The Paypal user agreement says that if you send or receive money exclusively using Paypal balance or bank account, then it’s free. How about requesting money from someone? I was on the page for requesting money, and there are only 2 options to choose from when I was asked for the purpose of the request: goods or service. And it appears that both charge a fee. I do have a personal account (not premier or merchant account).

Can someone explain the fee’s incurred when receiving a payment online? Extra points if you provide an example!

I closed my bank account because I never use it, then paypal tried to take out like $2 for ebay fees twice, which lead to $70 in overdraft charges. How is that legal, and what do I do?

are there any fees when applying for a merchant account? please refer good ones that don’t charge too high, many thanks!

I’m searching for a merchant account that has a low discount rates/transaction fees and low monthly rates. I found one with a 2.07% + $0.25 per trans fee, but I know there has to be lower than that.

I have an online retail store.

Any help is appreciated.

If you are looking for a new UK Internet Merchant Account, finding the ones with the lowest and most competitive fees could be time consuming. In many cases, you may not even know that you are paying too much money for your credit card processing needs.

In this article we have put together the lowest fees offered by Internet Merchant Account providers, based on their processing, application and transaction costs. Whether you are a start-up and looking for a secure online payment solution or you’re looking to get a better deal on your current Internet Merchant Account, we’ve made it easier to make the best selection.

1. PayPoint.net – If you run a small business, this is by far one of the best Internet Merchant Accounts you will find. They are not only respected in the card processing community, but you won’t have to worry about hidden fees and extra little charges. As a small business you can qualify for PayPoint.net Lite, where monthly fees start at just £10 and there are no set-up fees. If you run an established business you can take advantage of their feature-rich Professional or Enterprise packages. Their FastTrack option also provides online merchants with a complete solutions package including an internet payment gateway and merchant account at competitive rates.

2. WorldPay – Although Worldpay charges the same monthly fees as Paypoint.net, their set-up fees are a little higher, coming in at around £200. The transaction fees are reasonable and this company is not known for tacking on any additional fees throughout the month.

3. LloydsTSB Business Banking – Lloyd’s has a few good options for those interested in accepting payments online. Their CardNet service comes with some great perks and offers some of the lowest fees around.  If you already have a business account with Lloyds you will probably find it easier to purchase this addition. Overall, their Internet Merchant Account pricing structure is very fair and they are upfront about the fees you can expect to pay each month.

4. Barclaycard Business Banking – This service is designed more for those with a lot of experience in credit card processing.  For those that are just getting started, the company provides customer service to help you get set up. We selected them for this list because, in addition to their online payment process options, they provide PDQ machines as well as other onsite merchant account options at much lower rates than their competitors.

There are a vast number of online payment providers in the UK, but this list focuses on the four that are currently offering the lowest fees and the greatest service. Before you make your mind up remember that different independent providers and banks may offer you higher or lower costs depending on your circumstances.

What are you really paying? Understanding your merchant account fees.

Business owners who maintain a merchant account for processing credit and debit cards often find their biggest frustration is trying to understand their monthly merchant account statement and determine exactly what their fees are each month. Part of the confusion is due to merchants often assuming the only fee that they need to worry about is their qualified discount rate.

What many merchants don’t realize is that in addition to the qualified discount rate for Visa and MasterCard transactions, the following fees are also assessed on a merchant account each month: 1) per transaction fee; 2) mid qualified discount rate; 3) non qualified discount rate; 4) monthly statement fee; and 5) ACH or Batch fee. Depending on the processing company you choose you may also be charged one or more of the following: 1) monthly minimum; 2) annual fee; 3) monthly fee; 4) merchant club fee (supplies); 5) early cancellation fee; 6) equipment fees; or 7) fees for customer service calls.

The best way to figure out what you’re actually paying each month is to divide the total amount of fees listed on your merchant statement by the total volume processed that month. For example, if there is a total of $80 in fees and the monthly volume processed is $2,000 then divide $80 by $2,000. You will get 0.04, or 4%. This means you paid about 4% of your total credit card sales to process credit card transactions.

Typically, merchants should expect to pay an effective rate of about 2% of their total credit card volume each month if they swipe a majority of their transactions and 2.5% if their transactions are mostly keyed-in. The effective rate includes ALL fees assessed on the merchant account each month, such as statement fee and per transaction fees as well as the discount rate.

While shopping for an online merchant account it can be pretty hard for laymen to understand the countless costs, rates, fees, and other expenses charged by most merchant service providers. Most of these charges are absolutely legitimate but there are a few that are unnecessary and should be avoided. This includes charges like Gateway Fee, Swipe Terminal Hardware Fee, Programming Fee, Batch Fee/Daily Close-out Fee, Annual Fee, Reserve Fund, Termination/Cancellation Fees, Foreign Card surcharges. Let’s understand what these charges are and how they needlessly add to your expenses.

• Gateway Fee: you may be charged $10-$30 by your merchant account processor for processing credit cards in real time.

• Wipe Terminal Hardware Fee – This basically includes the cost of terminal hardware used in retail transactions. They can expensive and can cost up to $300. If your requirements are simple avoid going the high tech terminal machines.

• Programming Fee – Some service providers charge up to $100 from businessmen who keep changing service providers. You should never agree to pay programming fees.

• Batch Fee/Daily Close-out Fee – Some companies charge a small daily fee of 10 to 20 cents for batching your transactions. This can easily be avoided by shopping for another provider.

• Chargeback Fee – Some merchant service providers charge an obscenely high amount each time a charge is refused by a customer. It may pay off to look for a lower chargeback fee.

• Annual Fee – Annual services have absolutely no justification and are an out an out excuse for minting money by service providers. The annual fees charged by service providers may be as much as $100 per year year.

These are a number of other charges used by service providers to increase their bottom lines and decrease yours. By logging onto Advanced Merchant Services and applying for a merchant account you can easily avoid all these charges. Let’s take the example of termination/cancellation fees. AMS won’t make you sign expensive contracts that will bind you to the company. Advanced Merchant Accounts, has complete confidence in the quality of its services and doesn’t need a punitive contract to keep its customers. Moreover Advanced Merchant Services also gives a free credit card terminal to all people applying for a merchant account. This gives you the option not paying hundreds of dollars for a hardware terminal. There are several other charges that you can avoid with AMS.