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PayPal Alternatives

Submitted by ClearlyChosen on Sun, 07/18/2010 - 13:39

PayPal Alternatives

PayPal Problems: How sucky and scary is PayPal?

In recent months, I have been down PayPal Nightmare Alley - they restricted my account, they froze my (legitimate) monies, and they would not tell me what they were accusing me of. It was like being sent to prison and never knowing what crime you were supposed to have committed; never given a chance to defend/rectify/explain. And that during this episode (over a month), that they could freeze my monies at any time when in fact, I had no disputes going on with any buyer or seller - that was horrible and should not be allowed.

I used to use PayPal as a preferred (huh!) payment provider at my webstore (www.ClearlyChosen.com.au). I don't have PayPal as my payment provider anymore as I was told to remove them - for no given reason. Or else, they would not unfreeze my monies.

So this article is my search of a PayPal alternative and also some of the sites I came across. I never knew that there were so many people that PayPal had screwed. I was not alone. As someone on webhostingforum.com said: Additional problems with paypal is they sometimes block merchants accounts with no reasons just because their algorithm raises a red flag. Google "paypal horror stories merchants" and you will get it. So my advice - anything except paypal.

Sydney siders, Australia: I did get a address here in Sydney from a friend:
Level 19 1 York Street Sydney

Info as at June/July 2010.

Also go to our Financial Ombudsman Service to lodge a dispute if you cannot find resolution with PayPal.

Screw-PayPal.com

Screw-PayPal.com is slightly scammy to me as well. It looked promising. It seems to address lots of the frustration that PayPal gives to their victims (e.g. frozen accounts, no redress, limited access, inability to contact PayPal, etc.) .. however, it is endless spiel of woes and how he can solve this and that PayPal problem .. only to lead to ... yup ... you guessed it: buy my book/cd/info (whatever) for only $$$ and all these secrets will be revealed to you. So thumbs down in that regard.

By the time I found this site, the main part of my PayPal nightmare was mainly over (they released my money) and I didn't need to try and contact a live PayPal person anymore. However the only part of this site that might be of reasonable use is that they have PayPal contact information. Whether these numbers are valid and current ... who knows. Better than nothing when you are in a tight spot.

Retraction

Sorry Screw-PayPal.com - maybe they are not so scammy after all. I just came across another 2 recommended pages on their site: PayPal Alternatives.

Here they go through a list of paypal alternatives. The very great part about this is that they do a little review and recommendation, as well as pointers as to which countries it would suit, and whether you can or cannot use it on ebay (for all the die-hard feebay followers).

The Anti PayPal sites

There are a number of anti paypal sites where you can read more about the documented horrors that PayPal inflicts.

  • PayPal Sucks
  • PayPalWarning.com: "This website is a collection of horror stories, news reports and other information addressing problems with Paypal, Inc."

PayPal Alternatives

But right now, I am looking for PayPal Alternatives for my site. I don't know anything about them as I start writing this. I hope to find something out before I take the plunge - if I take the plunge - with another payment provider.

Eway

Has been suggested to me. A number of my seller friends use them. However the lowest, cheapest alternative still requires AU$350 per annum plus per transaction fee. And given how poor my sales have been (to the point of considering curtailing my retail activities), even AU$350 seems too much at the moment. So I am looking at other options before committing.

SWREG

This is one of the first very credible sounding ones that popped up at me when I did a google search for paypal alternatives. So I did a info search on them. And from what I can see, it looks very legit indeed. Here is Alexa report on swREG.

US/International site. Looks ok. Accepts a number of currencies, including AUD. Prices looks ok. But quite a bit of reading re. setup.

swreg on facebook - however only 37 likers at the moment (17 Jul 2010) and they don't seem to be very active on FB - no updates or new info sine 2009. And according to social comment summary when searched on quarkbase, it shows some comments saying swreg is a scam.

Too scary for me to try I think.

Real Merchant Account

This is the second paypal alternative that came up most frequently. They have more than one url redirecting to the same page. Not sure if that is of significance. Seems to be cheaper than SWREG. And looks ok in Alexa. Maybe just a tat too good to be true? Have to look again later.

Ah. Maybe another no-no for me here. Bit dodgy?
See forum talk on Merchantinc.

Google Checkout

This alternative must have come out in about 2006. Google Checkout is the top pick recommended by screw-paypal.com Top PayPal Alternatives. However right now in 2010, it still looks as if it is not available to sellers in Australia nor NZ.

Moneybookers

According to screw-paypal.com Top PayPal Alternatives, this is the runner up.

There is one set back though ... the buyer/money sender has to pay about 1% of each Transfer. I am not sure how willing my customers would be to pay that! And here are some bad reviews:

AlertPay

... looking promising. Info on AlertPay

Their FAQ is non-existent and I cannot find what the difference between their account types are. They have 3: Personal, Personal Pro, and Business. However, the last 2 have identical fees - so I could not distinguish them that way. Also no way to tell what would happen if you signed up for the wrong account type. It was not until I forced myself to read their User Agreement did I manage to come across anything remotely helpful on this issue.

"Choosing the appropriate account type is important to avoid additional fees. Any Seller involved in Multi-Level Marketing ("MLM"), adult or mature content or an industry regulated by AlertPay, must open a Business account and choose the correct category for their business. Failure to select the appropriate account can result in closure of your account or additional fees being charged to your account."

Oh, I finally found their FAQ - hidden under their help in their Knowledgebase articles. Seems common sense when you find it but let me tell you, if you don't know, it ain't obvious.

Anyway, an important and interesting fact: When you sign up, you have to choose one of their account types. But it is not till you dig through their Knowledgebase articles that you come across this important statement: "A Business account cannot be downgraded. "

Oh Oh. AlertPay - No ... a forum discussion in Mar 2010 where users are saying beware and no to AlertPay.

Worldpay

Also known as RBS Worldpay and is one of the preintegrated payment options in osCommerce.

As in 2010 - no to Worldpay - the link being the reason.

ccNow

No. Too small (according to parent company Digital River, customer base is only like 10,000?!). Customers must sign up to use.

Sage Pay

A pre-installed payment option in osCommerce v2.2 RC2a (well, it was supposed to be but it ain't on mine!) UK based. International support. Flat fees at reasonable rates: Sage Pay fees.

Here, I am specifically looking at Sage Pay Go with Form integration option.

Hmm. Looks like I might be going with Sage Pay.

Didn't find complaints when I Googled (only 1, but the person was complaining about the seller who used Sage Pay rather than Sage Pay themselves). Found some positive reviews:

Self Notes

I have halted process for now.
I have already downloaded and unzipped the sage pay module for oscommerce (sage pay form v1.2) but have not installed.

I applied for Sage Pay. Confirmed. Can log in. They require more info. One of them is I must already have merchant account or they can offer to help me get one (hesistant but ok).
Then the next hurdle is that they requre I have a direct debit guarantee so that they can get paid monthly. And since they are uk company, I have to contact them via email as I am non-uk.

Which is all just doing my head in after 1½ days or round and round reading and research. So I am halting now.

And to think I still have to install the module and configure and test. Ach, my poor head.

This is not for Australians. Or rather, not for anyone who does not hold a UK bank account. Sagepay does not make this clear anywhere on their site. I only found this out after going through the tedium of applying and filling out business and contact details. Then I had to email them and it was only then that I was told that a UK bank account is needed so that they can charge you your monthly fees and deposit payments into your UK account.

That's pretty lousy don't you think? And if you wish to move money from that account to your own country bank account, you will have to arrange that with your own banks.

Payment Gateways and Merchant Accounts in Australia

Especially for Australians: Payment Gateway Reviews in Australia. Of particular use is the explanation between payment gateways and 3rd party payment processors.

Definitely consider merchant account or payment gateways (esp if they help with contacting banks for you to set up merchant accounts) if your transaction volume is high. Mine is not so I will give this a miss for now.

Footnotes

Facebook as a Checker

I just "discovered" I can checkup on companies in Facebook. It is not a rock solid, 100% sure proof way but it is interesting and does give some indication.

For instance, as mentioned above swreg is not looking very healthy on FB ... so probably a No for me.
The Moneybookers, which is in 2nd place as recommended by screw-paypal.com, is also not looking very healthy on FB (by comparative number of fans and how recent and active their postings).
AlertPay however seems to be healthier on FB and is getting my vote for the moment.

You can also find another list of paypal alternatives at workz.com

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