Merchant Accounts vs. 3rd Party Biller

[Xstr8guy]

So what is the advantages/disadvantages of the two?

It's getting scary out there... losing 3rd party biller Ibill, BigCash Society loses their biller, etc.

[Dzinerbear]

I thought I had heard that new merchant accounts weren't being given to porn sites, so third-party billing was the only option.

I sure wish ccbill would create ccbill Canada.

The company Big Cock Society was using was my only hope up here. But now I guess they've decided they're truly not interested in porn after their brief foray into it.

But I did notice that BCS is processing with 2000 Charge now.

Dzinerbear`

[CamZ_Dan]

the main difference is if you lose a merchant account you can get another one and keep the clients that you have. The data base is yours.

Also you can control the risk

I would recommend talking with Mitch and or Sarah at www.netbilling.com

I have been with them since day one over 6 years ago.

Regards

Dan

[CamZ_Dan]

and the fees are lower in most cases

[icedemon]

Your best option is to have backup merchant accounts and 3rd party credit card processors. There are 3 banks in the US right now that I know of that are giving out adult merchant accounts. A bank can get out of the adult merchant account business (which CardServices and Humboldt did) just like you see 4rd party credit card processors going out of business.

The biggest benefit of your own merchant account is like what other have mentioned. It's cheaper and you can always move your customers to a different merchant account. You have to take care of your own customers is pretty much the only problem now days.
http://www.netbilling.com
http://www.paywide.com
both help take care of the password management, rebilling and such.

Get both a merchant account and a 3rd party credit card processor. You can never have too many backups.

[Squirt]

Originally posted by icedemon
There are 3 banks in the US right now that I know of that are giving out adult merchant accounts.

Which three banks do you know about?

[icedemon]

Originally posted by Squirt
Which three banks do you know about?

These are the US banks that I know of that are taking adult merchant accounts. You need a US company to get a merchant account through them.

1. Humboldt if your doing over $100,000/month and at least 2 years in business.

2. Woodforest - Joe from http://www.msusa.info usually sets people up through that bank for adult merchant accounts. The setup fee is less then $100 through him.

3. Netbilling knows of another bank, but I don't know which bank it is. I think (not sure) that there is a $2,000 setup fee for the one that they are setting people up with.

Dzinerbear: You might want to try http://www.nikrobilling.com They'll setup Canadian people.

[Dzinerbear]

thanks for the tip icedemon

dzinerbear

[baddog]

getting a merchant account is easier said than done. If you are looking for a 3rd party processor, eCommerceGlobal.com - click this link and save 1% on processing rate

[JustBryce]

Netbilling is using Global Electronic Technology and Merrick Bank.

Netbilling does do customer service if you wish. They charge 80¢ per transaction to handle both your credit card processing and all of your incoming telephone and email customer
inquiries.

Even then you still have greater control as you define directives such as "always offer refunds", "only offer a refund if charge back is threatened", or even more specific directives like "offer a refund, but let them know they are subject to collection fees if logs show that service was used", etc. etc.

[djdez]

Originally posted by CamZ_Dan
the main difference is if you lose a merchant account you can get another one and keep the clients that you have. The data base is yours.

If you lose a merchant account you run the risk of never being able to process again even with third party processing. If your merchant bank or gateway go out of business - you can take your customers and move to another bank or gateweay - if you have your own merchant account.

[Netbilling]

Dan and Justbruce,

Thanks for the kind words and info our us. We do work with several banks to setup both domestically and offshore merchants and do handle all customer support ans well as offering the most flexible system available.

We will be happy to help! Please contact me directly or our Sales Department. You can also post questions here.

Thank you, Mitch Farber

[Netbilling]

Originally posted by djdez
If you lose a merchant account you run the risk of never being able to process again even with third party processing. If your merchant bank or gateway go out of business - you can take your customers and move to another bank or gateweay - if you have your own merchant account.

On the flip side, if your third party processor goes under, they take all of your customers and $$$ with them as we have seen so many time over the past several years.

If your chargebacks are too high under a third party processor, you also run the risk of never being able to process gain (under your own name) even with another 3rd party processor. The chargeback thresholds are the same whether you are with a thrid party processor or have your own merchant account.

Thanks, Mitch

[IntenseCash.com]

Great info here everyone. I have some questions..

We had our own merchant account in 1996 and lost it due to high chargebacks but it doesn't seem like we were ever blacklisted. How can you check if you are on that list?

Mitch can you tell me how much are your fees and do you have to yield the same chargeback level as 3rd party billers?

Thanks,
Mark

[Lee]

Of course there is also a huge difference in whether you should use your own merchant account or a third party billing solution depending on the types of product you sell to.

Mitch, i shot you a quick ICQ earlier

Regards,

Lee