My merchant account was just canceled this Friday because the merchant account company said mastercard released a new rule that membership sites are no longer allowed. I read the mastercard rule and it is hairy but did not think it would cause a cancellation of my account. Needless to say I am now looking for a new merchant account to process cards for my membership site. anyone else having problems and can you recommend a merchant processor? thanks Ameen
I use USAePay. They can provide you with an Authorize.net emulator that works flawlessly in aMember. I have been nothing but thrilled with their accessibility, ease of use and customer focus. Let me know if you are interested in contact information to my rep - he'll take good care of you.
This is a big problem in the industry- made worse by merchant account providers who didnt actually read the text put out... Membership sites are allowed, you just cant say things like "free plus shipping" as this is clearly not free! Heres a blog post I did on it: http://www.membershipacademy.com/blog/tips/free-plus-shipping-is-dead-forced-continuity-is-not/ David
David, you hit the nail right on the head -- people don't read the text put out. That's why the credit card companies have updated their policies, to force merchants to be more clear about what they are selling and how it will be billed. As I mentioned in my comment to your blog post, I don't see where "free plus shipping" should be a problem. Shipping charges are not a part of the product price, and are almost always billed separately anyways. Would you like to pick up a free book here in Michigan, or would you rather spend a few bucks to have me ship it to you? The book is free either way. The shipping is not.
Hey All, In 2008, we lost our Merchant Account because of so many chargebacks BECAUSE the membership site we had was $1 to enroll for the first month and then it was $97 per month. (Let me tell you that experience and what happens in your memberhsip site is THE BEST LESSON and the best guidance as to what to do next and going forward.) Re: Mastercard, I believe that the Mastercard edict was "no free shipping" or "no free trial with forced continuity". At the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009 we launched a NEW membership site on Wordpress/Amember platforms (btw BECOME A MEMBER OF MEMBERSHIPACADEMY.COM- This is a must have for membership site owners). I became fiercely authoritarian on how our users/members "became our customers". #1 they were going to PAY for their membership from the beginning. (that's how our current site's level 1 membership is set up.) #2 our new level 2's will also pay for their membership from the beginning and know upfront that they membership is $xx per month - - but because "they are near and dear to our heart . . . . " they will get a discount on the first month's membership fee only. #3 - HAVE AN AGREEMENT THAT THEY MUST ACCEPT. Amember has the "Display Agreement" checkbox that you can (and should) check for your subscription products (at the very least) when you are setting up the products that will, by default, display after they fill out the first part of the signup.php(signup.html) and before they pay. You can customize this to your language on signup.html. (NOTE: make a copy of the original before you make changes.) Also, we are presently about to implement a NEXT LEVEL of membership (level 2) where 1 of 5 different agreements will be what the subscriber sees. We are also addressing this issue when a CURRENT MEMBER wants to upgrade to the new membership level - - I am requiring 1 of 4 agreements to be accepted by them. (1 or 4 is based on the particular set of products, or subscriptions they have purchased.) Also, one more thing, right now our cha ching! (the actual purchase) takes place outside of amember. Meaning, whether the purchase is successful and what they did purchase is determined BEFORE ever getting to amember. The next thing we will be initiating with this new membership level (and will back-launch for our existing level 1 membership) is the sending of the agreement that they accepted to them in an email. I have carefully worded and updated our agreements with this new level 2 launch. Remember, you can put specific wording on/in your agreements. AND, IF YOU INTEND to make the agreement 'viewable at any time' to your member(s), it is fair to add "this Agreement may be updated, enhanced, or changed at any time" to the language of the agreement. (Best Do Research and Make Sure Your Agreement Language is not Ambiguous. In otherwords, say exactly what you mean and define terms used if necessary.) The wording in your agreements can be clear, concise, direct, and STILL it will not scare away customers. I don't know about you guys, but while I want to keep a happy flow of active memberships, I DON'T WANT members that come in only with the intentions of leaving, wining, doing chargebacks, etc. etc. I have spent (wasted) many many many {did I say many?} administrative hours jumping to these types of subscribers only to come out on the short end of the $ stick and the time-wasted stick. BE UPFRONT with your subscribers. If they know and can see what your membership is upfront, the "I didn't know it was going to cost..." "I didn't authorize..." "I never went to the site..." excuses will dwindle to a manageable minimum. Michelle
Yes, Jack, I'm in Grand Rapids. Northwest side, near Walker. We'll have to get together some day and chat. @modessey : It would seem you probably did not communicate with your members enough during their trial period to keep their interest and inform them of the upcoming $97 charge with an option to cancel if they did not feel the membership was worth the $97 fee. Otherwise, that model does work.
Jack, Please give me the name of you usaepay rep. I have two applications in right now that seem promising but they all talk about 99% approvals, until they send it to underwriting. I've been to almost a dozen merchant processors. And since my site is a "financial" site they won't touch us. My credit is great, except now for all the inquiries from the processors. One thing I found was to look for processors known as "high risk merchant services" - they have the same fees but work with ecommerce and membership sites.
Here you go: Sam Hicks Regional Vice President, Newtek Business Services, Inc shicks -at - newtekbusinessservices.com (208) 896-5110 Tell him I sent you. He works with other high-risk industries, so I imagine if anyone can help you, he can. Once you are approved, let me know and I'll connect you with their developers who can help you set up the Authorize.net emulator. Good luck!
It sounds like you might have been cancelled due to the perceived high risk of dealing with membership style sites. I own a website optimizing company and have a few clients with high risk merchant accounts and they are both very satisfied. Here's the link: http://www.paynetsecure.net/services/payment-processing-gateway/ I've been told their customer service is great and they are competitive in their pricing. I hope this helps you out. Good luck!
In Colorado, a local credit union called ENT is partnering with Newtek. I will look into authorize.net + newtek.