posted on January 18, 2006 07:18:49 PM new
I was just on eBay looking for a Bonsai tree seedling when I saw Payingfast(dot com) as a payment option. It looks like a possible bidpay replacement. Has anyone hear anything good or bad about them ?
edited to add they also offer moneybookers(dot com)
[ edited by toasted36 on Jan 18, 2006 07:22 PM ]
posted on January 18, 2006 07:30:16 PM new
The first URL doesn't go to a payment service, but to a collection of advertisements for different companies.
When that happened, I didn't look up MoneyBookers.
posted on January 18, 2006 07:53:20 PM new
Payingfast are out of business (like PayKo). We used to use them and they were actually better than BidPay but they ceased business in 2003? We have used MoneyBookers since 2001 and no problems to date. On a side note MoneyBookers allow sellers (but don't publicize it) to download funds to their US credit/debit cards much like PayPal did eons ago. Useful mainly for customers that don't have Euro bank accounts (we prefer bank transfers usually).
posted on January 18, 2006 07:55:26 PM new
Payingfast operated almost identically to Bidpay. They were in the process of selling the company and temporarily suspended operations. This was over a year ago. Auctionbytes still has them as temporarily suspended, so I don't know what ever became of them. I believe Agitprop is familiar with Moneybookers. Maybe he'll come in later and give us the lowdown on them.
If Murphy's law is correct, everything East of the San Andreas Fault will slide into the Atlantic
posted on January 18, 2006 08:00:13 PM new
Thanks for the info, Agitprop. For those of us who cannot justify opening accounts in other countries, and who don't want to do wire transfers through U.S. banks, could you recommend a good substitute for Bidpay?
If Murphy's law is correct, everything East of the San Andreas Fault will slide into the Atlantic
posted on January 18, 2006 08:28:48 PM new
We're still awaiting word from eBay on the use of www.AuctionChex.com. There was a long thread here a week or more ago and we've been offering it to international buyers since we heard about it.
If I hear anything more from the eBay forum on the use, I'll be sure to share it here.
posted on January 18, 2006 08:47:19 PM new
Thanks agitprop for the info. Wayne it had ads for different payment companies so I assumed that is what paying fast was. Shame they are out of business agitprop made it sound appealing.
posted on January 19, 2006 07:13:13 PM new
Payingfast were a small operation, probably too small to generate enough turnover to keep going. Like in the early days of PayPal they had a generous sign-up bonus for sellers using them in their eBay listings. Payingfast issued Travellers Express branded money orders in USD and accepted orders via credit card worldwide - basically the same model as BidPay.
MoneyBookers is a UK-based money transfer agency similar to PayPal, but without the higher chargeback risk. They do not get involved in SNAD (significantly not to buyer's liking, changed their mind, wrong color) or INR (item delayed, not delivered, not signed for, not traceable online) disputes - they transfer the money - end of story. They do however do security checks on all users BEFORE you can use their service: they require a fax or jpg image (via email) of the front/rear of any credit card you wish to use with their service (i.e. they actually do confirm customers have the credit/debit card in their possession). There is a slight chargeback risk to sellers, but with all MoneyBookers' security safeguards it's minimal compared to you're exposed to through accepting PayPal.
MoneyBookers is a European Union licensed Electronic Money Issuer service, and is not a bank, so your money is not covered by EU deposit insurance. MoneyBookers is required to follow the "know your customers" financial regulations to prevent money laundering, arms dealing, slave trafficking, etc. but unlike PayPal is happy to accept payment for "adult" and online betting services (legal in several countries).
You can add a bank account to fund deposits and withdrawals in major trading currencies. IMPORTANT: when opening an account you must choose which currency it will be denominated in since you cannot change it later (you can send and receive in any of around 30 major currencies). North American users should choose their local currency so they will not incur foreign currency exchange fees when withdrawing funds to their domestic bank account or cards. You can bill customers in any currency, and their payment will be transferred and converted at the prevailing bank cross rate to your account's currency. Payment senders pay all fees (you can optionally signup for a webmaster account where you pay all fees).
Transaction limits for sending funds start at ZERO until you confirm your identity by uploading funds from a credit/debit card (EUR 3000 in 90 days period) or from a bank account (EUR 5000 in 90 days period) held in your name. All uploads must be initiated by the account holder, as unlike PayPal, MoneyBookers will never attempt to debit your bank account. You can withdraw a maximum of EUR 15000 every 90 days.
Fees: BUYER pay 1% of the transaction capped at EUR 0.50 on transfers. 3% charged for uploading by credit/debit card. No fee for upload from bank accounts in most countries (not available in US due to Patriot Act). Withdraw to bank account worldwide by SWIFT is EUR 1.80, download to credit/debit card is EUR 2.00, or check drawn on bank in your country (sent via airmail) EUR 3.50. Our account balance strategy is to let the amount get up to around EUR 250 to 500, then sweep it into our bank account or credit card - which minimizes our transfer costs.
Any questions? - check the MoneyBookers site - they have an extensive FAQ.
posted on January 20, 2006 04:10:22 PM newtOMWiii, wrote,
I joined 1 year ago, but couldn't see any advantages for USA seller -- EXPENSIVE to withdraw one's payment!
Suggest you put your glasses on and read my last sentence, "Our account balance strategy is to let the amount get up to around EUR 250 to 500, then sweep it into our bank account or credit card - which minimizes our transfer costs." PayPal also charges a fee to withdraw funds to bank accounts outside the USA - check their non-US websites for details.
Nice service if ya live in the EU, but seems a pain for Ralphie & me...
Actually those in the EU don't need MoneyBookers unless accepting payments from outside the EU/EEA. If you recall, EU/EEA residents enjoy free cross border bank transfers via BIC+IBAN. Transfers must be in Euros for amounts less than EUR 50,000 and costs (if any) are shared. Covers 32 countries, but will encompass new EU/EEA states as they join the world's largest single market.
Bank transfers are the norm for payments in many countries, and are usually free (USA being the anomaly). Most OECD countries (i.e. Canada, UK, Australia, Japan, Germany, Spain, etc.) have only a handful of large, retail nationwide banks and smaller regional credit unions - all sharing a centralized payments network.
