I've been accepting credit cards for a while now. It's been great, gives customers some more buying power and allows them to earn some points sometimes.
I tried charging a card two weeks ago, and it was declined. I called to see why, and the merchant service I use, Applied Merchant Services, says they did not have the correct bank account info. How they messed it up, I don't know, seeing as how it worked fine before. They had no problem charging me every month, so they know how to take it out, they just don't know how to put the money in!
So it's been two weeks since I faxed them a voided check so they would have my correct bank account info and they still have not fixed the problem. Mean while I have money out there floating that I need to collect.
Needless to say I have an appointment with my bank, and I'm going to allow them to take care of my credit card processing from now on.
If taking credit cards is something you'd like to get into, don't bother with Applied Merchant Systems.
I used to have a credit card machine with chase paymentech and I cancelled it because it was a HUGE hassel. I went through the same stuff. I would wait on the phone for 30 min at a time, 5 days a week to fix a little problem.
Then, I had the same problem you had with the money not going into the account.
Add up the fees and the head ache and your better off using paypal.
I have a few commercial accounts whose credit card is blocked from having PayPal charges. I guess they don't want their employees going on an eBay spending spree or buy a car from Nigeria.
I wished I could use PayPal though, it would make things a lot easier.
Although with my bank, they said the monthly fee would be 7 dollars. A 20 cent transaction fee and 3% of the amount. And if I have a problem, I can walk into my representatives office and have it fixed.
I was on the phone with Applied Merchant Systems for over an hour non stop. They kept telling me I needed to talk to another person. They gave me 4 wrong phone numbers - each time I got a "this number has been disconnected" message.
I wouldn't have spent that much time into it, but I know it's going to take a few days to get the system set up with the bank, and I have that money floating.
Yes, I liked the 7 dollars a month. Applied was 24 dollars a month.
The way I understood it was the 7 dollars a month was for insurance, should I ever be accused of some kind of credit card fraud. Not sure of all the details yet.
I've been accepting credit cards for a while now. It's been great, gives customers some more buying power and allows them to earn some points sometimes.
I tried charging a card two weeks ago, and it was declined. I called to see why, and the merchant service I use, Applied Merchant Services, says they did not have the correct bank account info. How they messed it up, I don't know, seeing as how it worked fine before. They had no problem charging me every month, so they know how to take it out, they just don't know how to put the money in!
So it's been two weeks since I faxed them a voided check so they would have my correct bank account info and they still have not fixed the problem. Mean while I have money out there floating that I need to collect.
Needless to say I have an appointment with my bank, and I'm going to allow them to take care of my credit card processing from now on.
If taking credit cards is something you'd like to get into, don't bother with Applied Merchant Systems.
Micah, Have you tried using Pay Pal? We have used them for over 5 years and have not had any problems so far. We process some payments at the office. However, we generally use air cards at the custumers house, allowing us to have internet access on our laptops. This enables us to go to the Paypal site on location and process credit cards immediately without using swipe machines. So far, so good with this method...
Yes Markus, That's what I was using until I had a commercial window cleaning client want to pay using credit cards. He said it was against company policy to charge anything to the card from PayPal...
He was willing to pay for a years worth of window cleaning in advance if I could charge his corporate CC another way. So that's when I used Applied with iSwipe on my iphone.
Just out of curiosity, can you use a smart phone like a droid or iphone to charge credit cards through paypal provided there's a wireless or wifi signal?
Yes Markus, That's what I was using until I had a commercial window cleaning client want to pay using credit cards. He said it was against company policy to charge anything to the card from PayPal...
He was willing to pay for a years worth of window cleaning in advance if I could charge his corporate CC another way. So that's when I used Applied with iSwipe on my iphone.
Just out of curiosity, can you use a smart phone like a droid or iphone to charge credit cards through paypal provided there's a wireless or wifi signal?
Yes, This is from the PayPal site:
If your phone is activated for PayPal Mobile, you can request money with a text message.
Text the amount and the recipient's phone number to 729725 (PAYPAL).
For example, to request $10.00 from the phone number 408-555-1111, text the following:
Request 10 from 4085551111
You will get an email when the payment is completed.
Yes Markus, That's what I was using until I had a commercial window cleaning client want to pay using credit cards. He said it was against company policy to charge anything to the card from PayPal...
He was willing to pay for a years worth of window cleaning in advance if I could charge his corporate CC another way. So that's when I used Applied with iSwipe on my iphone.
Just out of curiosity, can you use a smart phone like a droid or iphone to charge credit cards through paypal provided there's a wireless or wifi signal?
Yes, This is from the PayPal site:
If your phone is activated for PayPal Mobile, you can request money with a text message.
Text the amount and the recipient's phone number to 729725 (PAYPAL).
For example, to request $10.00 from the phone number 408-555-1111, text the following:
Request 10 from 4085551111
You will get an email when the payment is completed.
So I'm assuming PayPal automatically calls them and prompts them to enter their credit card information over the phone for payment.. I'm not too fond of that situation. Or does it work another way?
I have only billed via my laptop and my home computer. So I would hate to give you any wrong information. This is from their site also:
Virtual Terminal is ideal for merchants that receive orders by phone, fax, card reader, or by mail and want to accept credit cards.
You can use Virtual Terminal on any computer with an internet connection and a web browser. N O T E : For best performance, use Internet Explorer 6.0, Netscape Navigator 7.0, or FireFox 1.0.
I have only billed via my laptop and my home computer. So I would hate to give you any wrong information. This is from their site also:
Virtual Terminal is ideal for merchants that receive orders by phone, fax, card reader, or by mail and want to accept credit cards.
You can use Virtual Terminal on any computer with an internet connection and a web browser. N O T E : For best performance, use Internet Explorer 6.0, Netscape Navigator 7.0, or FireFox 1.0.
Cool, Thanks for that info Markus. I'll ask the rep. at the bank what the advantages of their system is over PayPal.
I use a phone-in service. I pay $7.95 per month and 3.5% on each CC transaction for pressure washing in Tallahassee, Florida
I have been delighted with the service. Money is in my bank within 24 hours of the charge. No terminals, no software, no hardware to deal with.
I can call in from my cell phone from the customers front porch with their card in my hand. Makes it very simple.
Not only can I charge cards for pressure washing in Tallahassee, I can charge cards for a soft wash and roof cleaning in Tallahassee. I could even clean gutters here in Tallahassee and charge for that too.
I could power wash a commercial building and charge the managers from their office. I could pressure wash an apartment community and charge it there too! Sorry.... at this point I know I'm being silly and just shamelessly plugging in terms for the web-crawlers to pick up!
Seriously though...drop me a PM if you'd like info on my CC processing. I've been very happy with them. I use Merchant One.
__________________
Ray Burke
Spray Wash Exterior Cleaning
850.528.3226
visit our website Soft Washing and Pressure Washing
I signed up for Square a couple of months ago. Just did my first credit card transaction today with no problem. The customer gave me the card # thru email and I was able to enter it into my iphone app. They charge me 3.5% for processing with no monthly fee and provided me with a swiper for on site processing. Anyone else ever use Square? Any feedback from those that have?
I have used it a few times with no problems yet. I'm starting to get more and more customers that already assume I take cards before they even ask. I been having customers wanting to put big remodeling jobs on credit cards.
I use 4 square from time to time with no issues. It is great to have extra flexibility, I usually tell the customer to pay the fee if they would like the service. Or at the least request them to meet me in the middle. Those fees add up.