I am seriously considering switching my cc account to ProPay, thanks
to the info on Orchid. Has anyone had any reason to be unhappy with
them?
Also, I wonder about their monthly transaction limits. I could find
nothing on their web site to explain what happens if you get a
charge that puts you over the monthly limit. Anybody know?
Last, I found one refence to a “reserve deposit” for higher limits,
but no details. Any info on that?
Noel
I have been very happy with Propay. I’ve had my account with them
for about 3 months now with now issues. I did go over my daily limit
one day but haven’t seen any penalties or issues from it. Very good
service overall. I highly recommend them.
Noel, I’ve been using ProPay for a few years now, I guess 6 or 7, and
have been quite satisfied. I haven’t had a problem with the monthly
transaction limit, but as you saw they do have the option to deposit
an amount into reserve and then you can raise your limits. I haven’t
had to do that, and I’m glad, I just don’t know if I like that idea.
I like to have my money myself, thanks. I suppose if you reached your
limit, it just wouldn’t go through, but I don’t know for sure.
Probably if I did have a problem with a $3000/month limit, that would
warrant switching to a more traditional service. I have a few times
had a problem with the per-charge limit, especially when I first
started with them & had lower limits. Those times I just split the
sale into two transactions and that worked fine. I didn’t have to do
that very often, though, and since I got my limits raised it hasn’t
been an issue, although I suppose I’d just do the same thing again.
And as with the monthly limit, if it became a regular problem, it
would probably make more sense for me to use a different service,
anyway. For now, though, ProPay works great! 
Lisa
Designs by Lisa Gallagher
If you go to propay.com and click the link at the top that says
“features and Pricing, you will be able to compare the prices for
higher limits” as the site says,
“Processing limits are the maximum amount you can process per
transaction and per month. For example, a processing limit of
$500/$3,000 means you can process UP TO $500 per transaction and
$3,000 per month. To get higher limits you can sign up for or
upgrade to a higher account type . Your processing limit is NOT a
monthly minimum. ProPay doesn’t require a monthly minimum. If you
don’t use your account in a given month, you don’t have to pay any
additional fees.” and respectively, those fees are $59.95 $119.95
$299.95
I started out with the 59.95 and that is PER YEAR. If I need more,
I’ll upgrade
I started using ProPay but have switched to PayPal. At first it was
because of the limits. $500 per transaction and $3000 a month. I
would hate to have a couple of really good shows in one month in the
summer and not be able to process the transactions. Plus I think it
is unprofessional to explain to a customer why a purchase for over
$500 must be processed as two transactions. I think the discount
rate is pretty much the same. PayPal charges $30 a month where Propay
was about $120 a year as I remember. But it takes forever to get your
money out of ProPay. 3 days until the transaction goes through the
another 3 days after you request a transfer to your bank account
(which the charge you a fee for). With PayPal the funds are
available immediately. I have a PayPal Mastercard debit card for
local expenses and online purchases. Of course you have to resist the
temptation of blowing it all shopping on eBay. Rocks and minerals are
my weakness…
I know you can get higher limits if you put a deposit on hold with
ProPay, but no way am I going to let someone hold my money and not
pay me interest on it nor FDIC insure the account. PayPal is not FDIC
insured either so I wouldn’t keep too much in that account either.
Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
Rocky Mountain Wonders
Colorado Springs, Colorado
rockymountainwonders.com
I have been very happy with Propay. [snip] I did go over my daily limit one day but haven't seen any penalties or issues from it.
So, you were able to process charges that were beyond your limit?
Did you have to give them a “reserve deposit”? How much?
Thanks,
Noel
I took a look at their website. First thing that hit me was there is
NO contact info. I dunno, I like to have a human to scream at when
things go horribly wrong.
Their discount rates are pretty high. Nearly 4% for amex. did you
know you can sign up directly with amex through a regular card
processor? I like under 3% a whole bunch better. Since amex tends to
be higher ticket that extra percentage adds up over a year. And the
Visa/MC rates are nearly double what I’m paying.
The only reason I can see to sign up with propay is the credit check
and the retail location requirement. “Aha, but!” he says. “here’s
your way around that”.
First time merchants run into the credit rating excuse. The
processors claim they have to run a check and they limit your
transaction amounts. (translates to "we’re gonna overcharge you cuz
we think you’re dumb) So… sign up with anyone that will accept
you(shop around they are out there), live with their restriction for
just a few months.(obviously don’t sign if there is an ‘exit
penalty’). (maybe propay will work as a stepping stone too) Then
simply sign up with the processor that has everything you want. Now
you’ve got a track record and they will often bypass the credit check
and other hoops on fire.
One processor I contacted wanted 3 years of personal finances,
taxes, photos, lien on my children just about and charged 2.7 or so
on V/MC. The next I spoke with had me up and running in 3 days with a
very simple application and gave me a state of the art machine for
free and a pretty low discount rate.
And I can talk to a person (no I don’t really scream at people) when
there’s a problem.