CCbill DirectPay EU

[CCBill Paul]

Hello Everyone, perhaps I can offer some clarification.

There are two payment options for EU customers that we have recently put live and more on the way!

EU Debit: This allows customers in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands to pay using their bank account. This is just like a normal US ACH transaction. They input their bank account and routing numbers and they are given access.

Direct Pay: This is for customers who only have a bank account and not any debit or credit cards. It allows customers to send a transfer of funds straight from their bank account. Basically, they signup and they are taken to a page that will provide them with more information on how to transfer the funds. Once we receive the funds they are given access to the site and a confirmation email. So the main difference is that they are not given access in real time, only after we have received their funds.

We think everyone will be very happy with the Direct Pay option especially when just looking at the beta numbers! You can now accept a number of blocked countries that you could not before, not to mention there is no possibility of a chargeback. I can understand the non-recurring thing being a drawback however I can't see any problems with accepting funds that you might normally not get.

Please contact us if you have any further questions or would like to see an example :thumbsup:

Clientsupport @ ccbill.com
800-510-2859

-Paul

[Alex_Manifest_M]

Sounds like a plan to me. We currently charge telephone billers a higher rate then standard recurring members. Do you believe that non-recurring members should have a higher rate with this payment option as well?

[CCBill Paul]

We charge a higher percentage on telephone transactions so I think it makes sense to compensate for that however the rates are no higher on the Direct Pay or the EU Debit so I really couldn't offer any suggestions there.

I have seen customers spend more on non-recurring transactions than on recurring for the same time frames only because they don't want to have to remember to cancel but I really couldn't supply any numbers on this for you, I wouldn't think it would be too frequent though.

[Xstr8guy]

Paul, how does we get set up with EU debit? I understand that we have to fill out an application for DirectPay. Is it the same with EU debit?

[CCBill Paul]

Actually, in order to offer Direct Pay you must have EU Debit setup. Once the EU Debit is setup all that needs done is to create a Direct Pay signup form.

In the webmaster admin you can go here to signup for EU Debit: Premium Features-->Partners-->EU Debit.

[Xstr8guy]

EU Debit: This allows customers in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands to pay using their bank account. This is just like a normal US ACH transaction.

Why the restrictions on the countries that can use this option? And is this the same as EU surfers using Switch, Solo, Maestro, etc.?

I just see all of these new options cluttering up the join page and causing sufer confusion. It sure would be nice if CCbill could just accept all EU debit cards on their regular joing page like Epoch does.

[ccjax]

Paul has posted great info - let me add to with a bit of a data dump:

DirectPayEU is an established and widely accepted Consumer bill payment system within Europe, and is supported in the following 36 EU Region Countries:
Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Finland, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Tunisia and Turkey.

The DirectPayEU Consumer Experience is slightly different from the typical CCBill Payment Form process, as the Consumer is not required to enter any payment information into the CCBill DirectPayEU Payment Form. Rather, the Consumer is offered a Transaction ID and a direct link to their Bank's URL on the Payment Form. From the Consumer's secure online bank account page, they can then enter their Transaction ID and pay for their membership directly from their personal account. Upon receipt of funds (usually 1-3 business days, with the exception of Germany, where the transaction will take place in real-time), the system automatically emails the consumer their user access information for their purchased membership.

Why Add DirectPayEU?

• Targets 200 million EU online consumers
• A convenient and supported online payment acceptance method for EU Consumers
• A safe way for converting declined or blacklisted consumers to paying customers
• A one-time billing option for 3 - 6 month memberships, in addition to the standard shorter term billing options.
• Access to a market segment that may not have or use credit cards
• Allows for payment acceptance from high-risk countries with confidence and security
• Declined or blacklisted consumers can safely be converted to paying customers
• Ideal alternative payment solution with declined card transactions
• Increased sales by offering a local, trusted payment solution
• Local support is provided in the native language of the consumer
• No Charge Backs
• Additional opportunity to access a market segment that does not have or use credit cards
• Same volume-based pricing as our standard credit card tiers and the gross amounts are totaled with all of your other transactions.
• Seamlessly integrated into the CCBill Affiliate Program
• Note: doesn't support recurring billing at this point

How To Get Started: CCBill Clients can now offer DirectPay EU as a single billing option to their consumers by creating a new form in the CCBill System5 Form Admin for their chosen sub-account(s) at:
System5>Tools>Account Maintenance>Account Admin>Choose Sub-Account>Form Admin>Create New Form

[Xstr8guy]

Jax, can you also post more info about EU Debit? I'm still confused about that option.

[ccjax]

I just see all of these new options cluttering up the join page and causing sufer confusion. It sure would be nice if CCbill could just accept all EU debit cards on their regular joing page like Epoch does.

This new offering is completely optional.
Some clients are using the DirectPayEU as a denial redirect after a decline, or on completely separate join form, offering options to their clients and minimizing confusion. It is a different sort of payment option from Debit, and carries no chargebacks - the funds are guaranteed.

I can't speak to the other processors offerings, but they could possibly have offerings that are more suited to your particular business model. I know that CCBill is working hard to meet our clients needs, as you will see with a bunch of new offerings in the next few months.

Thanks for the feedback. I will post some additional stuff on EU Debit shortly...

[ccjax]

Jax, can you also post more info about EU Debit? I'm still confused about that option.

EU Debit is similar to ACH Debit in the US - a direct draft from the client's bank account - valid in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands, like Paul had mentioned. The member enters their bank account/routing number and get immediate access to your content.

It can be added with to a US account or an EU account, or as a standalone offering. It is usually set-up as debit form (US or EU or both), and some of the folks on the boards can help with how they put it into play on their sites. Kinda depends on where your audience is.

• Real-time processing speed
• EU Debit does handle recurring billing
• Transaction fees are the same as your current cc processing fees
• Same day notification on returned checks
• No chargeback fees, as with most CCBill services.
• EU Debit sales are calculated into your gross sales volumes weekly.
• You can set-up whether you want US Dollars or Euros as the base currency.

Maybe Paul can add how to set-it-up...

[CCBill Paul]

Sure thing, like I mentioned you can go here in the webmaster admin: Premium Features-->Partners-->EU Debit. There is a wizard located there that will walk you through setting it up.

Once you have created an EU Debit price your check signup form will automatically change. Your check signup form link will redirect to a page that has two buttons on it: 'Pay with my US Checking Account' or 'Pay with my EU Dedit Account'. If you would like an example hit me up and I can track one down for you.

[Ines]

Hi there

I read this thread with a lot of interest and Paul already explained a lot. But I still see a lot of confusion in regards of the differences between Direct Debit and Direct Pay and Debit Cards. And you're right, it is confusing.
As a German I might be able to bring a little sun light in this confusion - I will try to explain with daily business examples.

Direct Pay:

As Paul explained before, Direct Pay is a direct payment made by the user. It is a redirection to their online banking, where they need to login and make the payment. Germany does not have any checks anymore. That's why they have to use their online banking. And - not all banks are doing it yet.
Advantage: almost instant
Disadvantage: no user data, no recurring, no instant upgrades etc

Debit Card:

We Germans have Debit Cards - yes. But they are not comparable to our US Debit Cards where I can pay online everywhere and it is been handled like a credit card online (more or less)
We have an EC card (which replaced the former EuroSchecks (checks) ) with Maestro. Right now, I can't pay ANYWHERE online with this card. I can pay in my grocery store and most of other stores offline, but not online. So this card is just useful for me when I am over there, to get money out of the ATM and go shopping.
I tried it first when I moved to the US - I can get money out of the ATM but I cannot pay online with it
They are in progress of changing this in a long term project.
No need to mention advantage or disadvantage

Direct Debit:

For Direct Debit you need to know about the cultural difference - I am still using Germany as an example. In Germany everybody has (needs) a bank account since there are no checks anymore as previous mentioned. I pay my rent, electricity bill, phone bill, basically any bill via direct debit. Unless it is a one time payment and I make a wire. (That's a lot easier in the EU than here as I found out)
Ok my recurring bills - rent, phone (even with different amounts every month) insurances, power etc I pay per direct debit. How does it work?
I provide my bank details once and the companies withdraw the money directly from my account - month for month and year for year until I cancel, or change. There is no other way to pay for - no checks - no credit cards accepted. That's why everybody has to have a bank account. Even for deposits I need it. If I get government money, like welfare, retirement money, tax refunds, unemployment money or whatever it might be, I need a bank account to receive it.
Ok - let's put it together:
The German/Dutch/Austrian etc is so much used to use this - even my great grandmother pays like that and so does my daughter of 17

So here's the advantage of real Direct Debit focused on our business:
Everybody knows it, is setup for it and used to provide bank acc details.
Recurring, different amounts every month, instant upgrades, tokens, coins.
A bank account usually exists for your life time.

Just one example before I stop boring you

My daughter lives in Germany and I did want to set her up with her own internet access flat rate. I did my research and had to ignore some companies because I could not pay with a CC. I thought I check out 1&1 because I know they are very global and also have a huge presence here in the US and should be able to bill my CC monthly as FPL is doing it
I was very disappointed. As a German customer - I need to pay per direct debit or I cannot setup an account for her. No matter what...

I hope I was able to clarify some questions of the difference between these European "Debit Thingies"

If you are interested to get a deep insider look at it, pay attention to the next Klixxx issue. JoeD has written a great, huge article about it, with numbers and deep, deep research.

Have a great weekend everyone

Ines

[ccjax]

Terrific explanation, Ines. And it also reinforces some of the value of offering this alternative.

[CorbinFisher_BD]

I'm going to resurrect this thread because I have a question for the good folks at CCBill...

In the terms, when filling out the paperwork to set up DirectPay, it mentions that users are given access right away, whereas there is a possibility of there being NSF and the transaction returned. In other words, similar risk to taking online checks where someone gets access, only to have it be discovered they didn't have the money so access is cut off (but they got a few days for free).

But in the bullet points advertising DirectPay in the CCBill webadmin area, it says that users don't get access right away. They only do once the funds are confirmed and they then receive an email with their user/pass.

Which is it? Or am I misreading stuff? hehe.

[ccjax]

I'm going to resurrect this thread because I have a question for the good folks at CCBill...

In the terms, when filling out the paperwork to set up DirectPay, it mentions that users are given access right away, whereas there is a possibility of there being NSF and the transaction returned. In other words, similar risk to taking online checks where someone gets access, only to have it be discovered they didn't have the money so access is cut off (but they got a few days for free).

But in the bullet points advertising DirectPay in the CCBill webadmin area, it says that users don't get access right away. They only do once the funds are confirmed and they then receive an email with their user/pass.

Which is it? Or am I misreading stuff? hehe.

Is it the latter, we wait for funds confirmation, and then grant access, protecting you from NSF. The member doesn't get access to your content until we have money in hand.
The confusion lies in our use of the 'standard debit agreement', which does include traditional debit challenges and parameters.
Our goal was to try to limit the amount of paper that you need to process with us to get the service up and running.
Sorry for the confusion. :eek:

Are you using DirectPayEU yet?