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establishing a Visa account

post #1 of 9
12/6/05 at 6:24pm
Thread Starter 
I am starting to get orders from nearby companies. Seems delivery is key! They want to pay by corporate visa. I can provide an invoice for them, but only currently accept cash and check. Can anyone tell me about establishing a Visa account? Working out of my home, I would want to go the cheapest, easiest route. I don't want an electronic machine. I checked out the Visa website and it does not tell you how much it would cost you per transaction? Any advice?
thanks!!
Pam
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post #2 of 9
12/6/05 at 7:20pm
jlh, the best advice I can give you is to make sure you do very thorough research! Do a google for 'merchant accounts', make yourself a spreadsheet of the services offered and fees. Some types of merchant accounts are geared towards businesses that will have high qtys of charges, and there are a few out there geared towards the little guy. In the meantime, perhaps the companies could pay you through Paypal? It's pretty easy to set up an account with them to accept credit cards and their fees aren't horrible (considering what a 'big-time' account might cost). Good luck!
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post #3 of 9
12/6/05 at 8:04pm
I would inquire with Costco.
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post #4 of 9
12/6/05 at 8:04pm
Well for business we paid a set up fee of 500.00 . Then yearly after that, I think its aprox. 450.00-550.00.
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snowflakes are some of the smallest things in nature, but look what happens when they stick together...
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post #5 of 9
12/6/05 at 9:44pm
I have the perfect answer! Check out www.paypal.com. You can accept credit cards without a setup fee or a monthly fee, and you don't need a machine! You simply e-mail the customer a form to pay. It's the payment system for eBay, so it's very secure and the cheapest I've found. There's a $0.30 per transaction fee plus a ow transaction charge, but that's it! No contracts and since there's no fees, you only pay when you need it! It accepts all credit cards (including Amex and Discover) and debit cards. I just added "virtual terminal" to mine. For an extra $20 per month, you can enter customer's credit card numbers in an on-line form. Now I can take their info over the phone or in person (without a machine) and type it into my computer when I get home. I just love it!
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post #6 of 9
12/7/05 at 1:44am
Thread Starter 
Thanks to all! I'm going to check out paypal for a quick fix. Does it take a long time to set up? I'll also check out Costco.

Thanks !!!!
Pam
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post #7 of 9
12/7/05 at 6:36am
Check with your bank. They should set up merchant accounts for you.
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"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles..." Isaiah 40:31
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post #8 of 9
12/9/05 at 6:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jlh

Thanks to all! I'm going to check out paypal for a quick fix. Does it take a long time to set up?



I signed up for paypal because it was a cheaper option than Visa. You can set your account up immediately, but to get 'verified', it takes a couple of days. They deposit 2 small dollar amounts (like $.23) to your business account. When they show in your biz account, you sign into your paypal account, type in the 2 dollar amounts and you are good to go.

And if you have QuickBooks, you can connect the two to make the whole invoicing/payment process easier.
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post #9 of 9
12/9/05 at 8:17pm
I'm a Mary Kay Consultant and I use ProPay. It's similar to PayPal and is very simple to use. You can get more info at propay.com.
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