No More PayPal? Well, Here Are Some Alternatives
According to PayPals Mature Audiences Policy, webmasters who are registered through the digital adult merchant process have until May 12, 2003 to locate a new provider. Even if you offer tangible merchandise, you only have until June 12, 2003. So where do you go if you are still a new webmaster with no merchant account trying to make a little money? Here are a few suggestions to aid your impending search.
EMS
EMS processes credit cards, debit cards and online checks. EMS charges the adult, dating, escorts, gentleman clubs card processor account 3.99% of the transactions with a $0.30 minimum. You may want to calculate this charge into your subscription price. Otherwise, your members may refuse to sign up due to this added cost. On a more positive note, EMS does not charge you to receive domestic funds, they are sent to you automatically in 2 business days. You should consider how many international clients you draw. They have a 2.99% surcharge international transaction fee for merchant.
ePassporte
This site does not support subscriptions. They also request an email to determine what they charge. The information on the site sounds like hard work for the client. They require the client to verify two charges on their credit card before allowing use.
PSW Billing
PSW may be an option for you if you dont sell anything tangible, you update your members area as often as you charge the client, and your site is not down longer than 24 hours in a 30 day period. If you are using a free web host, PSW has a clause which adopts their AUP policy.
Glo-Bill
Glo-Bill does not have any set-up fees or monthly costs. Registration is simple and supports membership sites. Your price must be set within their limits of $1.95 to $59.95. They pay you a commission on all of the members that sign up through your site. Glo-bill holds a 7.5% reserve for 6 months which is lower than most. They require that you sign up to get all of the policy details, but they do offer a preview account.
iBill
At first, this site appeared to be a great find when looking at their Subscriber Conduct Policy. However, when delving deeper into their website, you will learn that they reserve the right to refuse pornography sites that even comply with US code. They do not recognize AVS systems. Further down under "unacceptable products and businesses" it lists "products which would constitute pornography if delivered to a person under the age of 18". They go on to say if you are unsure call 1-888-237-1764, but you may be taking a chance on losing your service if you go this route. Lost service, means lost customers.
MSBill
MSBill accepts credit cards, online checks and 900 phone number charges. It requires that you have your own merchant account. If you dont have one, that is okay, they will help you acquire one, and for the month of May not charge a thing.
Party Key
Party Key accepts checks, credit cards and debit cards. It does not charge to open an account. There are no monthly fees. It charges a 10% flat rate on all monthly transactions. It also holds a 10% reserve for 6 months.
ProBilling
The UK-based company does not have any set up fees. They do not charge your clients and have a three tier system for charging you. Up to $4,999 per week, they charge 13.5% of collections. From $5,000 to $12,499 per week, they charge 12%. Then from $12,500 per week, they charge 9.5%. Finally, all charges under $5.00 have a $0.45 service fee. This site does not appear to have very many limitations on service.
StormPay
Stormpay accepts credit cards, debit cards, and online checks. They do not have many use limitations. They do not charge to open an account. They do not charge to send money, and appears to be client friendly. They do charge 2.9% plus $0.39 transaction fee for receiving funds as well as a $2 per withdrawal fee.
WebMoney
Web Money has a series of purses to understand, but appears to be international currency friendly. They do not have their policies available for non-members to peruse.
Yahoo Pay Direct
This website has been listed online as a trusted service, by a trusted name. When reviewing their member conduct page, it shows that this just might be true. It offers pricing much like PayPal. Your customers can sign-up free, send money free and receive money free through a personal account. There is no charge to withdraw money either. For professional accounts (on which you may have to be listed as to get into the adult section) opening an account is free, sending a check with a 4-day hold is free, and adding or withdrawing money is also free. Compared to fees as high as 13.5%, they charge a nominal 2.5% plus a $0.30 transaction fee. Should you transact $2000 or more per month, the fee drops to 2.2%. Plus you see your transaction fees in advance.
There are many other sites that are interested in picking up the slack that PayPal is leaving off. These were found by a search for "e-mailing money". If you dont see what you like here, try doing a similar search on your favorite search engine. New webmasters would try to use PayPal due to their already large numbers of customers, and low pricing, but it does not mean the end of your service. If your site has been using PayPal, or if you were planning to use PayPal, start looking through these Plan Bs today.
