Merchant account [hell]
Wow, I just don’t get it!
Me: I’d like a merchant account to make me money, and you the bank will take a percentage.
Bank: No, try one of our competitors, besides, whats wrong with Paypal?
Seriously, that was HSBC’s advice to me - use PayPal - I then explained to them how selling online works, who the different parties are etc., I explained to them! - it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that something is wrong. Oh, and, this was after having to ring them and go to my local branch every day for 4 days in a row.
Halifax bank of Scotland (HBOS) I heard were good but they want a full business plan, then it needs to be authorized, checked, and… at this point I was bored and didn’t care. I will be making you money, what else do you need to know!? Mind you, HBOS didn’t say “PayPal”, and they were nice people to speak to.
Anyway, long story short, if your looking for a merchant account in the UK, Barclaycard. Within 4 hours or asking them I was told “yes, and it’ll be running 14 days after we get the signed papers back from you” (I’m waiting for the papers to arrive now). Seriously, after HSBC and HBOS I want to hug someone at Barclaycard.
For those that recommended me to Barclaycard, thank you.
Tags: Barclaycard, Business, HSBC, Merchant accounts, Projects, Webapps
December 1st, 2006 at 5:11 pm
PayPal isn’t a proper merchant account. It’s great for things like eBay, but if your running a major business it looks much better to your customers when you process payments through one of the major banks.
I have heard that NatWest have a good service, under the brand Streamline. Does anyone know if they are any good? The website says they are the largest merchant provider in Europe, so i assume they must be pretty good.
December 15th, 2006 at 4:42 pm
Did Barclaycard want much in the way of a business plan?
April 18th, 2007 at 9:33 am
No, they didn’t.