Merchant account for all currencies

[visionjockey]

Hi all,

Not sure if this is the correct forum.

I am looking for a bank that can give me a merchant account that will allow my website to advertise in $US and accept credit card payments online from people all over the world.

The only bank I know that will allow this (via the www.eway.com.au gateway) is the NAB. However, the set up costs and running costs are way to high.

What has been the experience of others here at flyingsolo?

Mario

[sam_leader]

I am not certain it will meet your needs, but I would have thought that PayPal is worth investigating.

Hopefully others will have further suggestions, too.

Good luck!

Sam

[gregpritchard.virtualcio]

Mario,

Taking a step back; could you provide more information on your pricing strategy, and how that fits into your business strategy? If your business is starting out; how important is it for you to offer multi-currency support? Or is this a nice-to-have at this stage? Does this represent a competitive advantage for you? Are your clients expecting multi-currency? and have you asked them? Also, do you have a cost-base in USD which you'd be looking to offset with USD receivables? If not, you should consider why you are exposing yourself to the FX risk.

If this feature is a competitive advantage, and will increase your business; then the investment in multi-currency support may be worth your while. After 10 years in banking/investment banking; I can assure you there is going to be an extra cost associated with multi-currency facilities wherever you go.

[KarenC]

I agree with Sam that PayPal www.paypal.com.au is good for you. It's like having another bank account. You can transfer from that account to your regular account whenever you want, or just leave it there. PayPal has a small charge per transaction, but it costs nothing to set up.

You can advertise your prices as whatever currency you wish, and the credit card companies do the conversions for you. You can also block certain countries from purchasing if you can't deliver to them.

[peppie]

Yep, I will 3rd that.

I am in the looking at online selling options stage myself and I am impressed with the Paypal option for credit card and invoicing transactions. If you are looking at receiving direct bank transfers though it would be cheaper to avoid Paypal.

You can also set up a shopping cart using Paypal as the payment vehicle. Either you use the Paypal cart itself or you can use a 3rd party cart application which uses Paypal in the background for the transactions only.

[visionjockey]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the prompt replies.

I am aware of paypal however, it is a 3rd party processor. There are distinct disadvantages to this when it comes to the control of funds and the flexibility to move quickly if circumstances change in the playing field.

One of my business interests other than architecture is online subscription sites like this one I am currently developing www.stainedglassclub.com.

It is a subscription based members only site which automatically debits respective members credit cards on the due dates of renewal. The mebers can be from anywhere in the world. Most likely the US. There will be tangible goods sold (dvd's) as well as affiliate commisions. The content is not complete as yet. (I am still trying to find that 36 hour day).

Any feedback on merchant account here in Oz would be great.

Mario

[LeelaCosgrove]

Hi Mario,

I've done a bit of research into this and EWay is the best - best pricing, best service ... you're just not going to find it any cheaper than that ... you can set EWay up through any bank, not just the NAB ... I know ANZ do it as well ...

[Adam Randall]

I have signed up with eway, the costs were the following:

@$350 for the year
@$200 for ssl cert (optional) per year
$9 per month for the online shopping interface I want.
$20 per month for the bank merchant account (BankSA)

50c per transaction.

All up $10 per week for exposure to an international audience, you just need to work out how many orders of whatever you are going to sell will pay that overhead and ensure that you meet that minimum amount.

Its a risk but one worth taking, I am going to use it for adhoc hourly rate customers too, that way we get paid before the job is done.

[Devan]

I'd second the other opinions here on www.eway.com.au. We have been using them for about 18 months now, and have had absolutely no problems with their system and service.

We did a lot of research back then, and eWay came up the best. I liked the way that we didnt have to set up any new bank accounts - they simply hooked up to our existing account. They even did all the hard yards for us in setting up an Amex merchant facility.

Cheers,
Devan

[visionjockey]

Hi guys,

Let me get this straight.

You have set two account. One to accept the foreign currency (NAB,ANZ etc) and one with eway. Both have set up, service and transaction fees.

So as total outlay what would that bring me to? Not including transaction costs?

I have some correspondence from the NAB for the merchant account only (a few months old. Not including the gateway ie. eway). see below. Is this a fair and reasonable outlay?
__________________________________________________ _______________

Foreign Currency Bank Accounts

1. Account service fee – applicable only where the balance falls below the currency equivalent of US$20,000 Approximate currency equivalent of AUD$40.00 per month

2. Deposit/withdrawal of overseas currency notes to/from foreign currency account 2% of deposit/withdrawal amount (minimum $20.00)

3. Cheques, drafts deposited $10.00 for each item
Withdrawals/transfers completed $30.00 for each withdrawal/transfer

Set-up cost for the Foreign Currency facility is $1200.

Our Foreign Currency Accounts are simply transactional accounts that enable you to hold foreign currency (in US Dollars as well as in most marketable currencies), as well as making deposits and withdrawals as required.

We offer Foreign Currency Accounts in each of the following currencies that you require:
• United States dollar
• Euro
• English pound
• New Zealand dollar
• Japanese yen
• Hong Kong dollar
• Singapore dollar
• Canadian dollar

In addition to the convenience of eliminating unnecessary currency conversion, the account helps you to manage your foreign currency risk exposure by acting as a buffer against exchange rate movements. You may also earn interest (calculated daily, paid quarterly) on the portion of the credit balance which is over US$5,000 or other currency equivalent for several of the major currency accounts (including USD, Euro, GBP, NZD). The interest rate is variable and in line with current market rates for that currency. Please note that some currency accounts such as an account denominated in Japanese Yen do not receive credit interest.

Mario