Ask questions via twitter! Message any question to @answers on twitter. We'll publish the question and send you a reply each time there's a new answer.
Next Question

Answered Question

iatropoul... iatropoul...
 
M$5 April 04, 2009 11:07 PM

What is the easiest way for an online merchant to start accepting credit cards for monthly billing?

I am interested in allowing our business customers to pay their monthly bills using a credit card. These cards will be either submitted through an online form, or sent to us through a faxed credit card authorization form. The bills will vary from month to month based on traffic. We don't have a merchant account and to-date have been invoicing our clients who then send us a check. I am looking for a simple turnkey solution.
Interesting Question?  Yes (1)   No (0)   

Interesting:

RSS
 
 

Best Answer  Chosen by Asker

warlrus warlrus
 
 April 05, 2009 03:50 PM
PayPal seems to be the popular solution here, and I must agree. However, I thought I would go into more detail on how to set it up!

I've found PayPals' programming API's very useful for similar circumstances within the last website I worked with. Using these tied into your web service, you will be able to automatically issue bills out to customers. More details can be found at https://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=developer/library_documentation

However, in the short term, you can use the 'Request Money' feature within PayPal to manually send out bills.
Asker's Rating:
• I was leaning towards PayPal and the link you provided me gave me enough information to decide to go with them. Thanks.


Helpful Answer?  (0)   (0)    Tip warlrus for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 

Other Answers (7)

Sort By
spoon spoon
 
April 04, 2009 11:50 PM
A really simple option, which I have had success with, is PayPal. You can actually set up a Merchant account which will allow your customers to pay you via credit card (they do not need to create a paypal account to do so). The other nice thing is you can set up the account to auto charge every month, so if you have customers that pay the same amount each month you can set them up for auto pay and not have to worry about the monthly billings (PayPal will even send online invoices).

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_home-merchant&nav=2
Source(s):
https://www.paypal.com


Helpful Answer?  (1)   (0)   

Helpful: robbrown

Tip spoon for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 
gelboy gelboy
 
April 05, 2009 12:34 AM
I second PayPal, but remember to not keep a huge amount in there. They have some really bad terms and you don't want to lose your money if they decided to block your account.

Report
 
 
masontx masontx
 
April 05, 2009 02:45 AM
Totally agree with everyone on PayPal. I have used it for years.

Report
 
 
robbrown robbrown
 
April 05, 2009 01:20 PM
I like paypal for small transactions.

If your products are over $100 per or you regularly have more than $500 in paypal at any one time, consider another option.

Paypal has a long history of shutting down accounts and flat out stealing money. It works very well and as long as you consistently transfer funds out of it and maintain good accounting, it could work well for you.

Report
 
 
skyvan skyvan
 
April 04, 2009 11:55 PM
The easiest way is Paypal as spoon has said. If you want to do it on your own you can get a credit card processing company and an ssl certificate. Various companies provide merchant accounts for a nominal monthly fee plus per transaction costs.I've linked to one of them in the sources list.
Source(s):
http://www.explodehost.com/#merchant


Helpful Answer?  (0)   (0)    Tip skyvan for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 
skywarrior skywarrior
 
April 05, 2009 01:18 AM
Paypal is one of the easiest ways to do a repeat billing cycle. Very convenient and most people have a paypal account.
Source(s):
www.paypal.com


Helpful Answer?  (0)   (0)    Tip skywarrior for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 
sukmrsing sukmrsing
 
April 05, 2009 04:05 AM
through paypal .check paypal.com

Helpful Answer?  (0)   (1)   

Unhelpful: spoon

Tip sukmrsing for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 
spoon spoon
 
April 05, 2009 04:56 AM
As you continue to answer questions on Mahalo I would strongly suggest you expand your answers whenever possible. Giving a good answer can be made great by giving details and explaining WHY your answer is helpful :)

Report
 
 
ariefgante... ariefgante...
 
April 05, 2009 07:02 AM
use Payoneer. that is good debit card.
activation just need $10. very low right?
to join go to www.payoneer.com

hope helpfull for you...

Helpful Answer?  (0)   (0)    Tip ariefgantenk for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 
srgothard srgothard
 
April 05, 2009 06:00 PM
Sam's Club has a great web hosting with e-commerce deal. A friend of mine used it to start her own online business: http://www.millscove.com/. You can accept credit cards directly and have a content management system for your site for $15/month.

If you are happy with your current website, Sam's Club also has just merchant card processing for $4.95/month + "Rates as low as 1.64% + 19 cents per transaction needs."
Source(s):
http://samsbiz.com/page/1dmiv/Website_Services.html

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?catg=12578&atg=10018


Helpful Answer?  (0)   (0)    Tip srgothard for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 
ellisemunt... ellisemunt...
 
November 17, 2009 05:29 AM
Get the help of the experts. RingCentral will provide you with the fax online service you needed. Their communication system is specialized to cater your business needs.

Helpful Answer?  (0)   (0)    Tip ellisemuntz for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 

Answer this Question

How tips and payments work

This question has already been resolved. You may add an answer to it but you will not be eligible to win best answer or any associated tips.

Related Questions

View All Ecommerce Questions

Ask a Question


140 characters left
Top of Page
Buy Mahalo Dollars with Credit Card or PayPal

Top Members

This Week All Time
  • cfinke
    cfinke
    2nd Degree Black Belt
    26536 Points
    M$29.75 Earned
  • opher
    opher
    Purple Belt with a Brown Tip
    5371 Points
    M$215.59 Earned
  • thisjustme
    thisjustme
    Green Belt
    1143 Points
    M$76.05 Earned
   See All
 

Most Popular Tags

mahalo(1728)
twitter(967)
music(492)
iphone(479)
google(376)
food(332)
online(330)
internet(309)
beer(282)
money(278)
movies(275)
apple(256)
facebook(249)
answers(237)
aotd(235)
health(226)
video(219)
free(219)
dog(209)
windows(202)
   See All
 

Categories

Welcome New Members


 
 
Mahalo Dollars are the currency of Mahalo Answers.

Each Mahalo Dollar costs $1.

Once you earn more than 40 Mahalo Dollars, you can request to be paid via PayPal. Each Mahalo Dollar is currently worth $0.75 when paid out via PayPal. Learn More

 
 

Please log in to use this function.

Answers Home | Ask a Question | Earn Points | How Tips Work | Widget