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Old 13-03-2012, 21:05   #11
Tim Deegan
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Re: Payment receipt methods for a small business

Personally I hate Paypal with a passion. It is slow, expensive, and their security is terrible. However it is probably the cheapest merchant type system to set up. And if you sell via ebay, then you have to offer Paypal.

Bank transfers as Rob says are good, because it is almost instant now with most banks. Depending on the bank you may get small fees, but these will be cheaper than a merchant card service.

It is safe giving out your bank account details, as long as you don't give out any other details. Remember each time you send a cheque you give someone your bank account name, sort code, and account number.

If you are taking regular card payments either on line, over the phone, or both, then it is worth using a merchant service, and a secure gateway. Most banks offer a merchant service, and setup prices cost around the £200 to £250 mark, and then they take a percentage of each transaction. Then the secure gateway for your website can be provided by one of many companies. I use http://www.sagepay.co.uk This gives me a secure online checkout, as well as a virtual terminal so that I can take payments over the phone. Sagepay just charge £25 per month.
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