View source for Old:Candidate Payment Processors

== Options not currently under consideration ==

=== [http://www.flagshipmerchantservice.com/ Flagship] ===

Flagship is a merchant account only -- it processes payments through Authorize.net. They are owned by Wells Fargo Bank.

Bottom line: They're good.

Features:
* Do they have an easily-reachable helpdesk? 24/7 contact via phone and email.
* How good are they at dispute resolutions? Reasonable. See [http://www.bbb.org/boston/Business-Reviews/credit-card-processing-service/flagship-merchant-services-llc-in-charlestown-ma-112963/complaints complaints with BBB] (Unless you're also using iPayment, then there can be more complications.)

Pros:
* Can download activity reports and import them into QuickBooks.

Payment options:
* Direct Post Method: We create the payment form, but it posts to their servers (so no critical details hit our servers)
* Server Integration Method: We create the shopping cart, but it posts to their servers. They show/process the payment form and results page.
* Advanced Integration Method: We manage everything on our servers, calling their API to process the credit card.

Reviews:
* http://payment-gateway-services-review.toptenreviews.com/flagship-merchant-services-review.html
* http://www.cardpaymentoptions.com/credit-card-processors/flagship-merchant-services-review-complaints-and-rating/

Horror stories:
* http://flagship-merchant-services.pissedconsumer.com/flagship-merchant-services-firstdata-is-a-merchant-rip-off-20100409177814.html

Other notes:
* Flagship has some association with iPayment. Avoid use of iPayment, because they are the source of numerous complaints. For example, see [http://www.cardpaymentoptions.com/credit-card-processors/ipayment-review-complaints-and-rating/ this review site].
* Flagship might also use FirstData, or maybe they previously used FirstData.

=== [http://paypal.com PayPal] and [http://x.com X.com]===

Bottom line: There is a general feeling that PayPal is good for small-scale use, but it's not great for businesses with high transaction rates. It seems like they are working to improve their services for "traditional" business customers, but these services are still immature. They are developing a new system called [http://x.com x.com] (X.commerce) aimed at larger businesses.

Features:
* Do they have an easily-reachable helpdesk? 800 number includes "after hours support", online forums. They don't have true 24/7 customer service unless you pay exorbitant fees for "enhanced" service.
* How good are they at dispute resolutions? Their resolution process tends to err on the side of the customer rather than the merchant.
* Can they handle preapproved payments? Yes, with x.com. See [https://www.x.com/developers/paypal/documentation-tools/api/preapproval-api-operation Preapproval API page].
* What currencies can they handle? PayFlow handles "24 currencies from 190 countries"  -- see [https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/payflow-faq#currency PayFlow currencies].

Pros:
* well-known

Cons:
* using PayPal's primary system incurs some risk -- funds can be delayed, the account can be locked, etc. (It's unclear whether these same risks apply to PayFlow and X.com)

Reviews:
* http://payment-gateway-services-review.toptenreviews.com/website-payments-review.html
* http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2010/05/10/accepting-online-payments-part-three-so-which-payment-gateway-should-i-choose/
* http://www.cardpaymentoptions.com/credit-card-processors/paypal/

Horror stories:
* http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/103385-PayPal-Freezes-750K-in-MineCraft-Devs-Account
* http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-57352136-501465/paypal-makes-ebay-customer-destroy-$2500-violin-seller-left-empty-handed/

=== [http://www.firstdata.com/global-selector.html FirstData] ===

FirstData is one of the largest gateways. It recently took over Bank of America's Merchant Account division, so the two companies work together closely.

Features:
* Do they have an easily-reachable helpdesk? Phone 24/7. [http://www.cardpaymentoptions.com/credit-card-processors/first-data-review-complaints-and-rating/ A review] calls them "notoriously bad", and nearly all of the commenters agree.
* What currencies can they handle? [https://firstdata.zendesk.com/entries/450214-supported-currencies Many many]
* How would we interact with their servers?
** [https://firstdata.zendesk.com/entries/407571-first-data-global-gateway-e4sm-web-service-api-reference-guide#3.2 API Reference]
** Delayed payments can be handled with [https://firstdata.zendesk.com/entries/407571-first-data-global-gateway-e4sm-web-service-api-reference-guide#3.2 Zero-dollar authorizations] and [https://firstdata.zendesk.com/entries/21303361-transarmor-tokenization TransArmor Tokens]
** [https://firstdata.zendesk.com/entries/407522-first-data-global-gateway-e4sm-hosted-payment-pages-integration-manual Hosted checkout pages] (can be also be [https://firstdata.zendesk.com/entries/20886831-0-authorizations-using-payment-pages used with the TransArmor Tokens])
* [http://www.firstdata.com/gg/gg_demo_pop.htm Virtual Terminal] for processing phone, fax, and mail payments. It's functional, but not great.
** Exports to csv and xml

Reviews:
* http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2010/05/10/accepting-online-payments-part-three-so-which-payment-gateway-should-i-choose/
* http://www.cardpaymentoptions.com/credit-card-processors/first-data-review-complaints-and-rating/

Open questions:
* Are there costs associated with TransArmor tokens?

=== [http://www.sagepay.com SagePay] ===

Bottom line: they are too UK-focused; don't support enough US banks

* Do they have an easily-reachable helpdesk? 24/7
* How good are they at dispute resolutions? Ok, not great
* Can they handle preapproved payments? (probably, but not fully evaluated yet)
* What currencies can they handle? many, depending on the [http://www.sagepay.com/help/faq/merchant_number_format selected merchant account]
* How would we interact with their servers? InFrame lets us customize the form on our page,

Reviews:
* http://www.cardpaymentoptions.com/credit-card-processors/sage-payment-solutions/

=== [http://www.worldpay.com/ WorldPay] ===

Bottom line: They are primarily a merchant account, which would introduce another company into our system -- we don't need it.

* Gateways: List isn't easily accessible, but PayFlow and Authorize.net say they work with WorldPay.
* Do they have an easily-reachable helpdesk? 24/weekdays (UK)
* How good are they at dispute resolutions? Mixed. Many good reviews, many bad reviews. "one-call resolution model"
* Can they handle preapproved payments? (probably, but not fully evaluated yet)
* What currencies can they handle? many
* How would we interact with their servers?  they are very flexible/customizable

Reviews:
* http://www.cardpaymentoptions.com/credit-card-processors/worldpay/
* http://www.merchantmaverick.com/reviews/worldpay-review/
* http://www.yelp.com/biz/rbs-worldpay-atlanta
* http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/RBS-worldpay-Reviews-E240945.htm
* http://www.cardpaymentoptions.com/credit-card-processors/worldpay/

=== [http://stripe.com/ Stripe.com] ===

Bottom line: Well-designed and simple. They don't support anything fancy, but they would work well. Unfortunately, they don't support multiple currencies.

Features:
* Do they have an easily-reachable helpdesk? IRC, email. No phone!
* How good are they at dispute resolutions? Unclear.
* Can they handle preapproved payments? Can create a customer object to validate the card, then charge it later. See [https://stripe.com/docs/tutorials/charges#saving-credit-card-details-for-later Stripe's example of preapproval].
* What currencies can they handle? Only USD is native, but the credit card company will do any needed conversion.
* Can they handle vouchers? They can handle coupons, which may work the same way.

Pros:
* Recommended by [http://unglue.it Unglue.it].
* Their [https://stripe.com/gallery list of customers] seems exclusively focused on small-business websites like Dryad.

Cons:
* They focus on the programming API -- not sure whether they have a system for managing information through their site.

Reviews:
* http://roswellstudios.com/api-review-stripe-com
* http://bbcnnnews.blogspot.com/2012/08/stripe-payments-review-stripecom-api.html

Notes:
* Their [https://stripe.com/docs/stripe.js stripe.js system] is designed to keep sensitive information from hitting our servers.
* Although most of their examples don't include Java, they do have a Java [https://stripe.com/docs/libraries API library].
* [http://pippinsplugins.com/tag/stripe/ Tutorial on integrating Stripe with WordPress]

===[http://wepay.com WePay]===

Bottom line: Extremely flexible. Has many of the desirable features of Stripe, with more flexibility. However, it has received complaints similar to those lodged against PayPal, so it may be a more risky alternative. Unfortunately, they do not handle multiple currencies.

WePay was founded as a direct competitor to PayPal. As such, it originally focused on peer-to-peer transactions. They have since added more features to become a more complete payment processing site.

Features:
* Do they have an easily-reachable helpdesk? Email, chat, or phone.  8AM-8PM PST, Monday-Friday
* How good are they at dispute resolutions? Unclear
* Can they handle preapproved payments? Yes. They call it a [https://www.wepay.com/developer/platform/conditional-payments conditional payment].
* What currencies can they handle? USD only.
* Can they handle vouchers? Unclear
* How would we interact with their servers? The [https://www.wepay.com/developer/ WePay API] allows for a lot of flexibility.

Pro:
* Can use a JavaScript library to handle the transaction, where credit card info never hits Dryad servers. (Similar to Stripe.com)
* Also allows payments within an iFrame, or redirect through their site.
* Can charge credit cards or bank accounts.

Con:
* Their documentation can be confusing, because they assume you're trying to build a marketplace. When they say "user", they mean "seller". The purchasers (e.g., Dryad users) are termed "customers".
* Many complaints about the time it takes for funds to clear into your account. WePay often lists transactions a "pending".

===  [http://www.google.com/wallet/business/ Google Checkout/Wallet] ===

Bottom Line: It seems very focused on the shopping-cart model, so it probably doesn't fit our use case.

Features:
* Do they have an easily-reachable helpdesk? Email and forums. No phone.
* How good are they at dispute resolutions? Ok.
* Can they handle preapproved payments? I think so, though it's not clear how.
* What currencies can they handle? Focused on USD, but MasterCard/Visa will work with other currencies.
* Can they handle vouchers? Yes, but this seems to be handled through the shopping carts.

Pros:
* Many [https://checkout.google.com/seller/integrate.html options for shopping carts]. They have a shopping cart that you can integrate just by dropping in some HTML.

Cons:
* It seems really focused on the notion of a store with a shopping cart. It's unclear  how well they support other use cases.

Reviews:
* http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2010/05/10/accepting-online-payments-part-three-so-which-payment-gateway-should-i-choose/
* http://www.cardpaymentoptions.com/credit-card-processors/google-checkout/

=== [http://www.bluepay.com/ BluePay] ===

Bottom Line: Too focused on physical credit-card readers.

Used to work with FirstData, but now on their own.

Features:
* Do they have an easily-reachable helpdesk? Phone Monday-Friday.
* How good are they at dispute resolutions?
* Can they handle preapproved payments?
* What currencies can they handle?
* Can they handle vouchers?

Cons:
* Unexpected fees.

Reviews:
* http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2010/05/10/accepting-online-payments-part-three-so-which-payment-gateway-should-i-choose/
* http://www.cardpaymentoptions.com/credit-card-processors/bluepay/

=== [https://www.2checkout.com 2Checkout] ===

Bottom line: no.

Features:
* Do they have an easily-reachable helpdesk? Monday-Friday phone.
* How good are they at dispute resolutions?
* Can they handle preapproved payments?
* What currencies can they handle? 8 payment methods, 15 languages, and 26 currencies
* Can they handle vouchers?

Pros:
* Supports several shopping carts.

Cons:
* High fees.
* Focused on the shopping carts.

Reviews:
* http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2010/05/10/accepting-online-payments-part-three-so-which-payment-gateway-should-i-choose/
* http://www.cardpaymentoptions.com/credit-card-processors/2checkout-2co/

=== [https://www.payza.com/ Payza] (was AlertPay) ===

Bottom line: No.

Features:
* Do they have an easily-reachable helpdesk? Monday-Friday phone. Ticket system.
* How good are they at dispute resolutions?
* Can they handle preapproved payments?
* What currencies can they handle? "22 currencies"
* Can they handle vouchers?

Cons:
* Website looks suspiciously similar to BluePay.
* Almost no positive reviews.

Reviews:
* http://www.ptc-investigation.com/payza.aspx
* http://merchantaccountreviews.biz/services/payza-reviews/

=== [https://payments.amazon.com (Old) Amazon Payments] and [http://aws.amazon.com/fps/ (Newer) Amazon Flexible Payments Service] ===

Bottom line: It's the Amazon checkout process, built into your website -- not what we want.

Features:
* Do they have an easily-reachable helpdesk?
* How good are they at dispute resolutions?
* Can they handle preapproved payments?
* What currencies can they handle?
* Can they handle vouchers?

Cons:
* Does not handle foreign currencies.