[ic] Credit Card Processing (Was: "newbie" documentation)

[Ed LaFrance]

At 08:31 PM 11/26/2001 -0500, you wrote:
>On Mon, 26 Nov 2001, Gary Henderson wrote:
>
>GH>>Well first off I do not have a terminal.  I am strictly a computer
>GH>>consulting business with no physical store front.  I am looking for
>GH>>something I can do 100% online with little to no out of pocket expenses.
>
>If you are going to accept credit cards for your services, you are going to
>have to have a terminal, of some sort. Unless you are 'piggy-backing' on
>someone elses merchant account and they are doing the data entering for you.
>
>This is either a terminal that you can swipe cards through, or it is
>software that runs on your PC, or the required 'hooks' to use a gateway.
>
>This last spring I paid $500 for CyberCash, software that runs on my PC.
>Last fall I paid $375 for a terminal that prints. I'm told that I got a good
>deal.
>
>My buddy got set up to take charge cards through some on-=line company and
>the customers saw that on-line company name on their statements, instead of
>his. That company went out of business, and he had to go about finding a
>replacement.
>
>The credit card industry is lucrative, and it's not just the card holders
>that have to foot the bill.
>
>Perhaps there is a way that you can get set up to accept credit cards
>without paying out money. If there is I am not familiar with it. If there
>is, watch out for the "I Gotcha's"
>
>
>-= Jim =-

FWIW - I take payment by credit cards only occasionally, and this service 
has worked well for me:

http://www.paybyweb.com

...but I probably would not use them if my cc transactions were more 
frequent, as they charge a rather high per-transaction rate in exchange for 
the convenience of no monthly fee.

- Ed L.



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