posted on August 27, 2000 05:00:56 AM new
Just read the Ebay Announcement page, and I see that Billpoint now offers the option of accepting payment by electronic check. I'm already using PayPal to accept credit cards, and don't really want to sign up for a Billpoint account, especially since Billpoint is going to charge me $0.39+ if someone uses it to pay by credit card. Is PayPal looking at offering the electronic check option, and if so, how soon?
posted on August 27, 2000 07:15:50 AM new
PayPal has always offered this option. Just that instead of calling it an "Electronic Check", they call it "Transfer Funds From Your Bank Account".
posted on August 27, 2000 10:58:29 AM new
You can fund your PayPal account via credit card or your bank account. BillPoint's eCheck takes 3 to 4 business days to clear, I'd imagine a buyer could transfer funds to their PayPal account and pay in the same amount of time. Only difference after that is the PayPal buyer could have fraud protection and the eCheck buyer wouldn't. Also, the BillPoint eCheck is limited to $200 maximum transaction.
posted on August 28, 2000 03:49:34 PM new
NONONONONO....I want my CUSTOMERS to be able to PAY me via electronic check through PayPal. Billpoint offers this option. Was hoping paypaldamon would answer this ??? for me.
No electronic check option at this time, but I did let product know that some users were interested in such a feature. What benefits could you see it having over the current features? This is to help clarify with what users are looking for.
posted on August 28, 2000 04:41:45 PM new
Well, for one thing, while most people have a checking account, not everyone has a credit card. For another, not everyone who has a credit card AND a checking account wants to make a charge on their card when they have the money in their account. I have to admit that I didn't look any further than the basic "seller" info, so I'm not sure how they're verifying payments made via electronic check, unless they require any user making those payments to have verified an account ahead of time. It just seems very convenient to me to be able to use the electronic check option, like I do for bill payments on occasion.
posted on August 28, 2000 04:47:09 PM new
Hi pickersangel,
You can effectively do this now through our ACH transfer process. It takes several days for it to clear to your PayPal account, but if you have a verified account on file you can add funds from that account.
posted on August 28, 2000 06:44:22 PM newWhat benefits could you see it having over the current features?
The primary expected benefit would be that since buyer didn't pay with a credit card, buyer couldn't chargeback.
I'm not sure it's as ironclad as that (presumably buyer could still claim forgery), but surely seller has vastly more "power" in an electronic check situation as opposed to a credit card situation.
posted on August 29, 2000 06:06:14 AM new
I'm posting from a seller perspective too, and my reasoning is NOT avoiding chargebacks--that's not been a problem for me, at all. I'm thinking in terms of customer convenience, based on my own experience as a buyer. Anything that makes payment more convenient to the customer is going to make it easier for me to sell my items. I fully understand funding a PayPal account from my personal account. However, that's not the same as one of my customers being able to click on a form and pay me out of their checking account. Obviously, registering for their own PayPal account and completing all the necessary steps to fund their own PayPal accounts from their bank accounts isn't nearly that convenient, either. I think sg52 raised the issue that came to my mind as I was typing my last post on this thread--how does Billpoint verify that the person inputting the info is actually the owner of the account on which the check is being drawn?
posted on August 29, 2000 07:59:09 AM new
>>how does Billpoint verify that the person inputting the info is actually the owner of the account on which the check is being drawn?<<
Most of these services don't do a whole lot of verification. If there's a problem, they just charge back the seller. However, for some reason, only PP which does do verification, has been lambasted here. I have yet to hear an explanation.
posted on August 29, 2000 11:02:35 AM new
Vargas: so the question stands. How does Billpoint verify? When I opened a billpoint CC account, it took all of 20 seconds to allow me to send over $1300 to someone as my first transaction. A little scary if my card was being misused.
posted on August 29, 2000 11:32:31 AM newHow does Billpoint verify?
It's been awhile since I signed up with BillPoint, but I think the only verification I got was an email confirmation of my account. I don't think they have any other verification... or is my memory failing?
posted on August 29, 2000 01:18:58 PM new
Here's the verification info, from Billpoint's e-check FAQ:
"How is electronic check different from a regular check?
Paying for an eBay auction item with electronic check is just like paying with a paper check - only safer and more convenient. Similar to writing a paper check at a grocery store, you will need your check book and a second form of identification.
When you make an electronic check payment, all you need to do is to enter your checking accountinformation into a secure online payment form along with a second form of identification (either driver license and birth date or social security number) that helps us to verify your identity. After your
payment clears, we will notify your seller to ship your item. The entire process typically takes 3 business days. In contrast, paying with a regular paper check typically delays shipment of your item for at least 10 business days while your check is being processed. Electronic check is truly safer, faster and more convenient than a paper check.
What if my password is stolen or if someone uses my Billpoint account without my permission?
You should contact us at once at the following e-mail address: [email protected] .
If you believe your password has been stolen, and you tell us within 4 business days after you learn of the theft, you will be responsible for no more than $50 if someone used your account without your permission. If you do not tell us within
4 business days and we can prove we could have stopped someone from using your account if you had told us, you could lose as much as $500. If a good reason (such as a long trip or a hospital stay) kept you from telling us, we will extend the time periods."
posted on August 29, 2000 01:47:15 PM new"When you make an electronic check payment, all you need to do is to enter your checking account information into a secure online payment form along with a second form of identification (either driver license and birth date or social security number) that helps us to verify your identity. After your payment clears, we will notify your seller to ship your item."
I know that the seller faces no chargebacks with BillPoint's eCheck but I'm curious just how they validate the buyer? I've got a check in front of me from a buyer and it has his driver's license number (probably the same as his Social Security #) on it. I know he'd just be able to tell the bank, "nope that wasn't me", and BillPoint's already said the seller is immune to chargebacks. There has to be more to validating the buyer I'd think. I've ever used eCheck as a buyer so I don't know, I'm just mildly curious how it works.
posted on August 29, 2000 02:18:11 PM new
I know some people do it, but consumer experts highly recommend against preprinting your social security number or drivers license number on your checks. It's also highly recommended that you refuse to use your social security number as your drivers license number. More states are moving away from the practice of using an SS# as DL#.
posted on August 29, 2000 02:34:33 PM newI know that the seller faces no chargebacks with BillPoint's eCheck but I'm curious just how they validate the buyer?
Let's take a guess that Billpoint's "3-4 days" yields some amount of "validation".
I'm not personally familiar with "electronic checks" as regulated by federal banking laws. However, as uaru points out, the widespread believe that paper checks cannot result in a "chargeback" is simply false. Buyer might claim forgery on any check, and the bank is entitled to, and will, reclaim that money directly from the account it was deposited into. "just like a real chargeback".
Such claims have been rare in the pre-electronic era. Let's predict that they will become more common if they are initiated by online actions.
posted on August 29, 2000 03:09:55 PM new"Let's take a guess that Billpoint's "3-4 days" yields some amount of "validation"."
The 3-4 business days is the amount of time for the funds to be transfered, I don't see any validation that would be happening once the funds were being transfered. I'm almost tempted to make an electronic purchase to see the process... there has to be something else where the buyer is validated.
posted on August 29, 2000 04:33:58 PM newHey, uaru, if you want to check it out, I've got an x.com t-shirt I could sell you
I might go for that, but knowing you I'm betting there are food stains all over the front of it by now. Plus I'm not keen on crossbreeding my lice with some California species either.
