USD Internet Merchant Account

Hi,

Does anyone know of a Canadian merchant account provider that allows processing in US dollars and has an Internet gateway?

I'm using http://psigate.com/ right now, which charges 3.49%, and I'm looking for better rates.

There is moneris and paymentech I have looked into those before and they weren't any better then psigate for their rates.

Originally Posted by Ron

Does anyone know of a Canadian merchant account provider that allows processing in US dollars and has an Internet gateway?

I'm using http://psigate.com/ right now, which charges 3.49%, and I'm looking for better rates.

PsiGate will offer you a lower discount rate if you call and negotiate with them.

Besides them, the realistic options for online merchants are Chase Paymentech, InternetSecure and Beanstream. Moneris has a lot of hurdles to jump through, including having your site ceritifed by a specific security company.

Originally Posted by Ron

Hi,

Does anyone know of a Canadian merchant account provider that allows processing in US dollars and has an Internet gateway?

I'm using http://psigate.com/ right now, which charges 3.49%, and I'm looking for better rates.

You can contact Moneris in US and they will do it cheaper than Moneris in Canada, but the Costco one Nova also offers merchant account in USD with good rate.

PSIGate's setup fee is very high, and monthly fee is high too. Internetsecure is about the same or higher.

Originally Posted by ebizimage

but the Costco one Nova also offers merchant account in USD with good rate.

PSIGate's setup fee is very high, and monthly fee is high too.

Nova is 3.25%
I'm going to contact PSIGate and see if they'll match.

Does anyone offer dual accounts? CAN$ and US$ with one gateway/one transaction charge etc? Not sure if I'm explaining it correcty but if there is a minimum of $10/month lets say, can you avoid having to do a $10/month CAN$ and $10/month US$?

I believe psigate has a plan that you can accept both USD and CAD with one account, but I believe you have to have a USD and CAD bank accounts, since they don't do currency conversions.

hi Ron,

I use Internetsecure for about 3 yrs now and I must say their prices and service are excellent ! They are based in Toronto.

They offer many different plans. You can send an email to inquire and they will probably send you a price sheet and offer to waive the setup fee ($99) !

Hope this helps!

InternetSecure: C$49 setup, C$69 per month, C$0.30 or US$0.55 + 3.39% per transaction, for both currencies.

PSiGate: C$199 setup, C$44.95 per month, C$0.29 + 3.49% per transaction for C$ processing. US$ processing is additional C$99 setup, C$10 per month, C$0.45 + 3.49% per transaction.
My experience is discount rate is negotiable if you have volume.

OnlineMart.ca: Several different plans.

Beware of Internetsecure's hold back amount. They charge a fee and hold back money if you decide to cancel the account.

Originally Posted by ebizimage

Beware of Internetsecure's hold back amount. They charge a fee and hold back money if you decide to cancel the account.

i've been using IS for about 3 years and like all cc companies they do a hold back in case of refunds, frauds, etc...but they pay these hold backs back in X #days (depends on your contract). This is to protect them and yourself. I don't see this as a fee but rather a security measure and since your gonna get this back say in a month or two that is fine with me. If you know of any other company that doesn't have holdbacks let me know.

thanks

Originally Posted by nabeel

InternetSecure: C$49 setup, C$69 per month, C$0.30 or US$0.55 + 3.39% per transaction, for both currencies.

PSiGate: C$199 setup, C$44.95 per month, C$0.29 + 3.49% per transaction for C$ processing. US$ processing is additional C$99 setup, C$10 per month, C$0.45 + 3.49% per transaction.
My experience is discount rate is negotiable if you have volume.

OnlineMart.ca: Several different plans.

OK the geek in me tumbled the numbers:
PSiGate is a better deal in your seventh month of operation. You also save a bit per transaction.

If you negotiate the set up charges, it would be an even better option than internetsecure. Even if internetsecure waives their fee, the monthly charge is 50% higher - unless you're getting that much more in some other way, it does not look like a good option.

Key is reliability and support. Any comments?

Originally Posted by rayzer

i've been using IS for about 3 years and like all cc companies they do a hold back in case of refunds, frauds, etc...but they pay these hold backs back in X #days (depends on your contract). This is to protect them and yourself. I don't see this as a fee but rather a security measure and since your gonna get this back say in a month or two that is fine with me. If you know of any other company that doesn't have holdbacks let me know.

thanks

They used to charge hold back for all credit cards, but then Mastercard forced them to cancel their hold back policy for Mastercard. Well, a credit card company also believe they should not be entitled to this "security measurement".

I had been with them for some years before I canceled the account. Before, I had to check the statement very carefully (which my accounting person did for me), and found that the hold back fund release process was quite messed up and every year, I had to email them either to ask for adjustment or clarification of missing funds.

Also when you canceled the account with them, they will not release all hold back until 6 months later (or 9 months since they changed the policy last year). Well, if you no longer want to keep the business or its bank account for another year, then you will lose all the hold back fund.

O, they also charge like a hundred dollars for changing bank account and some hundred dollars for canceling the IS account, and I found this very annoying. With a real merchant account, there's no fee to change depositing bank account, and for most banks, you can cancel the merchant account without penalty.

Originally Posted by Canucklehead

OK the geek in me tumbled the numbers:
PSiGate is a better deal in your seventh month of operation. You also save a bit per transaction.

If you negotiate the set up charges, it would be an even better option than internetsecure. Even if internetsecure waives their fee, the monthly charge is 50% higher - unless you're getting that much more in some other way, it does not look like a good option.

Key is reliability and support. Any comments?

Your math does not take into account the discount rate.

Like I mentioned, with PsiGate (in my direct experience), the discount rate is negotiable. For me, that meant it was significantly cheaper than InternetSecure.

Originally Posted by nabeel

Your math does not take into account the discount rate.

Like I mentioned, with PsiGate (in my direct experience), the discount rate is negotiable. For me, that meant it was significantly cheaper than InternetSecure.

So PsiGate is better ? thanks i shall check this and also thanks to ebizimage for his input i will definitely check my holdbacks and any fees that may have been missed out or overcharged to me.

So which is the best merchant account in terms of service and price ? Psigate ?

thanks