Acquiring a merchant account

[Donna]

Hello, I'm new to FutureQuest, and loving it so far..though I'm still in the process of changing everything over. I have done lots of research into this Ecommerce thing, out of the necessity of setting up my online store. There are lots of merchant accounts online, but I found my best rates and lowest application fees to be through Costco, if you have them in your area you should check them out. (I don't get anything from recommending them, I've just been happy with them.)

Also, a definite word of caution. Be very wary of people who offer to piggyback your credit card transactions through their credit card accounts. This is illegal in many places! (And usually pretty expensive anyway).

If there is any info I can pass along, I'd be happy to...but it's only from what I had to learn to get up and going.

Thanks! And thrilled to be here!

------------------
Donna
www.thetreasureplace.com
Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

[Stephen]

Hi Donna,

Welcome to FutureQuest. I too am a relative newcomer to the place and am definitely liking it so far. I was interested to hear that you are using the Costco credit card services. I have been thinking about using them and have upgraded my membership to "executive" in order to do so.

I'm not yet at the selling stage, but I sure would appreciate knowing the mechanics of a Costco credit card transaction if you have the time to spell it out. I know the percentage rate is less than 2%, that there are no monthly fees, and that the one-time setup fee is something like $25. But this is all I know. I'm eager to learn more!

[Donna]

Hi Stephen,

So sorry I haven't responded sooner. The flu has been working it's way through my 3 children and then myself, so I've been out of touch for a little while. So, I apologize.
I have been happy with Costco so far, except for a one time fee for Y2K upgrade works that came across in one statement... don't know if that is shared by non-Nova credit card processors, or not, but that was my only real frustration. (I did get a one-month warning so I knew it was coming).

You are correct on the info you have for processing credit card transactions offline. There is a transaction fee (between 15 and 25 cents depending upon how you process the #), and you have to get some software or hardware to do the processing. However, I elected to do real-time credit card processing through Cybercash...which is what has led me to FutureQuest as I was unable to install the appropriate (though free) software from Cybercash on my old web host. So, I can tell you about the details of where I'm at now, which is a transition point as I'm waiting for SSL.

There is a monthly fee for Cybercash. It is $14 through the Costco account (much less than any other place I found). There is also a one-time activation fee for Cybercash ($100), again this goes to Cybercash (the other places I had looked at were $250 to $500 for Cybercash access..though some were waiving the activation fee, but their discount rates where huge). However, there is no software to buy or hardware terminals to lease. The discount rate is higher... 2.2% plus a 50 cent transaction fee. But still lower than most of what I found on the web for manual processing.

Sorry to be so long-winded...guess it's lack of adult conversation since I've been flu-quarantined! The final point is that right now I am still manually processing the credit card numbers. Since I don't have the SSL to process them on FutureQuest yet, I am still collecting them on my "old" web host SSL form, and then logging in to a secure Cybercash site to process them. Everything has worked wonderfully so far. Though I'm really looking forward to getting the automatic processing going.

Donna
P.S. I did receive notice that the rates will be going up as Mastercard and Visa are raising theirs...but can't find the letter right now. Will pass it along once I find it.

------------------
Donna
www.thetreasureplace.com (http://www.thetreasureplace.com)
Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.


[This message has been edited by Donna (edited 03-20-99).]

[Stephen]

Donna,

Thanks for the info. The more I learn on these things the happier I am. Is it true that the only choice for online processing through Costco is Cybercash? Doesn't worry me if it is, I was just wondering how narrow my options were. I went to the trouble of downloading the Cybercash software a couple of months back to see what it was about but never got the time to unpack it.

Anyway, please keep us updated on your progress here at FQ. I figure by the time I need to process credit cards you'll be a total expert on the Costco/Cybercash deal.

--Stephen
P.S. Sorry to hear about your bout with the flu. I know a lot about the flu. In fact I wrote a work of fiction in which influenza plays a central role ( www.ninthday.com (http://www.ninthday.com) if you're at all curious).

[Donna]

Yes, Cybercash is the only online real-time processing option with Costco. My husband has been doing the tinkering with the Cybercash software for me. We're integrating a shopping cart as well. I'll let you know once it's all online, so you can see if any applies to you or if you just need a static SSL form with Cybercash connection.
I glanced at your page, looks pretty interesting! I plan on checking it out more once my girls get over the crabbies that come at the end of a flu cycle!

Donna
www.thetreasureplace.com (http://www.thetreasureplace.com)
Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.


[This message has been edited by Donna (edited 03-21-99).]

[nurelm]

Hi, I've been quitely listening to your conversation on the wonders of ecommerce. I had a couple of questions:

First, what's Costco's web address - the only pointers to them I can find just include phone numbers?

Second, when you speak of using CyberCash, are you talking about registering with them so that you can use a third party application that uses CyberCash, or are you speaking of using the MCK (Merchant Connection Kit?) and the Perl/C API yourself? I'm interested in using the MCK to create custom applications and curious if anyone around these parts has ventured to try it out. If that's what you're talking about, please give me any gory details you might happen across in the process.[nbsp][nbsp]Out of curiosity, if you're not using the MCK, then what CyberCash software are you talking about downloading?

Sorry for all the questions.[nbsp][nbsp]Thanks!
[This message has been edited by nurelm (edited 04-26-99)]