digitalv - 8:35 pm on May 5, 2004 (gmt 0)

Why wouldn't you be able to get a real merchant account? If you were black-listed or your credit is so bad that you can't get one, it's a GOOD thing for the rest of us that you can't get one :)

This is the exact reason why it's good to get away from PayPal and those types of systems - when I see someone who only accepts payments through PayPal it tells me they're a person who couldn't get a regular merchant account - which tells me they're a person I don't want to do business with.

It's also good that MC/VISA fine people who don't comply with their rules. The rules are there for a reason - if you don't comply, in my opinion you should lose your account not just pay a fine. Of course I'm also the type of person who reads every word of every contract before I sign it, I bet a lot of people out there who have merchant accounts didn't read all of the fine print... nor did they read the terms of use when they signed up for PayPal and other services like that. That's their own stupidity.