

Originally posted by idevisedesign
ikobo.com

people send money to you, and ikobo sends you a visa! its as easy as that

Yes, the visa card is very convenient. You can use it to withdraw money at any visa ATM machines.

 

[iDeviseFlash]

thats kewl. i like how paypal gives you an MC number, very nice. i like that addition.

 

[xieqiu]

In fact both Ikobo and paypal have no setup fee and monthly fees. So we can add both of them into our websites as options.

 

[axl]

I'm sure there are more companies who don't charge any setup fee, I'm not sure about the monthly fee though. However that must not be the only feature taken into consideration when choosing a merchant account provider, payment service whatever. There are other factor to be taken into consideration such as coverage, speed, security and so on. Ikobo for example has a wide coverage, maybe the largest around while paypal is more commonly used because that's the only one people have heard of. Of course there are some known issues with paypal such as fraud and account blocking. One should decide what works best for him/her. Just my 0,02$.

 

[xieqiu]

yes. I know that ikobo's coverage is wide than that of paypal. I also heard that paypal only runs well in USA, Canada.

 

[axl]

some info

Well I think it also works in the UK and they may have opened up to Ireland as well. Not too sure on that one. Still that's not enough if you're planning on doing some serious business. Actually not good even for less-than-serious business, after all you'd like to offer the possibility of payment to as much people as possible. A good solution would be using paypal along side with some other processor such as ikobo, or 2checkout or something similar. Ikobo has the advantage of lower fees as well.