AlertPay VISA and MC processing unavailable?

We are currently accepting applications from merchants who are not able to processing VISA and MC transactions through AlertPay right now and are looking for new or additional processing.

We will do our best to get you up and running as quick as possible, however we will not accept all merchants, only those that have good statements and are running a good business. If you think you qualify please do not hesitate to contact me and provide as much details as possible.

As for my thoughts on AlertPay - I am sure they will be back soon enough. They have been around for quite some time, definitely not a startup and they know this business well. The AlertPay team has stayed in front of this issue and I think are doing a good job handling it.

JR

My new home - Patricia Weber Consulting!

I would like to take this opportunity to let everyone know that I have joined Patricia Weber Consulting as VP High Risk Merchant Management. I have known and worked with Patricia in the past and I am extremely excited about this opportunity. My main goal is to work with Internet Marketers to find the best possible credit card processing solution/s available to them. This is what I have done for the past few years and its what I love doing. Internet Marketers are by far the most innovative and fun group of people to work with. Some of the things I will be doing are:

- Setup merchant accounts and banking relationship for online marketers who fall into a higher risk category.
- Manage merchant account relationships acting as an advocate on behalf of their business
- Assist with expansion into the global marketplace
- Implement best practices to improve the customer experience.
- Recommend tools to reduce fraud and increase conversions.
- Prepare and execute a chargeback reduction plan
- Help high volume merchants spread volume across multiple banks to reduce the risk of their account being terminated without having any back up processing in place.
- Work with high volume merchants to increase their processing bandwith by setting up accounts with either no cap, or multiple accounts.
- Work with merchants to manage their accounts, monitor chargebacks and ensure processing uptime.
- Offshore company formation (when needed)

You can read more about our services here - www.patriciaweberconsulting.com.

In addition to our consulting, we also have another division called Social App Merchant. Social App Merchant focuses more on emerging markets and businesses that are "out of the box". As an example, we work with a lot of Daily Deal companies, mobile dating, etc etc. So, although the business might not be high risk, alot of banks don't really understand. So, we work with these merchants to find the right solutions for them.

You can read more about Social App Merchant here - www.socialappmerchant.com

I am very excited about this next stage or my career and working with Patricia. If I can help you and your business out in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me.

thanks

Jared

Terminated Merchant File, TMF, Match List. How to get on it and what to do if you are.

There are some lists you want to be on like a VIP list, a guest list, or a Christmas card list. But the TMF is one list that as an online merchant you don’t want to be on.

I speak with Merchants all the time who have been placed on the list, and usually I am able to get the a merchant account, offshore, as long as they can provide a letter the shows why they ended up on the list, and what steps they are taking to ensure they don’t run into the same problem again. The banks are I work with are open to this and understand that not everyone on the list is bad. So, being on this list is not a death sentence, but it can definitely suck. If you are on the list, and you need help, contact me and let’s evaluate the situation and let me help with solutions.

Getting back to the list, let’s start with the basics. What exactly is the TMF or Match List? The Terminated Merchants File (TMF) or match file is basically a list of merchants that have had their merchant accounts closed down by their processing bank on negative terms. If you are placed on the match file, you, any partner of your business, your business itself, and possibly anyone at your address can not sign up for a merchant account with a US based processing bank. Processing companies take the match file very seriously.

When you apply for a merchant account, the bank or processor will check to see if you are on the Terminated Merchant File (TMF). If you’re on it then this sends up a red flag to banks that you’re a credit risk. The chances are slim to none of getting approved once your name hits the list. Getting on the TMF list is the equivalent of getting blacklisted. However, as nice as it would be to say that that every business that is placed on a terminated merchants file deserves it. It’s absolutely not the case.

Now, how can someone get on this list you ask….well unfortunately, its not that difficult, the challenge is getting OFF the list, even if you didn’t deserve to be on it. Here are some of the most common ways of ending up on the list.

• Credit Card Fraud. If don’t have strong enough fraud control and detections, you can end up with way too many chargebacks.
• Friendly fraud. This is when a consumer disputes a legitimate charge such as from an adult website.
• Factoring. Factoring is when a merchant deposits transactions for sales generated by another business.
• Excessive chargebacks-approximately 1-2% of sales.
• Deception Marketing and Fraud. Types of fraud include not delivering products or misrepresenting products or services.
• Violating the terms of your merchant agreement
• Owing money to a bank or processor

Also, keep in mind that because of your merchant account provider, you could wind up on the TMF if your provider counts chargebacks in the month it comes in instead of the month the original transaction occurred. If you do fewer sales in the month the chargeback is processed, your chargeback percentage could skyrocket, and you end up on the list.

Regarding the last point above, owing money to the bank or processor – one of the easiest way to get on the list is to close your contract with a merchant provider and not pay your final bill. This is basically a guarantee you will end up on the list. Your final bill includes any processing costs that you owe, but also includes any monthly, yearly, or termination fees that were specified on your merchant contract. You are also liable for 6 months past the settlement date of the final transaction that was processed on your merchant account. The settlement date is defined as the date that the service or merchandise was fully delivered to and accepted by the customer.

How to get off the list, like I mentioned above is very challenging. Basically, the only company in the world that can get you off the TMF, is the company that put you on it. It does not matter who you talk to, what they promise, who they are, or anything else, it always comes down to the company that put you on it. Businesses usually learn that they are on the TMF when they try to open a merchant account with another company.

The company that puts a merchant on the TMF is the processor that is taking on the risk of allowing the business to process with them. These are often the back end companies that you may have never had any personal contact with. Merchant Service Providers and resellers are not normally the companies that can put a merchant on the TMF, unless they are taking on the risk of your credit card processing, so calling them may have no effect, but regardless, the company you signed up your merchant account with is who you should contact first. As soon as you find out that you’re on the TMF, call your merchant account provider-or the company that placed you on the list. Prepare to work to speak to many departments until you get in touch with the right person. You might end up being referred to the processing bank.
Depending on why you are on the TMF, it can be easy to impossible to get off the TMF. If you are on it for committing fraud yourself through your own merchant account, don’t count on ever getting off. Processors do not like fraud in any way, and if you as a business owner were the cause of it, they will not ever want to provide services to you again.

If you believe your business or name was mistakenly added to the Match file, you must work with the acquirer that added the listing to the file. Only the company that placed you on the list is authorized to request a change or deletion of the information.

If a business was placed on the match file for a high chargeback ratio, time is normally the only thing that will get the business off. The processor needs to know that they aren’t going to get stuck with any unanswered bills from the merchant’s former customer’s Chargebacks.

If you didn’t pay your final bill, it may just be a matter of making good on your debt with your former processor. I have seen this as low as a few dollars, and the merchant was removed about a week after they made payment.

Unfortunately the majority of the time it is not that simple to get off the match file. It normally takes several weeks to get off the match file. Sometimes it takes negotiations to get charges cleared up, or fees removed. At this point every case is unique. If after a few weeks you are not making any headway, you may need to consult a lawyer. Processors normally use a system called arbitration to avoid taking individual cases to court. It is cheaper than going to a court, and the results are often better for both parties.

Here are some tips for staying off the list:

• Don’t go over your processing limit, if you think you are going to speak to the processor first.
• Don’t use any deceptive billing, be upfront with customers about charges and when the charges occur. Always provide easy access to customer service.
• Have the customer service number on the credit card descriptor. You want them to contact you before the bank.
• Always provide top notch customer service and make sure there are open lines of communication.
• Monitor your transaction closely, if something appears out of the norm then investigate immediately.

If you have any questions about this posting, or how you can get processing even while being on the TMF list, please do not hesitate to contact me.

5 ways for online marketers to increase conversions

If you have or have in the past operated any type of ecommerce website then you are probably familiar with low conversion rates and you probably have looked at things like time on page, time on site, cart abandonment, keyword conversions to try and improve those low conversions.

According to a recent study, about 10% of visitors to the average ecom website are actually there to consider making a purchased, and only 2% will actually make that purchase. 2%!!!!!

2% is a very low number for ecommerce (unless that is your chargeback ratio) so what most online marketers will do is try and push even more traffic to the site. The numbers do work, since 2% of 1000 is a lot more sales then 2% of 100. However, what about that 8% that were interested? How can you convert them? Increasing traffic is always important but why not look at some ways to increase the conversions to your site as well.

I believe that improving conversions is not only to look at the actual site, but look at suppliers to your business. Is your credit card processor the best fit? What about your call center?

Here are a five ways I think you can make your site more attractive to potential customers and increase conversions.

1. Look at declines from current Credit Card processor.

Depending on the type of account you have, where your customers are coming from and host of other factors, your decline rates might be way too high. If you have a US merchant account, but a significant portion of your traffic is international, then you may look at opening a international merchant account that you can process international transactions from. I have seen a lot of companies really increase conversions by doing this.

2. List popular items

This is very easy to do my looking at search queries and what is hot on your site. This is clearly what people are looking for the most and if you make it easy to find but putting it right in their face, you will have a better chance at selling it to them.

3. Engage your customer if they are taking too long.

This is great strategy if you see that customers are spending too much time on a certain page or on the checkout. Try and initiate a conversation through online chat to see if there are questions that the customer has.

4. Listen to your customers

Anyone can look at a best practice guide, but the best resource available your customer. Implementing a customer feedback system so you can see what people have issues with AND what they really like. But don’t just listen, it’s very important to take the feedback and address it on your website if you think its valuable.

You can also look at using incentives to get better feedback. Maybe entering customers into a draw of giving a prize if the feedback provided is valid and can be used.

5. Customer Service is Key.

Imagine walking into a store and you have some questions about a product you would like to buy. However, when you look around there is nobody to ask the question to or to help you. If that was me, I would walk out. The same principle applies online. Make sure your customer service is always available and can respond in a very quick manner. When a customer is making an impulse purchase, you need to make sure you address any concerns immediately before they are given the chance to walk away.

Having a great FAQ section, clear pricing shipping and return policies can address a lot of questions upfront, so make sure you have that in place. Also consider adding a live chat service.

In summary, online marketers invest massive amounts of money and effort to get visits. But if your site or service isn’t optimized to convert those visitors then a lot of money is being left on the table.

How to be effective when looking at your online merchant account pricing.

As mentioned in a previous post, the pricing quote you receive is not always the price you are going to actually pay. Anyone that's had to deal with online merchant accounts and credit card processing (with the exception of those that process strictly offshore) will tell you that its can be a pretty confusing subject. When you looking for a new merchant account there is a lot of things you need to factor, and although I have stated that price isn’t the only thing and that value is extremely important, you still need to understand exactly how your pricing works. So, when you start looking for a merchant account or would like to evaluate the one you currently have, there is a lot that needs to be taken into consideration. You've need to look at the discount fees, qualification rates, interchange, authorization fees and more. The list of potential charges can go on and on.

One of the biggest dirty secrets in the online payment processing space is to quote a merchant the qualified rate, which sounds great, but not really disclose all of the additional fees that you will pay. This is something that unfortunately has become common practice with too many companies these days (not all) and its something that I hear from merchants I work with all of the time. This is where most of the margin is, and my belief that it’s important to disclose all fees and teach merchants how the pricing work. I think if you are honest with a merchant then it’s much better for you in the long run.

Instead of looking at the big picture, merchants fixate on a single aspect of an account such as the discount rate or the early termination fee (which is a fee I am not a fan of). I completely understand this as I would do the same in a business that I am not familiar with, but what really needs to be looked at is what we call the EFFECTIVE RATE. Once you start looking at the big picture you will see that merchant accounts aren’t that hard to figure out and you will be able to not only accurately forecast your merchant account costs but also compare different quotes you receive.

The term effective rate is used to refer to the percentage of NET sales that a business pays in credit card processing fees.

For example, if a business processes $100,000 in NET credit card sales and its total processing expense is $4290.00, the effective rate of this business's merchant account is 4.29%. The qualified discount rate on this account may only be 2.25%, but surcharges and other fees bring the total cost over a full percentage point higher. This example illustrate perfectly how focusing on a single rate when examining a merchant account can prove to be a costly oversight.

Effective Rate = Total costs/ total sales

You need to make sure you are also looking at all of the possible fees, this can include:

• Discount Rates


• Monthly Service Fees


• Statement Fees


• Batch Total Fees


• PCI/DSS Fees (Data Security)


• Administrative Fees


• Transaction fees


• Any other miscellaneous Fees

In my opinion, when looking at costs the effective rate is the single most important factor when you're comparing merchant accounts. But again, cost shouldn’t be the only factor when deciding on the merchant account.

Calculating the effective rate of a merchant account for an existing business is easier and more accurate than calculating the rate for a new business because figures are based on real processing history rather than forecasts and estimates. Calculating the effective rate of a merchant account for a new business is a little tougher because of the lack of processing history from which to judge how a business's transactions will qualify. Nevertheless, making a conservative estimate of an account's effective rate is still vital.

To calculate the effective rate of a merchant account for a business without processing history you will need to estimate a few figures such as the business's average ticket, processing volume, etc. The actual methods involved in calculating the effective are pretty involved and beyond the scope of this article. Hopefully, these calculations aren't something you should have to worry about. In this case I would work with an experienced consultant of or a processor you can trust

If the effective rate ends up being significantly greater than your qualified discount rate, or the rate you were quoted, it’s time to re-examine your account and make changes. Using the example above, let's say the qualified discount rate for this account is 2.25%. That would mean the effective rate of 5% is more than double the qualified discount rate. In a situation like this, the chances are very good that there are a lot of additional surcharges being applied and you can either have a discussion with you current provider ( but would you want to work with a company that already has been deceitful) or look to work with a new provider.

Any provider that's courting your business should be able to speak with you and request the information they need to offer you a reasonably accurate effective rate. Alot of times this will be in the form of previous processing statements (if available) If they're unable to do this or they don't know what an effective rate is, they're probably not the best choice for your new merchant account provider.

If you need any help with deciphering credit card statements or if you are looking to get an effective rate quote on your business - please do not hesitate to contact me.

"Too many people today know the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

I wanted to write this quick post as alot of the time, especially at this show that I just went to, alot of the merchants were solely concerned with price. I want to point out - My pricing is always competitive and alot of the time I win deals on lower pricing. Now that is out of the way, I think that merchants who look at merchant accounts, gateways and any type of online processing solely on price, are making a big mistake. Instead of pricing, look at VALUE.

There are so many other factors to consider, and I do believe that pricing is important, but in there is a saying "you get what you pay for" and in payments that holds true as well. Questions that should be asked are:

1. Does the technology work for me? What features does it have that can make my life easier? Does it allow for recurring billing? tokenization?

2. How is the reporting? Do the reports help me streamline my business? It it in real time and available online

3. What is the customer service experience? If I have problem is there someone I can call and talk to? will they help me with technical issues? Its important to look at processors that have high merchant retention rates. Savy merchants won't just switch to get a better price unless its drastic and customer service is a very big reason for that.

4. How long will it take to get my money? As we know, cash (flow) is king, and businessess need it to survive - so would you rather pay a bit more and get your money faster, OR pay less and wait to get your money. I had a client who recently switched over because of this very reason even though I had quoted rates that were a bit higher.

So, just like everything in life, when selecting a payment provider, look at the VALUE. Maybe the actual pricing is higher, but the positive effect it can have on you and your business is what should be looked at.

In another post I will explain why you the pricing you are quoted is not always the pricing you get, and why you need to look at the effective rate.

Contact me if you have any questions about the above.

Merchant Accounts for Online Dating websites and ways to mitigate the risk.

Typically, online dating sites that offer monthly memberships and especially those that offer free trials are considered high risk. The reason being that most banks and processors don’t want to deal with the high refund rate and chargebacks that are typically associated with this business Of course, that is not true of all dating sites as I am sure most would love to secure e-harmony’s business. But what I see a lot of these days are dating sites that are niche specific or have some other distinguishing factor (like being free). I have worked with quite a few dating sites and have helped them secure both domestic and/or offshore processing and at the same time helped them resolve the inherent issues of the business.

Dating websites do tend to have a significant amount of volume, which in turn equals higher chargeback’s, so you should definitely work with a company that understands this business AND has experience. Issues will come up and having a company that will work with you through the problems and not just shut you down is important.

In its simplest form, online dating is a way for people to make contact and communicate with the entire point of this to get an understanding of each other with the hopes of meeting in real life, if both parties feel comfortable in establishing a sexual or long term relationship. Its estimated that in the US alone, over 600 million is spent yearly on online dating.

So, besides the high volume and high chargeback/refund potential, there is also the possibility of fraudulent activities – which makes online dating processing high risk. Some examples of Fraud that has taken place is prostitution being advertised on the website. Also there are a bunch of scams that are being run, here are some recent examples:

“The woman who used a dating site was contacted by a person claiming to be an American soldier called Lt Brian Rivera.

After engaging in conversations over a month, she sent nearly £4,500 to an address in America, supposedly paying for flights for the soldier to come and visit her in Britain.

However, he failed to arrive and when she re-contacted his ‘site’, another soldier, Lt Troy said that he had been kidnapped and there was a £5,000 ransom.

At this stage the victim realized she had been ‘scammed’. “

I would advise a website to make it a point to tell their customers that sending money to someone they met online, but haven’t actually met in person is a VERY BAD IDEA. You would think that this is common sense, however its clearly something people do quite a bit of. Another example:

“Police say they woman was swindled out of nearly $13,000 by a man from Malaysia, and she's probably not going to get the money back.

The scam was reported to police last weekend.

Police say she met the man through a legitimate online dating service and developed a relationship via emails, text messages and telephone conversations. The man said he was having "financial difficulties" and she wired him money over several months.

Eventually he stopped contacting her and she discovered that his email address and telephone number were no longer in service.”

Prostitution scams are usually straightforward; they put profiles up on dating sites to get business. These profiles are usually recognized by sleazy names but, how do you combat all of this.

Here are some tips:

1. Consider using 3D Secure and AVS. Some people argue that this can decrease conversations and they may be right, but the alternative can be much worse.

2. Work with a 3rd party company that can help you review and moderate profiles on your website – contact me for recommendations.

3. Encourage your members/customers to report any scams or potential fraudulent behavior to you.

4. Work with a processor/company has different risk/threat tools that you can use. For instance IP checking, so you can block potential fraudulent activity based on parameters you set. For instance, a US credit card cannot be used at a Russian IP.

5. Examine your traffic sources and see if you are getting a higher fraud/chargeback rate from any source in particular. Its much better to have good quality traffic that you pay a premium on from a reputable source, then cheap traffic that is causing you a lot of headaches.

As always I am here to help. If you are interested in exploring options for a dating merchant account, have questions or even your own recommendations - contact me.

Google Wallet and its effect on Online Marketers

How does the announcement of the Google wallet effect online merchants. Well, as far as I can tell – it doesn’t. Its important to note that Google Wallet is separate from Google Checkout, and can be thought of as the brick-and-mortar counterpart to the online payment nature of Google Checkout

What Google basically did is take the concept of the ewallet, which has been around online forever, and take it offline. So now you can attach multiple funding methods to the wallet, and then use it wherever the wallet is accepted. Online this has been used for everything from online gaming, to digital music downloads, discreet purchasing and for many other reasons including payouts of funds. The reason Google is doing it is to simplify purchasing, and I love the idea. I hate carrying cards around, however I use a blackberry so since this is only available on the Android, I can’t use it.

There are tons of other articles online that explain what the wallet is, and how it used NFC to process the payments so I am not going to get into that, my focus is strictly on online payments. So, while Google Wallet obviously is geared toward consumer convenience, it also has some hefty implications for internet marketers who work with offline retail stores, not those that strictly sell online. Users will also be able to load coupons, offers and even gift cards, not to mention loyalty cards Users searching for specific deals will be pointed to a place of business on a Google map. Google will also be promoting a daily Google Offer, the Google equivalent to Groupon or Living Social.

Google Wallet will connect online and offline commerce, and will make online promotion for local retail businesses MUCH easier. Google Wallet and Google Offers will make it one step easier to reach potential customers. Things like loyalty cards will be more effective if customers aren’t deterred by having to keep track of dozens of cards in their wallet, or needing to print out coupons.

Google Wallet will also boost paid search advertising efforts for retail businesses, with or without an e-commerce site. Plus, since all coupons will be available electronically I would expect a new range of reporting metrics available to advertisers in Analytics from Google Wallet purchases. Tracking the date your coupon was downloaded from your ad and looking at the amount of time it took someone to actually redeem it, for example, could help you craft ads with stronger CTAs. And knowing how many people have used your coupon beyond clicking on your ad would be good general information to gauge the effectiveness of your marketing as well.

What the Google Wallet is trying to do is make e-eommerce not just a process of buying products/services online via a website, but rather as a tool to make purchases anywhere, and most importantly to bring the convenient aspects of online shopping (searchability, electronic coupons/payment) to your business offline.

JR

Direct Merchant Account or PayPal?

Today I was asked “are your rates better then paypal” and I gave two answers.

1. Yes

2. PayPal and a direct merchant account are two very different things.

I am sure you can find tons of articles on the internet about PayPal Vs Merchant Accounts, but I would like to give you my perspective. I think PayPal is great, I think there is definitely a purpose for PayPal. I strongly believe that Paypal is a great service for startup online companies, companies on a low budget that just need something to get up quick. However, if you are looking to do any serious volume, or if you are looking for something with flexibility, or if you are looking to do anything in what would be considered a high risk area, you need a direct merchant account.

What may make PayPal attractive, is first the cost. Its reasonably cheap, no setup fees, gatway fees, monthly fees, etc. With PayPal you are not really getting a merchant account, you are using their merchant account.

When it comes to getting your money, a direct merchant account may take longer, or shorter, it really depends. BUT the credit card payment system is one that has been around for over 40 years. Its trusted the world over. PayPal is a private company that in the grand internet scheme of things has been around for a while, but not as long. Also, if you do some google searches you will read stories from people around the world who have had their funds frozen by PayPal, for one reason or another. I am sure in a lot of these cases, there was a very valid reason to do this. However, I would also assume that it happened to a few people that didn’t deserve it. Just something you need to keep in mind.

Fraud protection is also something that every merchant really needs to take into consideration. With a direct merchant account/payment gateway, you will usually access to customizable solutions for Fraud protection. And you can base your settings on your business type and the history, its your choice. However, with PayPal, they have total control over fraud detection as its their merchant account that you are using. So, you may have instances where transactions are being declined that shouldn’t be.

Although the upfront costs are more, a direct merchant account/gateway allows the flexibility needed to make it easier for both the customer and merchant. For the customer, ease-of-use translates into more sales. For the storeowner, ease-of-use and automation translate into time (and therefore money) saved.

Overall, PayPal is an excellent payment solution for a business on a low budget that wants to get up and running quickly and easily. But a direct merchant account is a extremely flexible payment solution that will grow as your business grows. In the short term it will cost more to get up and running but in the end it's always worth it.

If you are looking to setup a direct merchant account or have any questions about this article, please contact me

JR

Direct Merchant Account VS IPSP/Third Party

Recently I read a post on directreponse.net (http://bit.ly/kUQ7fO) that discusses Limelights integration with CCBIll. I am a huge fan of this blog, I look forward to reading the posts and I know that Rich is clearly a person that knows a lot about this industry. That being said, there are some things that I don’t agree with and I think that every marketer should be aware of.

I think the move by Rick at LimeLight to integrate with CCBILL is a great one and I think a lot of merchants will use this service, however there are some important things to note and this based on feedback I have received from merchants who are working with CCBILL or other similar models.

1. This post clearly is against Offshore merchant accounts. I am really not sure why that is. I have boarded a lot of merchants offshore and they are running great. The pricing is a bit higher, settlement timelines are slightly longer (for the most part) but there are a lot of advantages to going offshore. I will get to those in another post because that is a whole discussion in itself.

2. For this IPSP Model, the rates are very high…with reserve and everything involved it can get really up there. This money can be spent on other way to grow your business, not processing. I understand that its an ”all in” solution but you are definitely paying a premium for it.


3. “their compliance team might as well be the FTC themselves” This is a direct quote from someone I know who is working with them. Because CCBILL is basically the merchant of record, their ass is really on the line. I don’t blame then, I would do the exact same and I am not advocating non compliance, but when changes need to take place for whatever reason (especially increasing conversions) you don’t want it to be a lengthy process. This leads me to my next point.

4. If you want to change something, it needs to go through an approval process. I understand that...and I definitely don’t blame this, but it’s a reason why this type of account isn’t for everyone.

5. “They host everything and integration is not easy” I have never integrated with them, so I can’t comment, but this is another complaint someone gave me.

A lot of things above are seen as positives and beneficial to the merchants, but I really believe that Offshore is definitely a viable option and you have more flexibility with a direct merchant account.

CCBILL is doing something right, they have been around forever, were /are leaders in Adult processing, but I want to present alternatives as their solution will not work for all large advertisers. As the online marketing space grows, its good for people to know there are options.

If anyone is interested in knowing more about a direct merchant account, offshore or domestic, I would be more than happy to discuss what is available.
After reading this post, its more about negatives towards the IPSP model, then positives for a direct merchant account. I will write one shortly that focuses on the positives.

JR