jcowens2007

Hi,

For a new site, which one should I go with...

Option A:
-Third party processor (Zombaio)
-crummy forms
- 5% skim
-no merchant account worries/housekeeping
-but, they keep all cardholder info
-can they go out of business? who knows

Option B:
- Direct Merchant Acct. (Humboldt/Moneris) and Gateway (Netbilling)
- Net 5% Bank skim, 5% Netbilling skim, total skim is about 10-11%
- 10% reserve skim- non rolling - stops once reserve is met.
- customizable forms
- i keep cardholder info
- lots of worrying/housekeeping with merchant account
-can the merch bank change porn policy and close accounts? who knows

Ive been using a direct merchant and NB for years now, and i like the flexibility. What I hate is dealing with chargebacks and checking the mailbox for anticipating bad news from the merch bank. What I have found out, however, is that after the bank and gateway skim their fees, it nets about 10-11% of gross processing. Having a merch account is nice, but it comes with headaches and really isn't that cheap. I used about 2 yrs of merch bank fees and NB invoices and it averages out to about 10% skim from both.

My dilema is that if the third party processor goes out of business, you are SOL (iBill). A merch account route is more expensive than a third party solution. Third party is easier.

Which would you go with? Option A or B?