Multiple Credit Card Processors

My newbie mistake was to go with the cc processing company my bank suggested. I opened a seasonal account and there are no fees for stopping and restarting. I have however been unable to reactivate the account. I have be told by two different departments that they are waiting for the activation request from another department. I need to complete their PCI Compliance request but can't do this until the account is re-opened. I can cancel but would be responsible for the cancellation fee.

Can I open start an account with a second company (looking at ProPay, opinions welcome) without closing the first account? My season starts now and is relatively short.

I really need to get this done.

Thanks

Greg

Replies

Greg Spring May 31, 2011 at 6:23am

I think I'm leaning towards Square but I use Blackberry which is not supported. I've emailed them on alternate methods of submitting sales information.
- Lisa Stewart > Greg Spring May 31, 2011 at 3:07pm
  
  I don't know why you couldn't key in your info thru your Blackberry...
- Larry Berman > Greg Spring May 31, 2011 at 7:00am
  
  I think you can also make transactions through their web site, but it wouldn't be a swiped transaction and would be slower to do a sale than using the swiper.
  
  I've set up to do it but haven't had a show yet to test it.
  
  Larry Berman
  http://BermanGraphics.com
  412-401-8100
Lisa Stewart May 29, 2011 at 3:27pm
You're going to get numerous suggestions so hold tight! While I've heard pretty good things about Propay, I was a Paypal fan for 10 years. I used their virtual terminal for $30/mo with the competitive percentages for MC/Visa/Discover/Amex.

However, it wasn't until 2 weeks ago that I finally acquiesced to using the Square with my iPad. If you're not an Apple fan, you should be (wink*). I can't tell you how in love I am with this little tool.
- You don't have to pay a month fee, ever!
- The device is free, any device thereafter is also free
- It's 2.75 for swiping a card; to key is 3.5% + 15¢ per transaction.
- You can include your product images in your system and use them as a touch screen while you're selling
- The images in your system use the cloud -that means my husband can plug into the same account on a different device and get the same images.
- It works cleanly, quickly, and efficiently in a good zone
Still, incredibly inexpensive compared to the big boys. It only takes 2-3 biz days to verify your bank account and you're set!

I'd recommend having a 2ply order form in case you're ever in an area where you can't use wireless connection because of bandwidth issues.

https://squareup.com/

HTH!
Melanie Rolfes May 29, 2011 at 2:06pm

I just got The Square. I have only tested it out on myself and so far it looks much better then my current system. My current system is calling in on touch tone and knucklebuster for receipt. The difference in the fees charged by paynet (which are pretty low) compared to what I will spend with the square plus the smartphone fees look like they will be about the same, probably less over the course of the year. I have a show next weekend. If all goes smoothly with the Square I will cancel my Paynet account, but don't want to until I figure out The Square and The Droid ;) I have talked to a bunch of 2D artist who use The Square for a couple months now and they have all been happy. Just to add, most of my sales are not through CC, so I am not running it all day for a bunch of little sales. If I did then I would have to reevaluate if something like the Square made sense.