The Visa Decision: A blessing in disguise for some?
 

While the non US guys still have the *US presence* issue to deal with, it seems like a perfectly great opportunity for the US based webmasters to take full control of their operations by obtaining their own merchant account and running the ship direct.

May as well from what I've seen today. There doesn't seem to really be much of a need for the 3rd party middlemen anymore since we are going to be held just as responsible as if we DID have a merchant account right? So what am I paying that 15% for now?

While I still don't like any of this, I'm forced to deal with it just like everyone else, and as I've been weighing various options, this one keeps rising to the top. And when it's all said and done, I have to admit, I probably will be better off after having taken full control of my ops and cutting the middleman out of the loop.

Anyone else thinking along these lines tonight, or have something to add to this?

[h],

I totally agree, The ony thing bad with having your own merchant account is you have to do your own customer support, or outsource it, netbilling provides the support I believe.
We do our own support here, its not too bad.

Other then that, 3rd parties have just been cut out of the processing business, the only business they will still have are the uninformed legacy business and the rebillings.

thats my opinion.

Thats true, but it would probably end up costing a lot more to get all the programming for an affiliate program and stats done.

Seriously considering it, yes. We've had no chargebacks (except for e-checks bouncing, and we no longer accept them) in the time we've been running Strip Kittens, and our other operations are all mainstream software stuff. We're in discussions right now as to the feasibility of getting our own merchant account.

Jak

well, I've given that thought too, but I'm looking at that as a one time cost versus the extra 15% for the duration of my online life.

Yes, I'm looking into getting my own merchant account going.

Hmmmm, how does one go about setting up a merchant account, is it complicated?

XXXPaysiteDesign,

Takes about 1 week for you to signup and get setup

$300 setup (maybe some reserves too)

Very easy. Only people who tell you its hard is the 3rd parties trying to sell you their product.
3rd parties use to be easier to setup with their $0 setup fee and instant activation , but no more after these policies.

Would I still need to pay the $750 if I got my own merchant account?

If you look around enough through yahoo or google you will find a merchant account company that has instant setup. No upfront costs or anything. You do have to have good credit though.

XXXPaysiteDesign,

Of course not :)

$300 is the usual setup fee for the merchant account, sometimes its $0 ,

When I paid my $300, it came with an authorize.net account all setup.



Paying the $750 is having VISA examime your sites for any illegalities and privacy policy pages etc...

ahh.. and I forgot, it would cost a lot to get the affiliate stuff programmed.

not really. the biggest expense would probably be the stats programming, which I'm shopping for now too so if someone has any pointers to a solution for that, tips or links welcomed.

Lots of people use

http://groundbreak.com/

$350 for their affiliate program, many people like it too :)

thanks mrbling, I'll give it a look. :thumbsup

there is a 750 setup with visa, and a 750 setup with MC for highrisk merch accounts. I know this because i just sent in the paper work today.

If you have any questions about getting a merch account for adult / high risk stuff , you should contact http://www.cardservice-network.com

speak with Michael Darrow