VISA/MC Merchants

[Blunt]

I want to have the option for customers to use their visa and mastercard when they purchase goods, but this would only be for rare occasions where it is a large order. I'm pretty sure I don't need an electronic unit, I'm sure that one of those mechnical swipe machines would be good enough. Does anyone know how much is charge for one of those units? Do they still use those??

Thanks..

[Gaffer]

Look into IVR. Basically what you do is swipe the persons card in your imprinter, and then you call it into the automated system via the phone where it gives you an approval.

It is nice because you need no terminals and it is totally portable. I do alot of business at markets and art shows and it works great.

I use Paymentech, but most merchant companies offer the service.

A

[tkyoshi]

Good question, i'm very interested in this as well as i've had requests for Visa/MC on occasional large orders.

How much is the fee, is it around 2.9%?

[gmark2000]

I am using Costco's service. The fees were really low compared to Moneris.

[Gaffer]

I am using Costco's service. The fees were really low compared to Moneris.

I also looked at the Costco ones, and their rates were very competetive. The flyer I have here says 1.66% which is good.

You percentage rate will vary dependiong on volume per year. Low volume=higher rate. Keep in mind that there are also minimum transaction fees per month apply per month. In my case, I have to pay them at least $8 per month either in transactions, or flat fee if I dont use. Also of you get a terminal there are rental fees on those too. My IVR requires no terminal rentals so the costs are low. Total fees per month, not including thier % are roughly $20 per month, plus the $75 start up fee.

For me IVR is great, it is cheap, fast easy. I call it my money making machine as my sales easily doubled after I got it. It helps get those impluse buyers to buy now. Also, it is nice for big tranactions as you dont have to carry the customer if it is net 30, you get your money the next day deposited into you bank account.

A

[Blunt]

I also looked at the Costco ones, and their rates were very competetive. The flyer I have here says 1.66% which is good.

You percentage rate will vary dependiong on volume per year. Low volume=higher rate. Keep in mind that there are also minimum transaction fees per month apply per month. In my case, I have to pay them at least $8 per month either in transactions, or flat fee if I dont use. Also of you get a terminal there are rental fees on those too. My IVR requires no terminal rentals so the costs are low. Total fees per month, not including thier % are roughly $20 per month, plus the $75 start up fee.

For me IVR is great, it is cheap, fast easy. I call it my money making machine as my sales easily doubled after I got it. It helps get those impluse buyers to buy now. Also, it is nice for big tranactions as you dont have to carry the customer if it is net 30, you get your money the next day deposited into you bank account.

A

Can you clearify.. What company do you use? Do you have a contact number or a web site where I can find more info?

I'll check out Costco and see what they have.
Thanks.

[felix]

You percentage rate will vary dependiong on volume per year. Low volume=higher rate. Keep in mind that there are also minimum transaction fees per month apply per month.
Also depends on the type of service you're offering, so I heard. The more risky the business, the more likely the buyers can do a chargeback.

[Gaffer]

Also depends on the type of service you're offering, so I heard. The more risky the business, the more likely the buyers can do a chargeback.

You are right. There are also higher fees for internet & phone tranacations since there is a higher chance of fraud.

I use Paymentech http://www.paymentech.ca/, but there are others such as Moneris. I would avoid TD Merchant Services. Their service is slow, and then they went and set up a merchant account without my authorization. I have since pulled all my banking from TD but I still get calls from thier merchant company.

A

[AnginMJ]

I recently switched companies from Global to Cardex...due to the "great deal" Cardex was offering.

There are some major things you need to be aware of...

- minimum debit transaction fee per month
- card card transaction fee, along with discount which varies from 1.87 up to 2.5 per transaction
- purchase or lease terminal if leasing must provide insurance policy for discounted price in terminal
- month end statements, previously with Global (much more expensive) I received one statement with all transactions on it and discounts removed at the end of the month from my account
- month end statements with Cardex, three different statements, each day monies are deposited into my account with discount automatically removed. Reconciling month end due to this has become a NIGHTMARE!!
- start up fee varies from $50.00 to $100.00

Most financial services have a 3 to 5 year leasing term....that means no matter what you would have to buy out the remainder of your lease AND/OR pay a cancellation fee should you find their system is not working out for you.

I have read through the Costco stuff as I was thinking of going with them and chose Cardex....BIG MISTAKE....I wish I would have given Costco more thought.

Be very cautious and do not make this decision lightly...trust me it may haunt you for a very long time.

AnginMJ

[PoopyP]

I have had requests for CCs as well. If people physically enter your location and you have to swipe their card then Costco is good. However, if its an online business, and even if its not you can look into online payment options. These are better then the actually machines, since you are charged based on the number of transactions, while the actually machine you rent/lease from the company for a monthly fee, whether you use it 0 time or 10000 a month. Research some companies since if its a rare thing then that machine will cost you more then the profit from your order, over the long term.

[cdnNick]

psigate.com is another processor. Not sure if you can rent/buy a terminal or if they are strictly a online virtual processor. Their rates aren't too bad depending on your risk. Being a online merchant I am in the high risk bracket and pay the high rates. :(

[shellysoda]

I'm currently with Moneris and they are quite pricey. I may switch to Costco within the next few months as they seem pretty good. When I spoke with them they said that they do offer virtual terminals as well (which is perfect for online/phone in sales). One thing that I love about Moneris is that the money is in your bank account within 2 business days and I'm not sure about Costco but I'm definitely going to check into it further. Best of luck :)

[ebizimage]

Costco one is NOVA, and they offer internet processing as well called viaKLIX. However, NOVA is mainly a US company so although they also process in CAD, they have better knowledge in their USD part.

[aingaran]

Costco's rates are a lot better than PSIGate's based on what I've seen.

[tkyoshi]

Hey has anyone heard of this company? http://www.paradata.com/

They seem to offer a virtual terminal, not sure of the prices though.

[intravino]

I called Nova, They want $ 300 for their software. Too expensive..

In Canada, we don't get any good deals like in the States.

In the USA, you need a social security number :mad:


Google checkout is not in Canada, yet.

The same with Paypal PRO for $ 20.00 US including the Virtual Terminal.

Bummer. >:(

[Birdman]

I want to have the option for customers to use their visa and mastercard when they purchase goods, but this would only be for rare occasions where it is a large order. I'm pretty sure I don't need an electronic unit, I'm sure that one of those mechnical swipe machines would be good enough. Does anyone know how much is charge for one of those units? Do they still use those??

Thanks..

They were still making and using them as of last year when we got one from VISA. 5% per transaction, and they froze up $500 in our account in case of non-payment.

We are going to get rid of it. Not worth it.

[Gaffer]

They were still making and using them as of last year when we got one from VISA. 5% per transaction, and they froze up $500 in our account in case of non-payment.

We are going to get rid of it. Not worth it.

That was with your imprinter machine? That seems like a rip off, I know that you can do better than that with another company. I use Paymentech and have never had issues like that. I pay about 3% with no hold backs. I looked into at least 3 other companies and they were all comparable in price.

A

[gmark2000]

Nova (Costco's plan) gave me an imprinter free.

[ebizimage]

I think Amex used to rent the imprinter for $2 a month. They might still offer that. I got mine free many years ago with Citibank (later becoming Moneris)

[Drew_W]

I'm currently with Moneris and they are quite pricey. I may switch to Costco within the next few months as they seem pretty good. When I spoke with them they said that they do offer virtual terminals as well (which is perfect for online/phone in sales). One thing that I love about Moneris is that the money is in your bank account within 2 business days and I'm not sure about Costco but I'm definitely going to check into it further. Best of luck :)

Costco = Nova Networks = money in your accont NEXT day.

[Drew_W]

Nova (Costco's plan) gave me an imprinter free.

How did you do that? They want to charge me for one.

[Tofu Drift Shinji]

OT: Since we have so many merchants in this topic, I'm wondering if anyone knows the answer to this.

I've always wondered... Visa seems to be accepted by more merchants than MC (although it's not common that a merchant will not take both these days), is this because Visa takes a smaller cut from the merchant than MC? What about Amex ? Why are there so few merchants accepting Amex?

[Drew_W]

OT: Since we have so many merchants in this topic, I'm wondering if anyone knows the answer to this.

I've always wondered... Visa seems to be accepted by more merchants than MC (although it's not common that a merchant will not take both these days), is this because Visa takes a smaller cut from the merchant than MC? What about Amex ? Why are there so few merchants accepting Amex?

Most processors give you Visa and MC together. It's highly unlikely that they'll take one and not the other, though I know it did take place (i.e. Burger King used to only take Visa).

There is no difference in most situations between the discount on MC and Visa. AMEX usually requires a separate application, and their fees can be higher. Plus, you don't see an awful lot of people wanting to pay by AMEX so it's not a huge concern. Because most merchants don't take AMEX anyways, people usually have another card to use at places that don't accept it.

[discumax]

heard of pradata, not bad, fees are high comparing to competitors such as psigate.

why not use paypal for occasional orders? they don't even need to register anymore.

[Drew_W]

why not use paypal for occasional orders? they don't even need to register anymore.

...not if you're in Canada. That's only in the US.

[champtechdev]

I called Nova, They want $ 300 for their software. Too expensive..

In Canada, we don't get any good deals like in the States.

In the USA, you need a social security number :mad:


Google checkout is not in Canada, yet.

The same with Paypal PRO for $ 20.00 US including the Virtual Terminal.

Bummer. >:(

They might start the PayPal PRO thing soon. Paypal is opening in Canada August 1st, 2006.

Hope all you people are a registered business or bye - bye account.


Matt

[Drew_W]

They might start the PayPal PRO thing soon. Paypal is opening in Canada August 1st, 2006.

Hope all you people are a registered business or bye - bye account.


Matt

What are you taking about??????

[sledbc]

I've been doing a lot of looking around, paymentech has affiliates like the CIFB or Retail Council of Canada that give free setup and reduced rates with their service. The rep told me there are many affiliates. Does anyone have info as to a list of them and which one has the cheapest membership? For a small business like I have the membership in either of these would be greater than the savings and I have no need for their other offerings.

[Drew_W]

I've been doing a lot of looking around, paymentech has affiliates like the CIFB or Retail Council of Canada that give free setup and reduced rates with their service. The rep told me there are many affiliates. Does anyone have info as to a list of them and which one has the cheapest membership? For a small business like I have the membership in either of these would be greater than the savings and I have no need for their other offerings.

Well, what are you looking for? The Costco deal is good, but depending on how you do business you might be able to do better.

[Drew_W]

I'm currently with Moneris and they are quite pricey. I may switch to Costco within the next few months as they seem pretty good. When I spoke with them they said that they do offer virtual terminals as well (which is perfect for online/phone in sales). One thing that I love about Moneris is that the money is in your bank account within 2 business days and I'm not sure about Costco but I'm definitely going to check into it further. Best of luck :)

Depending on your volume and the breakdown of card present to card not present transactions, Moneris can easily match Nova/Costco.....you just have to have the VOLUME.

[sledbc]

Well, what are you looking for? The Costco deal is good, but depending on how you do business you might be able to do better.

My wife will have a small amount of transactions between 20-100 dollars. All card in hand (Scanned) no phone orders or internet.
Called around today this is what i found:

collectivepos:
u pay for terminal ~$1000 1.9% discount rate and minimum $30/month for credit/debit fees.....will deposit to Any cdn account

so this will cost us 1000 up front and around 30 a month

paymentech:

omni 3750 $30
$23 for unit plus $7 for the keypad per month
Setup fee $25
$50 enrollment fee can be waived with membership in certain programs
Debit transaction $.015
Visa Mastercard between 2-4.5% (can be reduced with memberships as well)
Minimum $8 + $8
no extra charge for high speed connection
will deposit to any cdn account

so basically will cost us little up front and $46 per month

Costco:
will deposit to any cdn acct
1.66% visa/mastercard/discover
8c per debit transaction
if costco executive member no $25 setup fee and no $5 monthly statement fee
$10 monthly minimum
2 year contract $125 closure fee
ip/dial $25 per month
ingenico 5100 w pinpad

so basically this will cost us 35/month and nothing up front. Im trying to see if the pinpad is necessary with this unit, as the scanner has a pinpad already so that would be $7 less each month. If this is the case we will go with costco.

One question i asked which might be helpful.....If you have a costco membership to sign up then cancel it after they have no idea and will not start charging you the statement fee later on.

[Drew_W]

One of my merchant providers is Costco/Nova. I let my membership lapse for a few months and it had no effect on anything with Nova.

You should verify that they'll deposit to a business account. My merchant application clearly reads "Voided Business Cheque (reflecting the name of your business)".

The Ingenico terminal is extremely rare. It's more likely you'll get a Lipman/Nurit 8320 which is dial only and no built in pinpad. However, I bought my two terminals (both 8320s) on eBay for about $100US each. Free reprogramming to work on Nova network. When I did this with my second terminal they told me they don't do it as much anymore (so YMMV), but with a little convincing and a day to generate the application for me, we were good to go. If you tell them you were referred by a friend who did this with his terminal and chose Nova because of this they might be willing to do the same, but I don't think they're happy on losing out on a $1000 terminal sale.

What do you anticipate your annual volume to be?

[sledbc]

Annual volume will be small, a few hundred a month for now. This is the terminal they specified for me and said it would be LAN enabled which is great so it wont tie up a phone line and we have high speed already setup.
Who re-programmed your terminal for you, nova? or the terminal manufacturer/supplier?

[Drew_W]

Annual volume will be small, a few hundred a month for now. This is the terminal they specified for me and said it would be LAN enabled which is great so it wont tie up a phone line and we have high speed already setup.
Who re-programmed your terminal for you, nova? or the terminal manufacturer/supplier?

Ahh, then stick with Nova. With small volume, you won't see rates like this (1.66% for swipe is ludicrously low).

I reprogrammed the terminal myself in about a half hour - Nova tells you what buttons to push and then the terminal downloads the new software it needs. Not major surgery by any means, but this does require you to get the 8320 as the Ingenico 5100 NEVER appears on eBay.

[sledbc]

Drew W you have been very helpful thank you. I puchased a Nurit 8320 on ebay, it is as far as i know, a canadian version and came with the 292 pinpad. I called Nova and at first was told this couldnt be used, after informing them that I knew it could be she talked to her manager and came back saying that the terminal can be re-programmed over the phone but the pinpad cannot be reprogrammed even if it is sent in to them, and that it has to be either rented or purchased new for $7/month or $250 from them.

My question to you is, with your experience, to do interac transactions can the customer not type his pin directly on the unit? Is the pinpad necessary? I would assume not from what i can find online.....

found here: http://www.merchantwarehouse.com/Products/Nurit-8320.shtml

As a compact, all-in-one countertop POS, the NURIT 8320 is ideal for small and medium-sized businesses. Exceptionally secure, reliable and easy-to-handle, this flexible unit includes a secure internal PIN Pad, high speed modem, and quiet fast thermal printer, as well as magnetic card swipe, Smart Card reader, and privacy shield. Retailers with frequent PIN transactions may prefer the convenient option of a terminal plus external PIN Pad.

[Drew_W]

I answered this already via e-mail.

The pinpad is NOT integrated into the unit and must be separate, and you MUST get it from Nova directly as it cannot be reprogrammed.

[sledbc]

sorry I did not receive any emails from you just the 2 PM's.

The model I purchased is a Nurit 8320L and the description is as follows:

All-In-One terminal & printer
Handles all major credit & check cards, swiped & keyed
Internal PIN pad with DES and triple DES

but you're saying that the internal pinpad is not compatible with interac transactions.

Did you end up renting or purchasing pin pads for your units?

[Drew_W]

Yes I know it has the CAPABILITY, but not with the Nova software. I don't take debit, so I didn't buy the pinpad.

[sledbc]

Ahhh, ok. I think my wife can get by without debit for the time being anyways. If it looks like she will need it in the future we'll just rent/buy one at that time.

This looks like it will be a very inexpensive way for her to accept CC. $10/month total and that goes towards her fees.

[sledbc]

Done as of today, pinpad activated with nurit 8320 unit on the Costco/Nova account. $100 for terminal, $100 for costco account, no charges for anything other than a minimum of $10/month in CC fees at 1.6%.

I challenge anyone to find a better deal on a POS merchant account than this. Thanks Drew_W for your help.

[gravespinner]

The Costo service (Nova) just sent an update where they will be doing daily deposits (used to miss weekends). Their rates are good, but you do pay a premium (about 1/2%?) for manually entered transactions

[Statikkk]

Does anyone know if Costco's NOVA can handle electronic batch processing in large volumes? We would want to pass them hundreds of transactions at a time, totalling tens of thousands per year, via secure nightly feed. Moneris does this, but they charge $500 setup fee, $50/month on top of our regular service fees, and $0.25 per transaction. That's pretty high.

[Drew_W]

Does anyone know if Costco's NOVA can handle electronic batch processing in large volumes? We would want to pass them hundreds of transactions at a time, totalling tens of thousands per year, via secure nightly feed. Moneris does this, but they charge $500 setup fee, $50/month on top of our regular service fees, and $0.25 per transaction. That's pretty high.

Call them and find out? I don't think the service is intended for that kind of stuff though, at least not what Costco offers.

What Moneris is charging actually doesn't seem all that high, considering you pay $30-50 to rent a terminal anyways (I'm assuming you won't need one). Tens of thousands a year isn't a lot of volume though. Hundreds of thousands, then you can start negotiating.

[tkyoshi]

I need a similar solution as sledbc, my monthly/annual volume will be about the same.

However I will have much more Card Not Present transactions, is Costco/Nova still the best choice for this situation? Alternately would you reccomend Paymentech IVR over this then?

[Canucklehead]

Would this be the best solution if I am strictly online (not physically handling the credit card)?

[Drew_W]

I need a similar solution as sledbc, my monthly/annual volume will be about the same.

However I will have much more Card Not Present transactions, is Costco/Nova still the best choice for this situation? Alternately would you reccomend Paymentech IVR over this then?

Well, look at the rates. Not just the discount, but all the associated fees. There has to be some research to be done on your part as you know your business better than anyone else. Pickup the phone, call around, see what people offer you. Better yet, call back and get two quotes from two different reps. The quotes I got from Moneris 24 hours apart were dramatically different and I provided them with the same information.

[Drew_W]

Would this be the best solution if I am strictly online (not physically handling the credit card)?

Depends. The rate is okay at 2.21%. As noted above, you can buy the terminal, so all you pay is the discount, but if you have to constantly manually punch and authorize cards, it gets quite time consuming, plus you have to enable secure capture on your ecommerce site and store credit card numbers for orders. Not very efficient. Then again, internet processing will cost you more, but it can provide you with more security depending on who you go with and what features they offer as punching a number into a terminal like Nova's does NO security crosschecks, so there are tradeoffs. Bear in mind you can have multiple merchant accounts for different portions of your business.

[tkyoshi]

Well, look at the rates. Not just the discount, but all the associated fees. There has to be some research to be done on your part as you know your business better than anyone else. Pickup the phone, call around, see what people offer you. Better yet, call back and get two quotes from two different reps. The quotes I got from Moneris 24 hours apart were dramatically different and I provided them with the same information.

Thanks for the info. I did look around today, Costco/Nova still seems to have the best rates.

Peyment Tech:

$2.05/Month
15c/Trans
4.6% Visa/MC
$100 Setup
$20/Month Minimum

Paradata:
Couldn't get a hold of them

Moneris:
$45/Month
$20/Minimum fee
Didn't tell me %

Costco:
No fees for exec members
1.66% Swiped/2.21% Keyed - Visa/MC
$10 Minimum Fees
2 Year Contract
$25/Rental

Looks like I'll probably go with Costco, one question though, it seems that they have may an option for $18/month rental (no PIN-Pad) if you key all your transactions. Can anyone confirm this?

[sledbc]

Thanks for the info. I did look around today, Costco/Nova still seems to have the best rates.

Peyment Tech:

$2.05/Month
15c/Trans
4.6% Visa/MC
$100 Setup
$20/Month Minimum

Paradata:
Couldn't get a hold of them

Moneris:
$45/Month
$20/Minimum fee
Didn't tell me %

Costco:
No fees for exec members
1.66% Swiped/2.21% Keyed - Visa/MC
$10 Minimum Fees
2 Year Contract
$25/Rental

Looks like I'll probably go with Costco, one question though, it seems that they have may an option for $18/month rental (no PIN-Pad) if you key all your transactions. Can anyone confirm this?

Yes, I can confirm this. You can, though, as I did and Drew_W did, purchase a nurit 8320 terminal for cheap on ebay and activate it with Nova if you are willing to go through hoops to do it. The downside is the nurit terminal is almost impossible to find with LAN, so you will have to use it via phone line. The terminal that Nova will supply you for $18/month will have LAN access as well as dial.

[tkyoshi]

Yes, I can confirm this. You can, though, as I did and Drew_W did, purchase a nurit 8320 terminal for cheap on ebay and activate it with Nova if you are willing to go through hoops to do it. The downside is the nurit terminal is almost impossible to find with LAN, so you will have to use it via phone line. The terminal that Nova will supply you for $18/month will have LAN access as well as dial.

Ok awesome, I'll keep my eye out on ebay for terminals. Did they give you much hassle for the ebay terminal?

$25/mo for a year is $300! So if i can find out it's definately worth it to buy a cheap terminal off ebay. Did you have to buy an imprinter as well? It says imprinter required on my application form ($30).

[Drew_W]

The terminal that Nova will supply you for $18/month will have LAN access as well as dial.

Not necessarily. My initial terminal didn't.

[sledbc]

Not necessarily. My initial terminal didn't.

The current terminal they're offering is the ingenico 5100 which has LAN. At least that's what we were offered.

[sledbc]

Ok awesome, I'll keep my eye out on ebay for terminals. Did they give you much hassle for the ebay terminal?



Short answer....yes.....especially with the pin pad. The terminal I have is the US version but the pinpad is Canadian (has CA in the serial number).
They will not know which version of terminal you have, you simply follow the instructions to re-program it once your account is activated with them.
Instead of telling them you bought a used terminal on eBay, tell them you just want to transfer your existing hardware that you own to your new business. The salesmen will most likely not know that it is possible to activate your existing hardware. They will talk to a floor manager then inform you that yes, you can activate the terminal, but you will need to buy a new pinpad for Debit transactions. Just tell them thats fine etc etc.....till you get your account setup. Once you get you account setup, phone customer service and do the programming on your terminal. After that, for me, everything worked except debit transactions would get rejected with a "invalid key" message. I called customer service and told them that my pinpad wasnt working, i did not mention to this new rep that it was not a brand new pinpad. She checked and said she had to register the pinpad serial number in their system so it could generate a key. I gave them the serial number off the pinpad, ran two debit transactions through and the second one worked.

As for your second question, i did not need an imprinter.

My one suggestion is to be very polite and ask alot of questions. Be willing to buy new hardware if you absolutely need to but ask them for assistance in getting your existing hardware transferred. If you get an unhelpful customer service or training rep, just ask them to put you through to terminal support, not back to your sales rep as they cannot help you at all.

[tkyoshi]

Short answer....yes.....especially with the pin pad. The terminal I have is the US version but the pinpad is Canadian (has CA in the serial number).
They will not know which version of terminal you have, you simply follow the instructions to re-program it once your account is activated with them.
Instead of telling them you bought a used terminal on eBay, tell them you just want to transfer your existing hardware that you own to your new business. The salesmen will most likely not know that it is possible to activate your existing hardware. They will talk to a floor manager then inform you that yes, you can activate the terminal, but you will need to buy a new pinpad for Debit transactions. Just tell them thats fine etc etc.....till you get your account setup. Once you get you account setup, phone customer service and do the programming on your terminal. After that, for me, everything worked except debit transactions would get rejected with a "invalid key" message. I called customer service and told them that my pinpad wasnt working, i did not mention to this new rep that it was not a brand new pinpad. She checked and said she had to register the pinpad serial number in their system so it could generate a key. I gave them the serial number off the pinpad, ran two debit transactions through and the second one worked.

As for your second question, i did not need an imprinter.

My one suggestion is to be very polite and ask alot of questions. Be willing to buy new hardware if you absolutely need to but ask them for assistance in getting your existing hardware transferred. If you get an unhelpful customer service or training rep, just ask them to put you through to terminal support, not back to your sales rep as they cannot help you at all.

Awesome, I want to thank you for all the help you have given me! :) I really appreciate it.

I do have 1 last question, if i'm not interested in debit can i skip the PIN-Pad? Or is it mandatory?

[sledbc]

you only need it if you're going to accept debit.

[Canucklehead]

sledbc - thanks for taking the time to share your experience. You've certainly made it easier for me to understand this and given me the tips and tools to be successful!

[sledbc]

sledbc - thanks for taking the time to share your experience. You've certainly made it easier for me to understand this and given me the tips and tools to be successful!

No problem, Drew_W was of invaluable help to me to get started and choose a terminal. The only difference between my experience and his is that I was able to get my pin pad activated.
I have done a close batch and the money has been deposited into my wifes personal chequing account already. This has to be the biggest bargain in Canada for a merchant account We have spent a total of $200 including our costco business membership and are committed for a mere $10 per month including the personal bank account.

[Drew_W]

NOVA told me that because they couldn't make my pinpad work and I had purchased one they'd just send me a free one - I offered twice to return them the one I had but they told me to hold onto it. NOVA is a great company to deal with. I have no complaints whatsoever about their service, and the fact you can buy the terminal and just pay your discount every month is awesome.

[sledbc]

That is great to know Drew. The only complaint I have is not with Nova, but with the 8320 Terminal and pinpad, and the poor tip line function it has. It does not (with the Nova programming) provide an option for the customer to enter a tip on the pinpad, or even notify the cashier that he/she would like to leave a tip. The cashier has to ask the client whether or not they would like to leave a tip, which is not that classy. I figgure after a few months, maybe I can get a deal on a replacement terminal from Nova that provides this functionality.

[tkyoshi]

If i can only find a $100 terminal (Nurit) on ebay right now....

Sled_BC, did you say they can deposit into a personal account? If so i'm impressed, I just opened a business account for this purpose :( I guess didn't need to.

[Canucklehead]

terminal is about US$140 on ebay

[sledbc]

If i can only find a $100 terminal (Nurit) on ebay right now....

Sled_BC, did you say they can deposit into a personal account? If so i'm impressed, I just opened a business account for this purpose :( I guess didn't need to.

Yes, my wife's business is a proprietership with no registered business name. She setup a second account for free with our existing BMO personal account, sent a voided cheque from that account and no problems.

Just be patient with ebay finding a terminal.....here is the auction my wife won a couple weeks back:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=003&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=130071125716&rd=1&rd=1

[Drew_W]

terminal is about US$140 on ebay

That depends on how lucky you get at auction. :)

[Drew_W]

I work for Global Payments, one of the largest POS/Payment providers in the world... they acquired CIBC Merchant Visa and partnership with HSBC and National Bank and i'm sure we can beat all these rates, (I'm in IT Support though, not sales) but send my coworker am email and she will help you (she's really cute too :)

Amy Hughes
Sales Representative
Global Payments Canada GP
email: amy.hughes@globalpay.com

I highly doubt you can beat 1.66% without any additional fees *AND* without SIGNIFICANT volume.

[Canucklehead]

That depends on how lucky you get at auction. :)

That is the "BUY NOW" price - I hope one could get luckier than paying full pop :)

[sledbc]

That is the "BUY NOW" price - I hope one could get luckier than paying full pop :)

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lipman-Nurit-8320-POS-Credit-Card-Machine-Terminal-NR_W0QQitemZ300085469026QQihZ020QQcategoryZ55849QQ rdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item300085469026

http://cgi.ebay.com/LIPMAN-NURIT-8320-SECURE-PAYMENT-TERMINAL_W0QQitemZ200083549252QQihZ010QQcategoryZ5 5849QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item200083549252

[tkyoshi]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lipman-Nurit-8320-POS-Credit-Card-Machine-Terminal-NR_W0QQitemZ300085469026QQihZ020QQcategoryZ55849QQ rdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item300085469026

http://cgi.ebay.com/LIPMAN-NURIT-8320-SECURE-PAYMENT-TERMINAL_W0QQitemZ200083549252QQihZ010QQcategoryZ5 5849QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item200083549252

Nice, the problem is they don't ship to Canada :(

[Gaffer]

I am a merchant, and getting a pretty good rate ~1.7%.

The question I have is if I buy a terminal off ebay, how do I get it programmed to send the transaction to my proccesor (Paymentech)?

I have been looking to get a used terminal, but this is the only thing that is holding me back. Is it something I can do myself, or do I have to get my processor to do it?

Thanks,

Gaf

[Drew_W]

Nice, the problem is they don't ship to Canada :(

Rule #1 of eBay - unless it's a huge feedback automated seller, bid first, ask questions later. Sellers usually don't have problems shipping to Canada, they just don't think about it when they list.

[sledbc]

I am a merchant, and getting a pretty good rate ~1.7%.

The question I have is if I buy a terminal off ebay, how do I get it programmed to send the transaction to my proccesor (Paymentech)?

I have been looking to get a used terminal, but this is the only thing that is holding me back. Is it something I can do myself, or do I have to get my processor to do it?

Thanks,

Gaf

Im not sure if paymentech will activate an existing terminal. You would have to call and ask them.

[Drew_W]

I am a merchant, and getting a pretty good rate ~1.7%.

The question I have is if I buy a terminal off ebay, how do I get it programmed to send the transaction to my proccesor (Paymentech)?

I have been looking to get a used terminal, but this is the only thing that is holding me back. Is it something I can do myself, or do I have to get my processor to do it?

Thanks,

Gaf

Call PaymenTech and ask. Really. Fastest way to get an answer, and a 100% true one as to WHAT TERMINAL it is that you need.

[Canucklehead]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Lipman-Nurit-8320-POS-Credit-Card-Machine-Terminal-NR_W0QQitemZ300085469026QQihZ020QQcategoryZ55849QQ rdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item300085469026

http://cgi.ebay.com/LIPMAN-NURIT-8320-SECURE-PAYMENT-TERMINAL_W0QQitemZ200083549252QQihZ010QQcategoryZ5 5849QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item200083549252

Sorry - I was quoting $140 for a new machine. Did not look at used prices...duh! Thanks for the links.

[tzcnd]

Looking to go with Nova/Costco for my business also. The purchase of a terminal from ebay looks attractive but what if the terminal craps out? I can't wait a couple of weeks to buy another one on ebay and get it set up. I run a retail store and can't go for a day without a terminal.

I'm assuming that if you rent the terminal from Nova that they also service the terminal if there are any problems. I am with Moneris right now and if I have a problem with the terminal a service tech is usually at my store in 1-2 hours.

[Drew_W]

So buy two...if one craps out, swap in the other. You can also use both at the same time if you get busy.

[jyan]

Looking to go with Nova/Costco for my business also. The purchase of a terminal from ebay looks attractive but what if the terminal craps out? I can't wait a couple of weeks to buy another one on ebay and get it set up. I run a retail store and can't go for a day without a terminal.

I'm assuming that if you rent the terminal from Nova that they also service the terminal if there are any problems. I am with Moneris right now and if I have a problem with the terminal a service tech is usually at my store in 1-2 hours.

I called Nova about repair service and they said if they can't fix it over the phone they send you a new one next day shipping, but you pay a $45 fee. Theres no local service from what the rep told me. Something to factor in when making your decision.

[emocean]

Just an FYI for people looking for merchant services. It usually helps to join some business group (local or national ie: Chamber of Commerce, Retail Council of Canada etc) as they usually have deals worked through one of the merchant companies for their members.

::

[cor]

Hi, we are a non-profit organization and we want to set up credit card processing. We have applied to Nova with our Costco membership and we bought a terminal (Nurit 8320) through Ebay.

Our merchant applicaiton has not been processed yet, but we have sent it in. I told the sales rep that we already have a terminal, but I didn't tell him we got it off ebay. Now he says he can't pass our app on to underwriting until we confirm the terminal came from another Nova mercahnt. I am pretty sure the one I got off ebay didn't come from a Nova merchant. He said underwriting will not even look at our app unless we confirm our equipment came from them.

Is there any advice anyone (sledbc or Drew_W????) can offer to help us get approved and get Nova to let us use our used terminal? I am sure that I will be able to reprogram the equipment myself, like many of you did, so if there is anything else you can help me with I would really appreciate it.

We can't really afford the $25 rental fee or the $999 purchase price. Even the $10 is gonna be steep but it will help bring in more donations!

Cor

[Drew_W]

Hi, we are a non-profit organization and we want to set up credit card processing. We have applied to Nova with our Costco membership and we bought a terminal (Nurit 8320) through Ebay.

Our merchant applicaiton has not been processed yet, but we have sent it in. I told the sales rep that we already have a terminal, but I didn't tell him we got it off ebay. Now he says he can't pass our app on to underwriting until we confirm the terminal came from another Nova mercahnt. I am pretty sure the one I got off ebay didn't come from a Nova merchant. He said underwriting will not even look at our app unless we confirm our equipment came from them.

Is there any advice anyone (sledbc or Drew_W????) can offer to help us get approved and get Nova to let us use our used terminal? I am sure that I will be able to reprogram the equipment myself, like many of you did, so if there is anything else you can help me with I would really appreciate it.

We can't really afford the $25 rental fee or the $999 purchase price. Even the $10 is gonna be steep but it will help bring in more donations!

Cor

Don't tell them until AFTER your application goes through!!! Now that you have though, you can just push the issue that you have a terminal you know will work on their system and this is the reason you decided on Nova. Pretend you're a big fish and losing your business will hurt them. Go from there.

And there is no real $10 charge - say if you do $1000 of processing at 2.21% that means you pay $22.10 for that month. If your monthly total discount paid is less than $10, they roll up to $10, but beyond that you pay for what you ACTUALLY use. No monthly fees whatsoever.

[cor]

Don't tell them until AFTER your application goes through!!! Now that you have though, you can just push the issue that you have a terminal you know will work on their system and this is the reason you decided on Nova. Pretend you're a big fish and losing your business will hurt them. Go from there.

And there is no real $10 charge - say if you do $1000 of processing at 2.21% that means you pay $22.10 for that month. If your monthly total discount paid is less than $10, they roll up to $10, but beyond that you pay for what you ACTUALLY use. No monthly fees whatsoever.

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

We will really have low volume and discount will be well below $10 so I know l be bumped up to $10, at least at first. After we get our charity number we hope to bring in more donations. :)

[Drew_W]

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

We will really have low volume and discount will be well below $10 so I know l be bumped up to $10, at least at first. After we get our charity number we hope to bring in more donations. :)

It takes $452.49 to make $10....you've gotta be processing at least that much a month!!

[cor]

It takes $452.49 to make $10....you've gotta be processing at least that much a month!!

So if we process under $452.49 we just pay $10 right?

Cor

[cor]

Nova denied our application. We are a non-profit society. We need to have 3rd party prepared tax returns. Since our revenues are so low, we do not file tax returns and we don't have audited financial statements. They want a personal guarantee from one of the board members. None of us are in a position to provide that, so Nova is not an option for us. :(

Cor

[Canucklehead]

Call Costco (613.221.2000) and ask to speak with someone in member services or customer relations. Explain the situation and ask that they help broker some type of agreement with their supplier Nova.

If you have significant challenges getting in touch with the right person at Costco, PM me.

[ID33]

I'm using the Moneris for 6 years, and I want to change to Costco Nova Network. I phoned the moneris today, they told me the cancellation fee will be $300 dollars, but I never sign the contract with them before. Did any one been charge for the cancellation fee?: mad:

[Drew_W]

I'm using the Moneris for 6 years, and I want to change to Costco Nova Network. I phoned the moneris today, they told me the cancellation fee will be $300 dollars, but I never sign the contract with them before. Did any one been charge for the cancellation fee?: mad:

Moneris won't match Costco rates for a longtime existing customer? Ask to speak to the retentions department. Or a supervisor/manager.

[DGirl]

Standard Moneris contracts are for 3 years of processing ONLY. Tell them you know this and they'll drop the issue.

[Hikeskigolfrelax]

I found out today that effective June 1, Visa's rate thru Global Payments is increasing from 2.6% to 2.83%, and that MC is rising from 2.6% to 2.98%. Yikes!

I'm considering switching to Nova/Costco.... any word on whether their rates are also increasing? Nova's rates are 1.99% on phone transactions, as far as I understand... anyone confirm?

All of our business is done over the telephone, so all credit card transactions are also over the phone (no swiping). Our volume is about 35K per annum. On rare occasion we will take a card imprint as damage deposit. Any suggestions are welcomed.

[Drew_W]

I found out today that effective June 1, Visa's rate thru Global Payments is increasing from 2.6% to 2.83%, and that MC is rising from 2.6% to 2.98%. Yikes!

I'm considering switching to Nova/Costco.... any word on whether their rates are also increasing? Nova's rates are 1.99% on phone transactions, as far as I understand... anyone confirm?

All of our business is done over the telephone, so all credit card transactions are also over the phone (no swiping). Our volume is about 35K per annum. On rare occasion we will take a card imprint as damage deposit. Any suggestions are welcomed.

1.66% for swipe, 2.21% for keying into your terminal or any other card not present.

[tkyoshi]

I found out today that effective June 1, Visa's rate thru Global Payments is increasing from 2.6% to 2.83%, and that MC is rising from 2.6% to 2.98%. Yikes!

I'm considering switching to Nova/Costco.... any word on whether their rates are also increasing? Nova's rates are 1.99% on phone transactions, as far as I understand... anyone confirm?

All of our business is done over the telephone, so all credit card transactions are also over the phone (no swiping). Our volume is about 35K per annum. On rare occasion we will take a card imprint as damage deposit. Any suggestions are welcomed.

Did you talk to Global? If you've been a customer for a long time they might be able to work out a special rate for you.

[Hikeskigolfrelax]

Did you talk to Global? If you've been a customer for a long time they might be able to work out a special rate for you.

I did briefly, asking what the terms of the contract are, etc. and asking about penalties with regard to ending the agreement. I mentioned that I'd found their rates to be too high and that I'm considering taking my business elsewhere. The person I spoke with gave me the number of someone to call, our account representative, or some such title. I guess that's my next step.

Haven't been with them long (~6 months). We plunged into business and needed a merchant account immediately. We didn't shop around, and shortly after signing on with Global, I found out about Nova/Costco. Even though I haven't been with them long, I'm still going to squeak and squeal. Maybe they'll budge a bit?

[tkyoshi]

I did briefly, asking what the terms of the contract are, etc. and asking about penalties with regard to ending the agreement. I mentioned that I'd found their rates to be too high and that I'm considering taking my business elsewhere. The person I spoke with gave me the number of someone to call, our account representative, or some such title. I guess that's my next step.

Haven't been with them long (~6 months). We plunged into business and needed a merchant account immediately. We didn't shop around, and shortly after signing on with Global, I found out about Nova/Costco. Even though I haven't been with them long, I'm still going to squeak and squeal. Maybe they'll budge a bit?

Ya, definately try. Like i said in other threads, they actually offered me 2% for card not present transactions which is in between Costco's Swiped/Card Not Present rates (1.66/2.21).

Obviously it may be different for you since rates are slightly different for volume and nature of business but just talk to them.

[tzcnd]

Has anybody else who has been approved by Nova had to send them tax returns to get approved? I know they ask for them but there is no way that I will be sending them tax returns. That is none of there business. I know that they also ask for a personal guarantee but there is no way that I am signing that. That is why I am incorporated. I have been in business for 14 years and if that is not enough for them then I guess I will look somewhere else. The only reason that I got a Costco membership was for the credit card processing if they don't approve my application then I'll just use my Costco membership for 11 months and then get a full refund on the membership.



Nova denied our application. We are a non-profit society. We need to have 3rd party prepared tax returns. Since our revenues are so low, we do not file tax returns and we don't have audited financial statements. They want a personal guarantee from one of the board members. None of us are in a position to provide that, so Nova is not an option for us. :(

Cor

[sledbc]

Has anybody else who has been approved by Nova had to send them tax returns to get approved? I know they ask for them but there is no way that I will be sending them tax returns. That is none of there business. I know that they also ask for a personal guarantee but there is no way that I am signing that. That is why I am incorporated. I have been in business for 14 years and if that is not enough for them then I guess I will look somewhere else. The only reason that I got a Costco membership was for the credit card processing if they don't approve my application then I'll just use my Costco membership for 11 months and then get a full refund on the membership.

My wife's business is a proprietership, they did not ask for tax returns. They did want me to co-sign for her since she hasn't built up much of her own credit as she is just a secondary cardholder on my accounts/mortgage etc.

[copter]

Don't tell them until AFTER your application goes through!!! Now that you have though, you can just push the issue that you have a terminal you know will work on their system and this is the reason you decided on Nova. Pretend you're a big fish and losing your business will hurt them. Go from there.

And there is no real $10 charge - say if you do $1000 of processing at 2.21% that means you pay $22.10 for that month. If your monthly total discount paid is less than $10, they roll up to $10, but beyond that you pay for what you ACTUALLY use. No monthly fees whatsoever.



Nova approved my application bunt will not under any circumstance allow me to use my Nurit cc machine (model # escapes my atm, but it's the one that was reported in here to be supported by them). They say they do not currently, nor have they ever, supported this machine or programmed any 3rd party units. I know it's BS, but I guess I'm just faced with taking my business elsewhere since they won't budge.

[sledbc]

Nova approved my application bunt will not under any circumstance allow me to use my Nurit cc machine (model # escapes my atm, but it's the one that was reported in here to be supported by them). They say they do not currently, nor have they ever, supported this machine or programmed any 3rd party units. I know it's BS, but I guess I'm just faced with taking my business elsewhere since they won't budge.

Do you have a nova account number then? call in to customer service to activate your nurit 8320, if thats what you bought. A customer service agent will tell you what to dial and what buttons to push to activate it.

[goforthepin]

My contract with Moneris will expire in June so the tips and information in this thread is great!

Before I consider changing vendor and start saving money :), is there a terminal available that works with costco similar to what moneris offers with Bell service? Our retail business is mobile - going from one event location to another.

Do we also need a dedicated phone line (business) for a permanent terminal for our store?

Thanks

John

[sledbc]

My contract with Moneris will expire in June so the tips and information in this thread is great!

Before I consider changing vendor and start saving money :), is there a terminal available that works with costco similar to what moneris offers with Bell service? Our retail business is mobile - going from one event location to another.

Do we also need a dedicated phone line (business) for a permanent terminal for our store?

Thanks

John

Im not sure if they have a mobile terminal, there isn't one listed on the nova canada website. As far as a dedicated line, the Nurit 8320 that most of us have and are using is a phone line terminal. The terminal they are providing for rentals to new customers (ingenico 5100) is phone and LAN capable, so if you have a high speed internet connection you will not need a phone line.

[goforthepin]

I do have a high speed line at my store so this is a good option for me.

What are the contract length options (12, 24, 36 months)?
AND when the transaction in printed, does it say the company's name?

I'm wondering if it's possible to use this terminal for another business or I may need to get 2 accounts.

Thanks.

[sledbc]

I do have a high speed line at my store so this is a good option for me.

What are the contract length options (12, 24, 36 months)?
AND when the transaction in printed, does it say the company's name?

I'm wondering if it's possible to use this terminal for another business or I may need to get 2 accounts.

Thanks.

Its 24 months if I remember. I only have the nurit 8320, not the 5100 that has LAN, so I cannot tell you about the features on that unit. But the header with the company name is editable within the machine. It will show your business name on the persons credit card statement though. I think you can use one terminal with 2 businesses but you would probably need 2 accounts. With no fees though, except the $10 minimum.....its pretty cheap, unless you do less than 1000 in transactions per month it wont cost you a penny to have 2 accounts.

[Drew_W]

I do have a high speed line at my store so this is a good option for me.

What are the contract length options (12, 24, 36 months)?
AND when the transaction in printed, does it say the company's name?

I'm wondering if it's possible to use this terminal for another business or I may need to get 2 accounts.

Thanks.

Keep it separate. Aside from the extra cost of the machine ($150), you only need to do about $450 of processing to reach the $10 minimum monthly, so two accounts is quite possible. Under the same business you can also have multiple merchant accounts if you need to.

[krazy]

if you sign up for a Chamber of Commerce membership, TD Merchant has fantastic rates (for members).

[Drew_W]

if you sign up for a Chamber of Commerce membership, TD Merchant has fantastic rates (for members).

Not as good as Nova, and from what I hear, their customer service absolutely blows.

[tzcnd]

Not as good as Nova, and from what I hear, their customer service absolutely blows.

Had a business account with Canada Trust and was happy with their service but then when TD took over their service went south very quickly.:mad: It was a very happy day for me when I closed that account. I have never dealt with TD Canada Trust again and never will.

[tzcnd]

Nova approved my application bunt will not under any circumstance allow me to use my Nurit cc machine (model # escapes my atm, but it's the one that was reported in here to be supported by them). They say they do not currently, nor have they ever, supported this machine or programmed any 3rd party units. I know it's BS, but I guess I'm just faced with taking my business elsewhere since they won't budge.

Asked them the same question and there response was "We are unable to program terminals in Canada". This seems a little weird since when they first emailed me my application they asked me what kind of equipment that I had or if I needed to lease/purchase equipment from them.

I'm slightly POed that I can't pick-up a Nurit terminal and use it but if they won't do it anymore then I guess I am out of luck. Their rental fee i quite a bit less than I am paying with Moneris right now so at least there will still be a savings.

[Drew_W]

Asked them the same question and there response was "We are unable to program terminals in Canada". This seems a little weird since when they first emailed me my application they asked me what kind of equipment that I had or if I needed to lease/purchase equipment from them.

I'm slightly POed that I can't pick-up a Nurit terminal and use it but if they won't do it anymore then I guess I am out of luck. Their rental fee i quite a bit less than I am paying with Moneris right now so at least there will still be a savings.

Of course they can. Just ask to speak to a supervisor, and say you already have the equipment and don't want to have to rent.

[Hikeskigolfrelax]

Ya, definately try. Like i said in other threads, they actually offered me 2% for card not present transactions which is in between Costco's Swiped/Card Not Present rates (1.66/2.21).

Obviously it may be different for you since rates are slightly different for volume and nature of business but just talk to them.

Well.... I've been trying since April 13 to reach my elusive sales rep.... man, he must be busy! I've left 3 or 4 messages on his voice mail, but he never returns my call... I'm not very impressed with Global Payments. Perhaps my volume is too low to be bothered with?

[tkyoshi]

Well.... I've been trying since April 13 to reach my elusive sales rep.... man, he must be busy! I've left 3 or 4 messages on his voice mail, but he never returns my call... I'm not very impressed with Global Payments. Perhaps my volume is too low to be bothered with?

Woah that's not good, heh if you think your volume is low I'm sure mine is lower.

I only do a couple hundred a month :P.

The rep I have has been very good, we usually communicate through email. She usually responds within a couple hours during business hours which I am impressed with.

[cor]

Has anybody else who has been approved by Nova had to send them tax returns to get approved? I know they ask for them but there is no way that I will be sending them tax returns. That is none of there business. I know that they also ask for a personal guarantee but there is no way that I am signing that. That is why I am incorporated. I have been in business for 14 years and if that is not enough for them then I guess I will look somewhere else. The only reason that I got a Costco membership was for the credit card processing if they don't approve my application then I'll just use my Costco membership for 11 months and then get a full refund on the membership.

Nova denied our application. We are a non-profit society. We need to have 3rd party prepared tax returns. Since our revenues are so low, we do not file tax returns and we don't have audited financial statements. They want a personal guarantee from one of the board members. None of us are in a position to provide that, so Nova is not an option for us. :(

Cor

The rep did not ask for my personal tax return. At first I sent our Financial Statements but he said that would not be good enough to approve us. I suggested audited financial statements he said that would not be good enough either. He said since we were a non-profit organziation, we would need to provide our government processed tax return. He also asked for our 501 something. I said we were in Canada but we did have something equivelant, registering as a Charity with the federal gov't but our application hasn't been processed yet. He said without it, they would need our organziation's tax refund. He also said one or two board members could do a personal guarantee but none of our board members should have to do that just to get approved for the group. It is beyond the scope of the directors duties.

Cor

[Hikeskigolfrelax]

Woah that's not good, heh if you think your volume is low I'm sure mine is lower.

I only do a couple hundred a month :P.

The rep I have has been very good, we usually communicate through email. She usually responds within a couple hours during business hours which I am impressed with.

Today, out of the blue, I finally got a call from Global. It was someone other than my sales rep. She apologised for the lack of response to my calls. Anyway she dropped our rate down to 2.25% for card not present transactions. I'm fine with it, but I will keep my options open when the 3 yr term expires.

[kazaf40]

Anyone knows where I can get Nurit 8320 with Nurit 292 pinpad OR Ingenico 5100 with Ingenico 3050 pinpad for cheap, like under $500?

Thank you.

[Drew_W]

Anyone knows where I can get Nurit 8320 with Nurit 292 pinpad OR Ingenico 5100 with Ingenico 3050 pinpad for cheap, like under $500?

Thank you.

Do some reading on this forum. We've discussed this already.

[kazaf40]

Do some reading on this forum. We've discussed this already.

Thanks for your reply. But I already read through all the posts. I know I could find them through eBay, but currenly, I can't find them in eBay. So I would like to know if any trustable site sell them.

[Drew_W]

Thanks for your reply. But I already read through all the posts. I know I could find them through eBay, but currenly, I can't find them in eBay. So I would like to know if any trustable site sell them.

I have no idea how you're searching but it took me 3 seconds to find http://cgi.ebay.com/Lipman-Nurit-8320-Credit-Card-Terminal-Reader-Good-Cond_W0QQitemZ250125904363QQihZ015QQcategoryZ55849 QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem as an example.

[sledbc]

there was an ingenico 5100 with pinpad on ebay and it just ended. I was looking at picking it up but wary because it was european, if the price was less I would have got it and tried to get it programmed with nova.

[Gee]

Does Nova offer IVR or TTC at all? I read thru the entire thread and it appears everyone is keying in the numbers into their terminal.

Also, can you apply for this at Costco or must it be done online?

[lh0628]

Great thread.

If you have CFIB membership ($250+25 for each employee), then you only need to pay $25 setup fee, $26/month rental fee. Then 1.61% for average transaction amount under $50, or 1.71% for average amount between $50-$500, then 1.81% I think for $500 and up.

$8 minimum transaction fees. NO CONTRACT. You get free check books too if you sign up with Scotia for a business account.

Pretty comparable to Nova/Costco. Anyone know if right now you can use e-bay terminals with either company?

[regrus]

Do you know how much CFIB program charges for Debit Card transactions?
I think Nova recently raised there Debit fee's from 6 cents to 8 cents per transaction. Can anyone confirm?

[lh0628]

Nova's 8 cents, Chase is 9 cents as far as I know.

[shepkraft]

I recently signed up with Cardex - informed the salesperson that in our business we authorize credit cards prior to packing customers orders. Was told this was ok. We received our terminal but couldn't do preauth's - apparently the machine wasn't preset. Have been informed by Cardex that unless we are in the hospitality industry we can't do preauth's (Visa Canada doesn't allow).
So now we face the chance of spending 30 minutes - 1 hour picking/packing an order only to find out the card has declined.
Is anyone here with Cardex? Is it true preauth's aren't possible?

Hoping someone can advise.

Sandy

[copter]

I've been using Paypal now for the better part of a year with moderate success. I'd like to move over to a more prefessional look now though. Since 90% of my sales are through the internet, does anyone know where I can get rates of 2% (or less) for online purchases? My volume is about $10k/month. I'm currently paying 2.2%+60 cents with Paypal so it'll have to be cheaper than that for me to make the move. TIA.

[ebizimage]

Anyone has a good way (economical) to process Interac payments without setting up another Visa/Mastercard merchant account?

[Drew_W]

I've been using Paypal now for the better part of a year with moderate success. I'd like to move over to a more prefessional look now though. Since 90% of my sales are through the internet, does anyone know where I can get rates of 2% (or less) for online purchases? My volume is about $10k/month. I'm currently paying 2.2%+60 cents with Paypal so it'll have to be cheaper than that for me to make the move. TIA.

Get on the phone and negotiate. The basic TD Chamber of Commerce (Toronto Board of Trade, etc) rate is 2.2% for mail order/telephone order for Visa, 2.3% for MC. Moneris is a little weird. I called them twice a few hours apart and got two different offers (like wildly different).

Point being: get on the phone and negotiate.

[sledbc]

my wife is re-doing her nova account to get the ingenico machine because it has a better tip line than the nurit machine she will be renting the new machine and pinpad for $25/month. She will be selling her nurit 8320 with pinpad that are confirmed working with Nova Canada in a week or 2. PM if you're interested.

[sledbc]

OK, her new machine is here and setup and my wife is now paying $25/month more than b4 but shes happy with the new tip line the other machine has. Her nurit 8320 with pinpad in excellent condition guaranteed functioning on NOVA Canada is for sale. $300 (one yrs rental fee).

PM if interested.

[SignalControl]

beware everyone,
there is small font line in the contract saying that if you break the contract before the due date, you have to pay $125 + the remaining money on leasing the terminal. Assuming you cancel after one year, you should pay 125+(12 x 25) = $425 !!!!!!!!!!

when i asked if there any hidden charges for cancellation, they emphasized there is only $125 fee. when i read the contract, I called them back and i told them they lied. the guy said he didn't know about until i told him and he is very sorry about it. SORRRY.... MY ASS!!!!

think twice before signing any good deal...

[CatDog]

contact nxgen payments they're now coming into Canada and are damn competitive.

Yep, its a 3 year contract and will cost either $200/$300 to break, but with how much you're saving monthly it's worth it.

Contact Tyler and mention Cris sent you, he'll take care of you

[SignalControl]

to be honest, i am tired of little guys, making money in between... i would either work with monaris or paymentech so that i have my bank support behind.
the little guys, one way or another, will end up working with the big guys. so why make hassle for ourselves for few dollars savings in month???

[Drew_W]

beware everyone,
there is small font line in the contract saying that if you break the contract before the due date, you have to pay $125 + the remaining money on leasing the terminal. Assuming you cancel after one year, you should pay 125+(12 x 25) = $425 !!!!!!!!!!

when i asked if there any hidden charges for cancellation, they emphasized there is only $125 fee. when i read the contract, I called them back and i told them they lied. the guy said he didn't know about until i told him and he is very sorry about it. SORRRY.... MY ASS!!!!

think twice before signing any good deal...

Doesn't matter if you were smart and spent < $100 on a terminal on eBay.

[SignalControl]

i already got the machine smart boy but they don't like it cause they can't make money out it.

[Drew_W]

i already got the machine smart boy but they don't like it cause they can't make money out it.

They have never given me so much as a grimace over not renting a terminal from them. Always willing to go to great lengths to help me setup terminals that I didn't rent or buy from them. They even gave me a free pinpad because one I bought from elsewhere didn't work and they felt bad or something.

[SignalControl]

what you are saying does not match what they offer. maybe you should give them call as a new client and see things have changed with their customer service.

[alexistarzi]

for the record, Costco sends you to a 3rd party in the US. Service is borderline. Costco themselves use Moneris for their stores. If you want a good program, you should check out Retail Council of Canada. They will get you rates that are below 2%. More importatly, you should always get the electronic terminal since the rates are much lower vs. manual swipe.

[HunkaHunkaBurningLove]

Is this Costco merchant services program still a good one to join? I wouldn't mind upgrading to the executive membership, buying a Ingenico 5100 on ebaY to be reprogrammed and purchasing a pinpad from NOVA/ELAVON. Are the Ingenico 5100 reprogrammable?

I see their rates are now 1.72%.

[Drew_W]

for the record, Costco sends you to a 3rd party in the US. Service is borderline. Costco themselves use Moneris for their stores. If you want a good program, you should check out Retail Council of Canada. They will get you rates that are below 2%. More importatly, you should always get the electronic terminal since the rates are much lower vs. manual swipe.

This is a beware moment? Why? Nova/Evalon is fantastic. Their support is top notch, and I haven't had any issues from years of using them.

I particularly find their tech support is fantastic. I have slight issues with my terminal, or want to reprogram one I bought on eBay, no problem, it takes them a few seconds to figure out what the issue is and they seem to know right away how to fix it. I don't care if they're reading from a script, but it's none of this Dell crap of "lemme put you on hold for 5-8 minutes while I look up what that error code is".

[Drew_W]

Are the Ingenico 5100 reprogrammable?

Absolutely. I just did one.

[7588]

I'm using the Moneris for 6 years, and I want to change to Costco Nova Network. I phoned the moneris today, they told me the cancellation fee will be $300 dollars, but I never sign the contract with them before. Did any one been charge for the cancellation fee?: mad:

Hi All,

I just got off the phone with Moneris and am steaming mad! We just finished a three-year contract with them that ended in July, but unbeknownst to me, that contract automatically renews and so b/c we didn't cancel on the day of in July, we are locked into an automatic second three-year contract which will cost $300 to cancel.

Has anyone else had this problem or have any ideas how to deal with this issue?

Thank you so much! :)

[DGirl]

Moneris is totally within their rights to charge the cancellation penalty. However, it is also completely discretionary as to whether they collect or not. Meaning, be nice, sweet talk and try not to get screaming mad.

Ask what they can do to make sure that everybody goes away from the deal happy. Alternatively, mention that with the upcoming changes in the credit industry (look forward to a good rate hike coming direct from V & M/C plus a new percentage charge on debit transactions & new non-qual rates) that you would like to capitalize on your options. Ask them to win your loyalty or let you go.

[philelmo]

I'm an on-site worker and take payment on the customer's computer. I go to beanstream.com (a local Victoria, BC company) and type in the card number/amount. No swiping and no machine to carry around. It's about 3-3.5%.

Does anyone know of a similar service that is cheaper?

[HunkaHunkaBurningLove]

Absolutely. I just did one.

Who did you talk with at Elavon? I called and mentioned that I wanted to sign up but I would need to have my Ingenico 5100 reprogrammed, but the rep said they didn't do that. I actually haven't purchased the 5100 yet, and they go for about $450 on ebaY so I just need to make sure they will do it before buying one.

[Drew_W]

Bumping this to let you guys know that I got Nova/Elavon to reprogram an Ingenico 7780, the wireless Bluetooth version of the 5100. They don't support the 7780 at all, but a quick call to Ingenico helpdesk said the 5100 software is perfectly compatible, and Nova/Elavon folks were good sports about letting me try it out, and lo and behold, it worked. This kind of customer service is really second to none - I've never experienced a company that says YES to a customer as much as these guys do, and without any prodding on my part. It helps that their rates are really good too, so they definitely retain my business past my contract expiration.

[Drew_W]

I actually haven't purchased the 5100 yet, and they go for about $450 on ebaY

And BTW on that, I got my 5100 for under $100, and my 7780 for $150.

[HunkaHunkaBurningLove]

Well I decided to try calling again as I thought maybe the CSR who I was dealing with wasn't aware about reprogramming terminals. I called the number at the Costco.ca site 1-866-325-3281 and asked about having a terminal reprogrammed. Two CSR's both said that they don't reprogram terminals so I don't know if it's maybe because I don't have a current account with them or what, but yep I got shot down again.

I wonder if they only reprogram terminals for existing customers. Anyone else have any luck besides Drew_W? It looks like the rental term for the terminal and pad rental is for 24 months. I might still sign up with them and see if I can get an ebaY terminal programmed near the end of the term if that's the only way to do it. The only ebaY Ingenico 5100 I can find is one for $275:

5100 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370129939001)

[skingjack]

Hello,

Just received an email from Inuit offering merchant services for small businesses. The basic online payment option charges 12.95/month while the option for paying via Quickbooks is priced at 19.95/ month. Fees for the former is 2.9% (c/c info always manually inputted) while the latter is 2.64%.

Does anyone have any familiarity with these services? If so, looking forward to your comments about customer service etc.

TIA.

Jack

[Drew_W]

Hello,

Just received an email from Inuit offering merchant services for small businesses. The basic online payment option charges 12.95/month while the option for paying via Quickbooks is priced at 19.95/ month. Fees for the former is 2.9% (c/c info always manually inputted) while the latter is 2.64%.

Does anyone have any familiarity with these services? If so, looking forward to your comments about customer service etc.

TIA.

Jack

They're too much. You can get better rates.

[matdwyer]

Hello,

Just received an email from Inuit offering merchant services for small businesses. The basic online payment option charges 12.95/month while the option for paying via Quickbooks is priced at 19.95/ month. Fees for the former is 2.9% (c/c info always manually inputted) while the latter is 2.64%.

Does anyone have any familiarity with these services? If so, looking forward to your comments about customer service etc.

TIA.

Jack

Hmmm... I might just take them up on this - does that include accepting online/phone payments, or does the cardholder have to be there at the time??

[skingjack]

Matdwyer,

I believe the person does not have to be there. Follow the link to get the details:

http://paymentsolutions.intuit.com/lp/janssem/

Drew_W- can I ask you where you might have found cheaper rates? Nova?

My volumes are very low so a virtual terminal/IVR setup would be ideal.

Jack

[Drew_W]

Matdwyer,

I believe the person does not have to be there. Follow the link to get the details:

http://paymentsolutions.intuit.com/lp/janssem/

Drew_W- can I ask you where you might have found cheaper rates? Nova?

My volumes are very low so a virtual terminal/IVR setup would be ideal.

Jack

Look up the rates you get through chamber of commerce (TD Merchant Services) and business organizations (usually Paymentech). Both beat this offer. You should also find out what processor is behind Intuit since you don't want to gamble with money.

[pacifistworld]

Dont waste time in Paymentech. They have hidden fees and long cotracts.

[pietrojackson]

Hi,

IVR costs - you can expect to pay 2.4% and up; other costs would be.....

> a per/transaction fee of approx $0.85c
> Monthly fee of $15 and up
> Report Fee of $6 and up

You'll also pay a setup fee of $99.

Be aware that the quotations will differ from company to company but if its less on one component then it will be higher on others.

Pietro

[matdwyer]

Matdwyer,

I believe the person does not have to be there. Follow the link to get the details:

http://paymentsolutions.intuit.com/lp/janssem/

Drew_W- can I ask you where you might have found cheaper rates? Nova?

My volumes are very low so a virtual terminal/IVR setup would be ideal.

Jack

I looked into this and it is USA only - I'm still looking for the cheapest online billing solution... or mobile solution... low transactions (10-20 a month) for about $100 each transaction. I'm currently using PayPal, at 2.9% its not super bad, but I want some sort of mobile solution as well, or at least an online invoicing thing.

If anyone has any reccomendations let me know!

[pietrojackson]

Hello,

Just received an email from Inuit offering merchant services for small businesses. The basic online payment option charges 12.95/month while the option for paying via Quickbooks is priced at 19.95/ month. Fees for the former is 2.9% (c/c info always manually inputted) while the latter is 2.64%.

Does anyone have any familiarity with these services? If so, looking forward to your comments about customer service etc.

TIA.

Jack



Hi,
This is usually called 'Virtual Merchant' where you enter from a PC; you can also get with a keypad if you can swipe all/some of the cards which gives you lower rates [say 1.7% basic up to 2.4% for non-swiped] and you can use for Debit to - but you pay more monthly.

For the straight Virtual Merchant the rates look OK - typical $$ would be 3.0% + 35c transaction fee + $40/month fee.
With all the options make sure that you get a written statement of all the costs - its usual for there to be [at least] 9 different % rates that you pay [not just the basic that's quoted] plus other fees and charges that aren't specified when you signup

Pietro

[matdwyer]

Hi,
This is usually called 'Virtual Merchant' where you enter from a PC; you can also get with a keypad if you can swipe all/some of the cards which gives you lower rates [say 1.7% basic up to 2.4% for non-swiped] and you can use for Debit to - but you pay more monthly.

For the straight Virtual Merchant the rates look OK - typical $$ would be 3.0% + 35c transaction fee + $40/month fee.
With all the options make sure that you get a written statement of all the costs - its usual for there to be [at least] 9 different % rates that you pay [not just the basic that's quoted] plus other fees and charges that aren't specified when you signup

Pietro

That offer was strictly for the US.

You seem very knowledgeable, can you help me find a solution to my post above?

[CatDog]

contact Nxgen Canada, you can negotiate and they're by far the best price wise.

[skingjack]

Thanks for the info everybody... disappointing to find this offer as being USA only. Time to check out Nxgen. Anyone know how they are in the customer service department?

Jack

[DaiseyB]

This is a great thread. There was a post regarding a mobile unit for tradeshows - which is primarily what I'm more interested in.

For the ethernet units, if I was able to configure a laptop that has mobile internet already to share the internet and connect the terminal to the laptop, would that theoretically work to become a 'mobile' terminal?

I'm trying to find the most cost effective way possible without shelling out the $$ for the mobile units...

Thanks in advance!

[Aggy]

Sorry to revive this thread, but I'm looking into getting a terminal for my business which is about 100 transactions a month.

Is Costco/Elavon still the best way to go in terms of price, support, etc? Thanks.

[CSAgent]

Sorry to revive this thread, but I'm looking into getting a terminal for my business which is about 100 transactions a month.

Is Costco/Elavon still the best way to go in terms of price, support, etc? Thanks.

Whats your average transaction size? Or estimated volume? Are you looking for Visa/MC/Debit or just one out of the three?

[Aggy]

My average transaction size is between $45 and $75 with a minimum 5 transactions per day, 5 days/week. All 3 cards would be nice to accept, but if it's cheaper to have just one, then debit would be the one. Thanks for any info.

Whats your average transaction size? Or estimated volume? Are you looking for Visa/MC/Debit or just one out of the three?

[SignalControl]

I am selling INGENICO i5310 Terminal + i3050 PIN Pad. I bought the terminal and PIN pad brand new and used it for few months until the transaction processing company went bankrupt and I had to switch over to Moneris (I have explained the details in the this forum before). Moneris only rents its equipment therefore I have to sell these equipments to recover lost.
I live in Montreal. You can either pick up the device yourself or pay me through PayPal and I send it to you by courier. Click here (http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/sendmessage.php?do=mailmember&u=173633) to send me an email. Also suggest your price.

[sledbc]

Sorry to revive this thread, but I'm looking into getting a terminal for my business which is about 100 transactions a month.

Is Costco/Elavon still the best way to go in terms of price, support, etc? Thanks.

My wife still has her nurit 8320 terminal for use on elavon available for sale if you're interested. She is still with elavon, just rents now because of the LAN aspect of the new terminal preventing us having a second phone line.

[alwayslookingforadeal]

I'm getting really tired of rates going up...our company is with moneris and it seems like we get a letter advising rate changes 4-5 months.

Does anyone have any experience with Elavon?

[Hikeskigolfrelax]

We run a vacation home and have an account with global payments. It's been trouble-free other than the high fees compared Elavon (Costco).

To charge, all we do is obtain the client's visa/mc card number over the telephone. We never deal with actual cards. GP has a system that involves calling a 1-800 number, entering your account #, then simply keying in the cc # on the phone, charges, etc. Very simple.

Elavon doesn't have cc charging using a phone. What do we need to continue with Elavon? What's a 5100? Do I need other equipment? The Elavon software/virtual terminal is something i'm not interested in (cost and security).

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Sirus]

I'm also looking into Elavon via Costco. I posted a thread asking about it not long ago, heh.

The 5100 refers to the POS terminal. You would have to rent this from Elavon, or else buy a compatible terminal, just make sure you research VERY carefully if you decide to buy (in case it turns out it's incompatible).

Check out the pdf link on the elavon website, just scroll down to "POS solutions" and click the "Learn more" linky. It will show you exactly what the 5100 is, else just google it.
http://www.elavon.com/acquiring/countries/canada.aspx

I would imagine you would just need to connect this terminal to a phone line, and manually enter your card numbers on the terminal to process them, which should be very straightforward. However, be mindful that if you manually enter numbers, your rate will be higher! Check out the fine print, http://www.elavon.com/acquiring/costco-canada/ Also note that there is a $10 minimum monthly charge. That is... if your credit card fees are below $10, ie. $5.45 , you will be charged the $10 minimum (at least that is my understanding...).

"* Mail order and telephone order rates are 2.23%; key-entered retail rates are 2.39%; corporate card rate is 2.12% and Internet rate is 2.82%. A minimum monthly charge of $10 applies. Rates listed are for qualified transactions funded in Canadian Dollars and may change without notice. U.S. Dollar funding is optional and rates will be disclosed at the time of application. Other conditions may apply. For more information please call 1-866-325-3281."

Anyway, to sum up, you would probably have to phone in to discuss the rate you would get, and the rental fee for the POS terminal. I would also ask whether ALL types of credit cards would get the same rate (qualified vs. unqualifed). They assured me this with swiping, but who knows? Also, off hand I can't remember Costco's rental fee (mostly because I'm getting all the quotes mixed up in my head now :o ) but I think the average is around $40? I'm also assuming you also already have a phone line/ internet to hook it up to...

If you don't mind me asking, is Elavon still a better deal than Global? It seems to me that Global might have a good % charge, but they might also have a slight surcharge per swipe?? (unless I misunderstood the "fine print") In my case, I will be swiping the physical cards. Do they also charge different rates for the so called qualified/unqualified card nonsense? I'm leaning towards the Costco route so far...

Hey, in any case, I hope I helped a little bit and good luck! We are all in the same boat I think, lol!

We run a vacation home and have an account with global payments. It's been trouble-free other than the high fees compared Elavon (Costco).

To charge, all we do is obtain the client's visa/mc card number over the telephone. We never deal with actual cards. GP has a system that involves calling a 1-800 number, entering your account #, then simply keying in the cc # on the phone, charges, etc. Very simple.

Elavon doesn't have cc charging using a phone. What do we need to continue with Elavon? What's a 5100? Do I need other equipment? The Elavon software/virtual terminal is something i'm not interested in (cost and security).

Any advice would be appreciated.

*edit* to clarify the $10 minimum

[Japhi]

Global has very high fees for transactions that do not qualify. In fact the highest in the industry. For a merchant that takes orders over the phone, none of their transactions would qualify for the discount rate.

With all providers, the only transactions that qualify for the discount rate are swiped, domestice credit cards.

What this means is that you may have a posted rate of 2.25% but once all the non qual and assessment fees are added in, you are paying close to 4% on some transactions.

One note on adding a terminal to get a lower rate....

This may be counter productive. Depending on what your volumes are, the annual cost of carrying a terminal - $400 - may add 1-2% to your fees. For a lot of merchants IVR (processing via the phone) is the best option even at a higher rate.

Feel free to PM with any questions, I can go into more detail on how to properly analyze you current offer.

[dbordac]

Hi, I work for a company that sells Elavon and has lower rates then Costco. No membership fee and no monthly minimms and lower rates for all card types. This company is a great deal and is very fair. I know in this industry there are issues as many companies have hidden fees or poor service - I am very happy to sell Elavon for this company since it is a good deal and fair. Also Elavon has great customer service and the on-line merchant direct system to view and track your account. We also offer Elavons virtual merchant and elavons on-line payments - all at lower rates then typical in the market and without all the sneaky fees. Feel free to send me an email at dbordac@hotmail.com and I'll send you any info you need.
I used to think Costco Elavon was the lowest and best deal - but I now know that you can get Elavon for even less. Contact me for details.

[Japhi]

Elavon has a very strong offer and if you are reselling them help me understand how you can beat their offer? You're company is buying from them and doing a revenue share.

There is no way you can sell under your source, with out hidden fees, unless your company is in the business of losing money.

Post your complete offer including all minimum debit fees, setup fees, annual fees, contract term and breakage, terminal model/cost, and non qual fees and I'll let you know how you stack up.

[gei]

Elavon has a very strong offer and if you are reselling them help me understand how you can beat their offer? You're company is buying from them and doing a revenue share.

umm... what? As far as I know, Elavon does not deal directly with retailers. Perhaps you're referring to the Costco/Elavon offer? In which case, there are definitely other Elavon partners who can offer better.

[dbordac]

I think you are not getting the point.

Elavon does not sell directly in canada - they sell through Independant sales organizations and value added resellers.
Costco is one such entity. They sell Elavon processing and brand it as Costco Elavon.
They get rates from Elavon and add to those rates for their profits.

Same thing with the company I work for. It just so happens that the company I work for adds a bit less then Costco does to the Elavon rate that they give to their selling companies. So you get the same thing for a bit less.

So - no we dont sell elavon for less then elavon like the previous poster thought - that just doesnt make sense - and we do make money doing this. Like I say Elavon is only available to merchants through an ISO of some kind that sells Elavon for a profit.

Advice for all merchants - shop around - right now i suggest you look at ISO's that sell Elavon like costco and companies like the one I work for and compare their rates. In the end Elavon does your processing, they all use the same machine and elavon provides most of the customer service - so go with the best price.

Seems those tied to Elavon have lower rates then Moneris, Payment tech and first data etc.

I dont want this forum to become a place where we all advertise and we get away from a good discussion about payment processing-- so if you want details of our offering - then send me an email at dbordac@hotmail.com

[Japhi]

I should have been more clear. The Costco Elavon offer is strong. Costco use's it as a lost leader. On most card types there is ony 14-20bps in profit, and that revenue is split between Elavon and the partner, Costco.

Unless we're talking large national deals, you can't make money in this business at 15 bps, especially when you have to do a revenue share and pay out an agent. The average Costco/Elavon merchant would be doing around 150K in annual processing. At 15 bps that is $225 gross profit a year to be split between the processor, agent and sales person. Not enough to keep the lights on for an ISO. For Costco it doesn't matter though, they are in the wholesale grocery business, not the processing business.

If an ISO is selling at 15-20 bps on most card types, they have to make money somewhere else, be it selling refurbished terminals, dial auth fees, transaction fees, debit minimums, etc. That was my point.

If you are saying that you're processing fees, setup fees, monthly fees and terminal options are lower than the Costco/Elavon offer, you won't be in business long. We turn down Elavon/Costco opp's all the time because we do not have the extra fees to make any profit on the account.

There are some good ISO's out there - like Versapay - and there are some shady direct processors - like Global and their insane non qual's- so I agree with the comment to shop around.

[gei]

I should have been more clear. The Costco Elavon offer is strong. Costco use's it as a lost leader. On most card types there is ony 14-20bps in profit, and that revenue is split between Elavon and the partner, Costco.

Unless we're talking large national deals, you can't make money in this business at 15 bps, especially when you have to do a revenue share and pay out an agent. The average Costco/Elavon merchant would be doing around 150K in annual processing. At 15 bps that is $225 gross profit a year to be split between the processor, agent and sales person. Not enough to keep the lights on for an ISO. For Costco it doesn't matter though, they are in the wholesale grocery business, not the processing business.

If an ISO is selling at 15-20 bps on most card types, they have to make money somewhere else, be it selling refurbished terminals, dial auth fees, transaction fees, debit minimums, etc. That was my point.

If you are saying that you're processing fees, setup fees, monthly fees and terminal options are lower than the Costco/Elavon offer, you won't be in business long. We turn down Elavon/Costco opp's all the time because we do not have the extra fees to make any profit on the account.

There are some good ISO's out there - like Versapay - and there are some shady direct processors - like Global and their insane non qual's- so I agree with the comment to shop around.

Your post is irrelevant because I know for a fact that there ARE Elavon ISO's that offer lower rates than Costco.

And I don't think people in this thread are concerned about how much profit their payment providers are making.... they are only concerned with their own rates.

[Japhi]

Atually your post is irrelevant because what you say isn't supported by any actual offer. If you know of a better deal go ahead and post it. Make sure you post the complete offer, not just the MDR. This is a deal forum - if you know the best merchant account deal post it.

If people are only concerned with rates they should snap up that 1.39% Monex offer right? Because Monex can sell at 21 bps below Interchange on swiped domestic? Merchants should care that that is below cost, because it allows them to draw the line that Monex is making the money up somewhere else.

Smoke and mirrors.

That's why I post here, so people understand that fixating on rate is a mistake, the industry has changed drastically in the past 12 months and merchants are getting screwed by companies like Monex,Global and even Moneris with their 1.05% adjustment + 10bps brand fee.

[gei]

Atually your post is irrelevant because what you say isn't supported by any actual offer. If you know of a better deal go ahead and post it. Make sure you post the complete offer, not just the MDR. This is a deal forum - if you know the best merchant account deal post it.

If people are only concerned with rates they should snap up that 1.39% Monex offer right? Because Monex can sell at 21 bps below Interchange on swiped domestic? Merchants should care that that is below cost, because it allows them to draw the line that Monex is making the money up somewhere else.

Smoke and mirrors.

That's why I post here, so people understand that fixating on rate is a mistake, the industry has changed drastically in the past 12 months and merchants are getting screwed by companies like Monex,Global and even Moneris with their 1.05% adjustment + 10bps brand fee.

Well I suppose you'll just have to take my word for it. Me just posting a quote would be meaningless as different providers offer different rates based on your credit history and transaction volume.

Costco offers the same rate for all companies regardless of that information... which is why many retailers can get better rates with other Elavon partners (yes, including qualified, mid-qual, and non-qual rates).

[dbordac]

Many iso's out there do post low rates and sneak in fees -- this is true - but there are still some that are actually for real cheaper then Costco Elavon.

Costco Elavon is

1.72% and 8 cents debit

* Mail order and telephone order rates are 2.23%; key-entered retail rates are 2.39%; corporate card rate is 2.12% and Internet rate is 2.82%. A minimum monthly charge of $10 applies. Rates listed are for qualified transactions funded in Canadian Dollars and may change without notice.

They also have the $5 statement fee and a $25 set up fee -- plus costco membership.


For debit -- it is hard to find any elavon iso below 8 cents -- for the card rates -- it is fairly easy to find another Elavon ISO that beats the 1.72/2.39 and gives you exactly the same thing! Many can get you out of the set up fee & many dont have those nasty minimums too.

Before deciding on anyone -- It is best to get out your statements or ask the salesperson to make you a quote based on your last few months statements and make sure they dont leave any fees out!!! Costco could be your best bet - but not necessarily.

All in all -- Elavon ISO's including Costco are a good deal. Stay clear of most of the others.

Ways to save $:

- avoid key entering at all costs
- do your batch every day
- call to say you dont want statements and view them on line
- refuse costly points cards or pretend they wont work when a customer presents them - most people also have a plain card in their wallet too
- keep your eyes on things like new rates/fees and complaign
- buy supplies like paper from business depot - not from your bank or provider
- consider charging for debit use and cash back use
- always shop around and always be open to switching to a new processor - once moneris was a good deal - now it is the worst deal - so dont stay - switch - many competitors will help with cancellation fees. Its not a big deal to switch.
-stay upto date - slow dial up terminals can cost you in lost business due to line-ups - and some customers avoid your store if they know your terminal is super slow. If you are paying $ every month and have a clunker -- its time to switch!
-dont join crazy business clubs to get low rates - you dont need to - just shop around

[Dave98]

I know this is an old topic but I gotta say that's a good post dbordac.

I'm looking into a POS system for a small wholesaler type of business and had been dealing with Moneris at a rate of 1.75 - 1.8% Visa/MC last I checked. I don't even know what the non-qualified rates were. This was for my dads business.

I'm not even hearing good things about Moneris anymore so Elavon seems like a good alternative.


Has anything else changed in recent months?

[Sirus]

Thanks for bumping this up Dave98, I was meaning to post an update myself but never got around to it. Plus I agree, excellent post dbordac!

I recently signed up with Elavon, been a couple of months now. However, just to warn you, on my last statement, there is a warning regarding higher visa and mc rates in October. I guess it's just a matter of waiting and seeing. I believe I also saw an ad in the last Costco magazine they mail out to members regarding some sort of sign up deal which sounded pretty good. I can't remember the details.

Regarding Elavon/Costco, I swipe all cards physically, and a small amount are charged at a higher rate of 2.12% despite the rep telling me ALL cards would be at 1.72%. However, I'm sure it wouldn't be any different with a different provider. All I know is that there seems to be two categories for me, commercial = 2.12%, and consumer = 1.72%. Very very few actually show up as commercial. Again, it seems there will be an increase in Oct, so beware.

I previously had Moneris via franchise setup, so I got an excellent rate. However, our contract was not renewed, and we decided to go independent. I tried calling Moneris to inquire about rates, etc. and NEVER got a call back. Nice service! Due to the franchise-type setup, I never got the details of my rates or proper statements either.

In any case, so far Elavon/Costco has been excellent with their tech service, and setup was also easy. Deposits to my bank are fast, usually next day except for weekends obviously. Another nice side effect is that I am able to use internet instead of a phone line which makes the transactions much faster! Moneris never bothered to suggest this to us, and I didn't know it was available. I was only told to get a special fast phone line which was extremely costly and not justifiable.

Now, we have always kept 2 terminals because if one doesn't work, the other usually will. Keeps the downtime to a minimum, because a day lost would hurt us a lot. Plus it allows us to serve our customers faster, and no one likes to wait. So now I just use a router to make use of the internet speed, and have disconnected my 2 telus business phone lines which were costing me an arm and leg (~$55 each tax included and it is SLOOOOW, would often drop calls too!). Then I connected 1 Shaw phone at ~$35+taxes, with free features and first couple months free too. I keep my same phone number and the long distance rates are excellent compared to Telus!!! (4cents on average, while Telus charged me unbelievable rates despite being such a long time and loyal customer!)

Since the Costco/Elavon debit rates are a bit high, and the majority of our business is small debit transactions, it really hurts us. I use Desjardins for the majority of my debit transactions at 5cents each. Excellent service! Rental rates reasonable, $10 a month to push funds, so I am very happy. Plus I found the Desjardins terminal seems to use a tad less paper than Moneris which lets me save on paper, lol.

In my case, it is justifiable to have 2 separate terminals. I went with Costco and Desjardins because they are bigger companies and give me more peace of mind. I save money on the phone lines since I have internet available anyway. My service to my customers is also faster. Now, if debit cards start to be charged at % rates like credit cards, that will kill us. Only time will tell :(

I hope this helps some people out since this is such an important aspect of biz. Goodluck!



I know this is an old topic but I gotta say that's a good post dbordac.

I'm looking into a POS system for a small wholesaler type of business and had been dealing with Moneris at a rate of 1.75 - 1.8% Visa/MC last I checked. I don't even know what the non-qualified rates were. This was for my dads business.

I'm not even hearing good things about Moneris anymore so Elavon seems like a good alternative.


Has anything else changed in recent months?

[backcrack]

I am wondering if there is any system that does not require a phone line for a debit/cc transactions, I have internet tho.

Is there an online system where I can charge cc's?

[Sirus]

I am wondering if there is any system that does not require a phone line for a debit/cc transactions, I have internet tho.

Is there an online system where I can charge cc's?

Sure, the Costco/Elavon terminal and Desjardins terminal both take internet cables.

Here is the Costco website describing their software option: http://www.elavon.com/acquiring/costco-canada/terminals-software/

However, I believe using the software, the rates will not be 1.72% or 8cents, they will most likely be higher because they assume you do not have the card physically present.

I believe it has been discussed previously in this thread about software, but good luck finding it :o

[Drew_W]

My wife still has her nurit 8320 terminal for use on elavon available for sale if you're interested. She is still with elavon, just rents now because of the LAN aspect of the new terminal preventing us having a second phone line.

Why can't you buy an Ingenico 5100 with LAN? I did. I also have a 7780 wireless bluetooth one. :)

[Drew_W]

Since the Costco/Elavon debit rates are a bit high, and the majority of our business is small debit transactions, it really hurts us. I use Desjardins for the majority of my debit transactions at 5cents each. Excellent service! Rental rates reasonable, $10 a month to push funds, so I am very happy. Plus I found the Desjardins terminal seems to use a tad less paper than Moneris which lets me save on paper, lol.


What on earth? Costco/Elavon debit is 8 cents, a whole whopping 3 cents more per transaction. Even if you do 1000 transactions a month, that's just $30. I can't imagine you're paying less than that to Desjardins.

[Dave98]

Any word on the higher rates Sirus?

[Sirus]

What on earth? Costco/Elavon debit is 8 cents, a whole whopping 3 cents more per transaction. Even if you do 1000 transactions a month, that's just $30. I can't imagine you're paying less than that to Desjardins.

I do more than 1000 a month, but mostly small transactions (ie. under $5 because mostly candy/junk food). Seriously, every kid and their great-grandma uses debit. Believe it or not, in my case that 3cents really does add up. We normally keep 2 terminals anyway in case one goes down, and to help keep our service fast with minimal lineups.

Desjardins debit fee is low, but their credit card fees are high compared with Costco/Elavon. You can sign up for debit only with Desjardins and avoid the minimum credit card fee (something like $10/month). This works for me, and in my case I am saving $ as opposed to using Costco/Elavon exclusively.

What is really important is to sit down alone, do the math on your own numbers and read the fine print. I previously had no idea I was doing so much debit since my old statements never told me how many total transactions I was doing because the statements were coming from my franchise-like setup, not directly from the POS provider. It was surprising to say the least.

[Sirus]

Any word on the higher rates Sirus?

Not yet, I haven't received a new statement yet, but it should be coming soon. I will post whether it has changed or not when I get it though!

*edit* I just checked my online statement and this is what it says:
"Your August statement indicated an increase in rates effective October 1, 2009. However, the card associations have not yet announced new rates. Therefore, no rate increases will take place at this time. "

I have no idea what is going on :S

Also, I found the deal for the Costco/Elavon signup in the Autumn saving coupon booklet that I got in the mail. It says:
"Save up to $75 on the first 3 months of terminal and pin pad rental until October 30, 2009."
In small writing it says to call 1-866-325-3281 and refer to promo code 83618 or visit costco.ca and click on services.

Maybe they want the promo to end, sign up more people and then increase rates???

[JonnyCash]

I just applied to Versapay with a 2.39% rate INCLUDING gateway for USD or CAD.. this seems quite competitive... anyone with better success elsewhere?

Thanks

[jackboot]

Can anyone enlighten us all with Elavon's policy regarding programming your own terminal?

The savings are very significant to purchase the hardware on eBay (or similar) vs purchasing directly from Elavon or renting from them.

I know that some posters in this thread are using their own hardware. But when I phoned Elevon they said that there is absolutely no way to use customer-provided hardware :confused:

...I wonder if it makes a difference if you sign up with Costco vs. one of the other Elevon resellers?

[4kids]

Our company uses Paymentech and we are a member of CFIB which get lower rates.

I just looked at the statement today. We have 3 types ( no card present for all of them
1) Batch processing through the internet - usually for automatic monthly payment
2) POS ( a machine) - Key in numbers and amount
3) Internet Real-Time transactions

The rates are all the same
For Visa and Master 1.65% base rate. On top of that 0.4% to 0.8% depending on the type of card ( my average rate is around 2.2%)

For American Express is 3.25% + $0.08 per transaction

CFIB is saying they are negotiating with Paymentech to get a lower rate......

[dbordac]

Hi Dave - i read your post a few threads back -- please feel free to email me at dbordac@hotmail.com to discuss your post regarding changing from moneris. I will be glad to help you.

dbordac

[npinc]

If you have decent credit, try Paypal Merchant Services.

Bear in mind you MUST have good credit to get any type of merchant account these days. Otherwise, might as well forget it for MC/Visa/Amex (Amex is a ripoff anyways...but still)

[Canuck32]

I'd like to offer credit/debit as an option for my clients. I would expect to be doing a small number (less than 6) transactions per month. I'd like a service that offers good customer service and will be able to handle a somewhat specialized banking process (I need the full transaction amount credited into one account and the fees debited from another). Ideally I'd also use a service that will support transactions using a Blackberry/Iphone application in addition to a typical merchant terminal.

Could someone suggest what would be the best provider for my business?

[dbordac]

If you would like to offer debit/credit to your clients, feel free to contact me at dbordac@hotmail.com

I am unaware of a service that will deposit the full transaction amt into one account and debit the fees from another account. The processors typically deduct the fees from the deposits.

There are solutions for credit card transactions on the iphone and blackberry in the usa and even in canada now. however, these are often expensive and highly specialized and for credit cards only - you need a terminal to process Interac-Debit.

Feel free to contact me at dbordac@hotmail and we can take a look at the size/number of transactions you might have and what your business needs are and see if we can come up with a solution that is right for you.

[npinc]

When looking for a merchant account, I made the mistake of doing business with resellers. I had a couple of them approach me, making some pretty fantastic claims. As it turns out they were merely reps for the bigs, usually US firms. They hit my credit bureau, knocking it down a notch and weren't able to do a darn thing for me in the end. One of the most ignorant companies thrown at me was a company called Nova. I'll never forget them. I also ran into some terrible reps in the credit department at Moneris. I've never seen such rude customer service in all my life.

Another such reseller to avoid like the plague is Collective Point of Sale. Do NOT.. and I mean this with the best of intentions. DO NOT get involved with them. They will screw you, royally screw you and they won't even give you lube. They are indeed resellers, not the actual provider.

Do NOT go with resellers. Seriously. You will pay higher rates and when you need help they will not help you. They can't really help you because they're not the actual service provider. We went through a nightmare with our Collective POS terminal. They were unable to fix the issues. They refused to send a technician to fix it. It was costing us money and sales. They offered leasing through the biggest scammers on the continent out of Buffalo (Northern Leasing). These guys are pirates. The reseller will tell you to simply send a cancellation by registered mail and send the equipment back.

Northern Leasing will disregard all that. They will try to rob you blind if you cancel. They will lie, cheat and steal. They will harass you and threaten you. They will send letters from fake lawyers. They will continuously try and dig into your bank account even AFTER you cancel. They will use different mailing addresses and aliases in the US and Canada (Vancouver comes to mind for some reason). They wrote a letter to my Lawyers, that I have a copy of, stating that I was going bankrupt and demanded a copy of all related documentation. They called my office, pretending to be one of our legitimate vendors and asked my ASSISTANT of all things to re fax a void cheque because the one I faxed was not legible. Search on Google. You will see what I mean.

Canadian Law provides that a lease is VOID if the equipment is not suitable for purpose. When our equipment kept failing (in one case a $500 transaction simply vanished into thin air, taking almost a week to finally get resolved) Northern Leasing completely disregarded that clause, repeating that their leases were NON-CANCELLABLE, which was absolutely illegal in our situation. I eventually had to send my lawyers after them to get them to back off or they would be sued. My bank blocked them and changed the account number to get rid of them. I had to get new cheques, redo all my preauthorized withdrawals and deposits, everything. What a disaster.

Believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see. PLEASE learn from our mistakes. It was an incredibly costly error on my part.

There are some independent reps for the bigs out there (like my rep for UNPS for instance) that are actually authorized and compensated by the company. Look for one of them.

DO NOT GO WITH A RESELLER!!

Poo. :(

EDIT: For your own gratification:

http://www.google.com/search?q=northern+leasing+complaints

They also go by NLS and MBF leasing.

Please also see this: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/investigators&id=6802369

Here's my best that I can offer for advice:

Make sure to ask the questions.
Get everything in writing.
Initial every page.
Keep copies.
Hire a lawyer to review the contract.
Do NOT respond to ads for merchant services out of classified ads.
Do not seek to do business with anyone approaching you to solicit your business.
Find out who the parent company is and contact them directly.
Search on Google.

GO TO YOUR BANK or CHAMBER OF COMMERCE for a referal for services.

[MrGamma]

I am not sure what you mean by resellers.

Are you referring to the e-commerce credit gateways? Or are you referring to the Retail P.O.S accounts.

To my current understanding, there were laws put into place years ago which forced the major banks to go through resellers. You can't buy the service directly through a Canadian bank to my knowledge. As in you cannot go straight to CIBC without going through Global Payment Systems.

Also... it is in your best interest to know how much inventory you are moving, how many transactions you are making ect... before you decide to go with anyone... Everybody offers slightly different rates and depending on the specifics regarding your inventories there can be price benefits from one to the next... The most popular service is not the best service in many circumstances...

In the event of resellers, as in through sales agents... yes... there is usually a cut given to the sales rep.. it is fairly low and not worth worrying about if your not moving a lot of product (depending on the pricing structure of course)... in any event, If you find your developer or sales agent refusing to take the cut... just remember that money goes right back to the service provider and your price is not reduced. Wasted money... Something to consider when setting up your service... I am upfront with my clients, and let them know that money is being invested back into paying for hard costs of hosting and such... anybody who refuses to take the cut is not somebody you want to buy the service through... jmo...

If you are moving alot of product... of course you will need to consider that further down the road one service will be more suitable to your needs than another and having the ability to swap out payment systems or offer more than just one should be an option available to you...

Call around and get quotes...

[npinc]

I'm referring to companies, or individuals, that are simply a front-end, or a reseller, of an actual POS company. For example, Collective POS doesn't offer any merchant services. They resell for another company that does.

Another is those individuals that advertise on Kijiji and what have you. Private individuals. Big waste of time. The bank can refer you to the big players through their representative. So can the Chamber of Commerce for your area.

I'm not exactly sure how it all works to be honest. I just know who to avoid and what questions to ask to make sure I'm actually dealing with a reputable firm. Regretably by making some very expensive mistakes.

If it helps, I'm talking about a physical terminal in my shop. I don't do e-commerce.

[MrGamma]

Neither am I in all circumstances... The merchant account must be handled through the bank to my knowledge... all of the service providers will essentially broker it for you... they are still dealing with the bank directly... However, there was some sort of de-regulation put into effect which prohibits the actual bank from providing the service. As in, you can't actually buy a P.O.S from CIBC and pay them directly for terminal costs and such... I could be wrong as this information is more specific to the e-commerce gateways, but the information I did receive was through my bank manager in regards to the whole deregulation and such...

You have to go through a reseller at some point in Canada... To my knowledge... The smaller guys on Kiji and such for P.O.S terminal hardware, I have no clue about... maybe they are a big mistake... but if it's for e-commerce gateway services, those resellers are usually the developer... in many circumstances they are entirely needed to integrate the payment system with the website...

Another is those individuals that advertise on Kijiji and what have you. Private individuals. Big waste of time. The bank can refer you to the big players through their representative. So can the Chamber of Commerce for your area.

In regards to the e-commerce situation... no... it's money lost directly to the bank... if you go through a smaller guy... money can be returned to the business... that is what I am referring to... if you go through the banks... they will refer you to a major player which will offer you the same rates that the little guy would... wasted money...

It doesn't become more expensive to be referred to a major player by a smaller guy... but money can be lost if you do not... I guess it really depends on how you approach and handle the situation...

[npinc]

The biggest cost when the little guy can't help you. In business a few dollars here and there for fees isn't the end of the world. Not being able to help you when there's a problem can easily be disasterous.

[MrGamma]

The biggest cost when the little guy can't help you. In business a few dollars here and there for fees isn't the end of the world. Not being able to help you when there's a problem can easily be disasterous.

We could be misunderstanding each other... I am simply referring to referrals... Being referred to a major player via the bank, versus being referred to a major player via a smaller guy... They have rates calculators, you don't get a deal if you are referred by a bank... but the smaller sales agent does... so in some circumstances, in my instance, I invest that money back into paying for a fraction the clients hard costs... (it's not alot)

I guess yes... if you are going through a smaller guy and they are brokering the whole situation so you cannot see where it originally comes from maybe? But the actual merchant account is registered at the bank... to my knowledge it can't be done any other way... In regards to the terminal service, or credit gateway service, I have asked service providers if I could re-brand their documents or services and resell that and they won't allow it... I wouldn't doubt it if it's illegal... I mean... the bill is still going to come through the major player...

I have received referrals to payment systems through major banks, and found the prices to be cheaper and less expensive with other services.

Again I am just referring to the e-commerce situation, in all events however, the customer service reps or sales agents for various services have been pretty good to me, and the clients which are referred to them... with the exception of Moneris for some reason but others have had good experiences supposedly...

[npinc]

Ahhh. What I was referring to is this. You get the merchant account companies that are tied to the bank. And then you get resellers like Collective Point of Sale that pretend to be the provider, but are in reality only a front end for said providers. If you go through your bank, they'll put you in touch with the actual provider. If you go through a reseller like Collective POS or the guys out of the classifieds you'll get the bum steer and the run around.

[Peggy3]

I recently tried to get some info on switching to Mastercard and Visa services through Elavon/Costco. The rep I was put in contact with there was based out of the US and was unfamiliar with the PIN chip cards that are now used in most Canadian Visa and MC's. She was not able to quote a rate for me. With our current credit card processing company, we get charged EXTRA when a client comes in and uses one it to make a payment. Does anyone out there who uses Elavon know what rate is charged for PIN Visa/Mc's?

[Sirus]

I recently tried to get some info on switching to Mastercard and Visa services through Elavon/Costco. The rep I was put in contact with there was based out of the US and was unfamiliar with the PIN chip cards that are now used in most Canadian Visa and MC's. She was not able to quote a rate for me. With our current credit card processing company, we get charged EXTRA when a client comes in and uses one it to make a payment. Does anyone out there who uses Elavon know what rate is charged for PIN Visa/Mc's?

Costco/Elavon currently does not seem to charge more for the pin-chip Visa/Mc's. You swipe them like a normal card and enter the last 4 digits manually. Basically, you are not using the pin-chip technology, even though the terminal does have the push slot. Eventually they will have to be pin compliant, but so far it looks like they are not (I have had my terminal for about 4-5 months now?). It even does not use the chip technology for the debit chip cards, they must be swiped.

In my case, I only see 2 separate categories for credit cards. All debit cards are at the same rate of 8cents each.
1. Canada Domestic Commercial (@ 2.12%)
2. Canada Consumer Domestic (@1.72%)

The majority of cards I receive are charged at 1.72%. I am not quite sure which are commercial, but there are very few for me, so yay for me!

Please note that I use the actual POS terminal and every card is physically present and therefore all swiped. I have no idea about virtual/telephone/card not present transactions.