eCheck processing vs. Credit Card

eChecks

[gazza]

Right now my site doesn't do any US business - all business is with EU via debit cards + bank transfers.

I want to be able to take US orders safely but I don't think I can afford a virtual terminal solution to process credit cards manually (I am not incorporated either). I figure that eChecks might be the best way to do it without the high percentages and chargeback risks associated with taking cards.
It would also be better than having customers having to sign up with paypal or their ilk to be able to process the eCheck.

Does anyone take eChecks via an eCheck processor? If so which one would you recommend as having the best anti-fraud/fee package?

[wackal]

be very careful with echecks and make sure you check the chargeback terms. I used to take them but then I found out that the merchant has basically no rights when it comes to chargebacks. the customer can initiate a chargeback and there is no way for the merchant to dispute it. Needless to say, we stopped accepting them.

[jacker]

gazza

Without attacking your eCheck question right away, why do you need a virtual terminal to process credit cards?

Cheers
James

[gazza]

I want a virtual terminal so that I can do my own checking before entering card data. If I take the cards using my own form I can restrict the countries that can purchase - no indonesia/nigeria and all those countries with high fraud rates or that I simply don't want to sell to - the whole of africa and south/central america, etc.... I could choose to just not process any cards that didn't give the CVV2 numbers or do refunds on ones that are fail. I could see the AVS codes for all the US credit cards and refund any card that doesn't meet my personal requirement of 100% match. I could also compare the purchasing IP with the address of the card/country I am sending to. Also I do not wish to send items to a non-card address - so I don't want this in my form. Without the virtual terminal the options are very limited and the
card fraud rate is beyond my control.

Card processors don't really care about card fraud since they still get their percentage if the transaction results in a chargeback.

[jacker]

gazza

Those are good reasons to have a VT; I know that you can customize your account so that there is very specific fraud screening but if you have the time and ability to go the extra mile yourself, so be it.

I still haven't answered your eCheck question, because, frankly, I don't think eChecks are all they are made up to be. I believe that the market will develop at some point, but right now, if you look at the cross referenced stats between consumers that make purchases online and those that do not have credit cards, the market is so small I don't think it is really worth it. For example, I have clients doing 100K/month in travel, pharmacy, software, ebooks, and eChecks account for less than 5% of all their transactions.

I personally believe that attacking the US market properly will require you to take credit cards, either with real-time processing or a VT. As far as cost is concerned, i am not sure what other providers charge, but we provide a VT for $49/month.

Looking forward to your reply.

Cheers
James