payment processing

Hi Faz Worldpay have a number of packages that can do this. Paypal is doubtful since the customer will have to set up an account before he can make a payment to anyone. Not sure about chariot. Cheers
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Ecommerce Software for Business Websites
http://www.bazaarbuilder.com/

Hi Faz I would use (and have used) Paypal and Nochex. There is no problem with using paypal (it is the best way to process credit cards if you do not have a merchant account I used to use this - it got me on my feet) I used to invoice customers via Paypal if they didn't have a paypal account they just signed up for a free one - not a problem. Like having a merchant account Paypal will charge you a % of the sale but you can account for this in your sale price. As for other payment processors I dont think their worth the hassle been their - done that! need anmore info drop me an email john
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John makes a valuable point about paypal getting him on his feet, however, I disagree about the "not worth the hassle" bit. When selling online it is notoriously difficult to get people to move from browsing your products right the way through to entering their card details. The vast majority of potential purchasers drop out part way through the process when entering details into the screens that take card numbers, address, etc... There have been many studies oncducted in this area and as a result all of the most succesful online retailers like amazon have invested heavily (and fought court cases over the rights to) one click payment systems. The idea is that the easier it is for someone to move from viewing a product to paying for it, the more likely a sale is to occur and les slikely that they think "sod this, too much hassle, I'll buy it at WH Smiths" Your customers dont want to have to jump through hoops to buy your product, they want it to be as simple as possible, after all that is one of the selling points of buying on the web -- CONVENIENCE. That is why I believe that PayPal, while OK for bargain hunters on e-bay etc, is not appropriate for a commercial conern. I think you SHOULD go to the "hassle" of setting up an easily recognised card payment system to save your customers the hassle of paypal. Lets face it, many people are scared of entering card detials online as it is, the are going to be even less keen on signing up for an account with an American company called paypal, that they may never have heard of when all they want is to buy something from a uk etailer. Where is the convenience in that? We offer worldpay accounts that will allow you to be up and running within 2 weeks absoloute maximum, even if you dont currently have a bank account! We deal with all of the paperwork, you just complete a few forms. With prices starting around £200 these solutions make great sense and we have helped countless start-ups and SME's to take their first steps in online sales. Details of some of the packages are available at htp://www.a4internet.com or for a more detailed quote, drop us an email or give us a call. Regards James Hirst A4 Internet ltd 0845 108 0411 info@a4internet.com http://www.a4internet.com

Great post James...Paypal is great for person to person payments but for business use it has some drawbacks like you've mentioned. As an ecommerce shopping cart software provider we come across many companies who start off with Paypal but soon start to realise the drawbacks. After moving away to another processor they typically see a substantial jump in sales as more customers actually complete their online purchase from the site. Cheers
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Ecommerce Software for Business Websites
http://www.bazaarbuilder.com/