Forum Moderators: buckworks
According to their website they are incredibly cheap, with all the features of the major players like Netbanx and Worldpay, both of which I have used.
If anyone has used/is using protx I would appreciate some feedback about the service, as I am thinking of changing over to their system.
the protx pricing looks too good to be true - 5p per transaction and (apparently) no other fees is ultra cheap.
a quick look through their site explains why - it's an "electronic wallet" payment system. from what i can see, customers have to sign up for an account with protx then wait for approval to make a purchase. once approval is given, they deposit money into their electronic wallet. they can then make as many payments as they like (is this how paypal works?).
the only time card processing is involved is when the customer pays money into their electronic wallet. the protx claim that their service is cheap because card authorisation "doesn't cost that much" isn't really true - cards aren't being processed for every sale you make, only when the customer makes a payment into their electronic wallet.
something i don't understand though, is why protx want retailers to have a bank merchant account - IMO it clearly isn't needed for this type of service as no card processing is done for the retailer.
i also looked at their pricing comparisons. the rates show huge savings compared to worldpay direct. what they fail to show is that the vendor needs a bank merchant account to use protx, which also costs money, whereas worldpay direct doesn't need a bank merchant account.
i couldnt find anything about how long it takes for payment to reach your bank account (if that's how they send you your money) or whether they keep some money back or whatever.
if lots of people have protx accounts then great. but if a potential customer doesn't have a protx account, will they wait however long it takes to get approval so that they can make their purchase? personally, if i'm shopping on the net, i want to buy now, not next week.
i'd say if you have a bank merchant account, this could be worth going for, but only as an additional service to run alongside worldpay or netbanx etc, not as a replacement.
I think you are wrong about the "wallet" system - Protx offer you the chance to sign up to this sytem when you buy something, but it is not an obligation in order to make a purchase. I couldn't find many examples of people using protx, but if you go to www.mba.org.uk and order their handbook, you can see how one of their methods works.
I admit that their pricing seems to good to be true - that's why I'm trying to find out what the catch is, if there is one :)
Apparently money from Protx transactions is depositied in your account 2 days after purchase, they take 170 different currencies, and can process 130,000 transactions an hour...there must be some kind of catch though, or do I just not know a good thing when I see it...
