Payment Gateway solution - any recommendations?

Forums › Off topic › Payment Gateway solution - any recommendations?

jumcc87

40 posts

Geek

#141202 4-Mar-2014 16:17

Hello

This is my first post here. I thought it would be a good place to get some advice!

I am starting an online store using wordpress and woocommerce. I will be selling home decor and some fashion accessories (average price per product $80).

I will be starting small and don't predict a huge amount of sales to begin with.

I have been trying to research the best solution to be able to process credit card payment on my site. I know there is paypal but to be honest I think that new zealanders are that keen on paypal and it would defer some sales.

I bank with anz and the fees are really high as a start up solution with them however they look to be more cost effective as you make more sales and have a sales history.

I have looked a kiwi pay and swipe hq which could be better options to use in the beginning.

One of my main concerns is keeping it easy and safe for people to use their card to pay - id even prefer to pay more fees but have it easier to use as then i would be more likely to make the sale and have a returning customer.

Does anyone have any suggestions for what kind of payment solution I should offer, i'm feeling a bit stuck!

Thank you very much

1 | 2

1919 posts

Uber Geek

#998932 4-Mar-2014 16:46

Do you have a mearchent account? Any third party NZ based gateway will require this to put the funds into. DPS is a solid choice, but monthly fees can make it quite unappealing to begin with when your sales per month are low.

I dont know why Payapal puts you off, if anything it should promote use, I for one will happily use it, and do so. What is anooying is when it is not run as a buisness account, and you dont offer order without an account. It is a good option when you are starting out!

MightyApe

Affiliate link

Affiliate link: You will find anything you want at MightyApe.

SumnerBoy

1889 posts

Uber Geek

ID Verified

Subscriber

#998934 4-Mar-2014 16:52

PayPal is very easy and relatively cheap. Customers don't have to sign up to PayPal to use the service, they just need a credit card. I am using it on my store (Wordpress + Woocommerce) and haven't had any negative feedback (NZ only store).

YMMV

ubergeeknz

3344 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Vocus

#998940 4-Mar-2014 17:04

Paypal has a nice, low price of entry but it can be problematic sometimes (if credit cards are linked with accounts but the people have forgotten their passwords, along with a few other potential "hoops").

DPS would be the next crowd to look into.

Ragnor

8065 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#998945 4-Mar-2014 17:13

There are quite a few options, have you looked at eWay, Paystation and Flo2Cash?

http://www.eway.co.nz/
http://www.flo2cash.co.nz/
http://www.paystation.co.nz/

jumcc87

40 posts

Geek

#999038 4-Mar-2014 19:38

Thanks all. I think the reason I am put off by Paypal is that sometimes people see it and think 'can't be bothered with all of this' and click out of the sale. I know I have done that before, but maybe that is because the store hasn't set it up properly.

DPS looks good but it looks like eway is a bit cheaper?

I have looked at eway and flowtocash -i'm just surprised at the price eg:

ANZ -
$99 set up
$13 - monthly service fee
approx 5% transaction fee

then on top of this your payment gateway service - anz egate, eway, dps. and the costs that come with these.

Perhaps I just stick with paypal until I have enough sales history to negotiate cheaper rates with the bank?

Any futher advice much appreciated.

Dairyxox

1590 posts

Uber Geek

#999071 4-Mar-2014 20:52

Please don't use paypal. I personally hate paypal after my account was hacked and credit card drained. Eventually got a refund but now I steer clear.

Paypal is a big target for hackers and scammers. The user interface is confusing and terribly out of date (looks like it came straight from 1998).

Another reason I avoid paypal is because it often is used in website sales scams. I've been a victim of one of these too (as the customer) goes something like this:

1.website sells products and accepts several types of payments (not paypal)
2. Website is compromised by zero day exploit - everything unchanged except paypal is now addd as a payment method - directing to the scammers pp account.
3. Customer makes order chooses paypal - $$ go to scammer - actual business gets nothing but phone calls asking why they never shipped products customer paid for - finds website hacked & says "whoops"

jumcc87

40 posts

Geek

#999079 4-Mar-2014 21:05

thanks for the advice @dairyxox

what payment gateway would you suggest for a start up like myself?

greenbone

176 posts

Master Geek

#999112 4-Mar-2014 21:45

bit ... never mind

Dairyxox

1590 posts

Uber Geek

#999113 4-Mar-2014 21:46

I don't have any experience in this except as a customer. I see websites I like (like playtech.co.nz) use dps. Seems nice & simple & effective. No idea how it compares from a merchants pov.

adw

175 posts

Master Geek

#999146 4-Mar-2014 21:56

Hi,

Good luck with the new site.

I'd recommend starting with PayPal (if people want your products they'll use it and it is secure) until you're generating a revenue - it's a great way to test the waters, then move to Paystation or Swipe. You can also offer people the option of paying straight into your account if you want to keep costs down - a bit more labour intensive checking they have paid but a good way to start if your target market is NZ (and people here are used to doing it because of TradeMe).

Another good way to test the market is to list your products on TradeMe - see what sort of response you get without incurring the initial start up costs if you haven't already.

Cheers

mattwnz

18772 posts

Uber Geek

#999161 4-Mar-2014 22:31

Although not directly credit card related, you need to make sure that your website is protected with SSL, including customer login screens. eg where they enter a usrname and password on their website. If your customers personal info gets hacked off your website, you could have all sorts of problems. As a result I now recommend clients use software as a service systems, like big commerce or shopify, who manage the security of all that for you in the software. Word press is fine, but you do need to make sure it is always upto date and secure, otherwise the hackers will get in. I think woocomerce may now have a hosted version which is a software as a service, so that could be an option too.

MurrayC

79 posts

Master Geek

#999186 4-Mar-2014 23:06

I use ZippityPay based in Christchurch: http://web.zippitypay.co.nz/. No fees, no monthly charges. Michael Dennis is the Boss.

itxtme

1919 posts

Uber Geek

#999189 4-Mar-2014 23:16

Was looking at some myself and found Kiwipay, really reasonable fees given they are local, and you do not need a merchant account! Unfortunately wouldnt suit my needs as they only accept NZD as a currency

mattwnz

18772 posts

Uber Geek

#999201 5-Mar-2014 00:06

Just make sure that if you use a small player, that they retain your money in a trust account, in case they go under. One I previously used went under and people lost money.
Some of them can keep your money on hold for several days too, before they will pay it to you, so be aware of this. I don't think there is that delay if using your own merchant account, but I could be wrong.

jumcc87

40 posts

Geek

#999228 5-Mar-2014 08:41

thanks for all of the replies and advice, really helpful! Especially being wary of where the funds are.

I did call Zippitypay however no answer, i left a msg but have not yet received a reply. I want to accept different currencies as well so perhaps kiwipay is a no go.

In regards to the SSL and PCI requirements, i was of the thought that if I use a third party service like swipe, that the customer gets taken to their secure page to enter their credit card details? Do I still need to have these on my site as well?

Thank you

1 | 2