Best Payment Gateway Merchant Account For IPTV
Many of the old problems relating to the use of IPTV have been solved, and many others are in the process of being solved. However, there is one big problem that remains, and this problem is the main focus of this article. We are, of course, talking about the payment problem.
The Top 5 Merchant Account Providers That Will Cover IPTV:
1. Voguepay
Voguepay is probably the most popular payment option for this kind of service. As you can see by looking at their website, Voguepay offers all the high-end options that you would expect from a more well-known site.
Voguepay gives the customer a large variety of ways to pay, and this is one of its greatest strengths. When someone is trying to send you their money, you should make it as easy as possible for them. Voguepay accepts Visa, Mastercard, and all other major credit cards. Direct pay from a bank account and mobile payment are also available.
In addition, Voguepay does both local and international transactions, so that you can do business with anyone in any country. As such, they can accept any currency on the planet with seamless efficiency.
It is even possible to use Voguepay to transfer funds using an email or text message. Although this is certainly convenient, it’s hard to believe that this isn’t a security risk. Emails and text messages are notoriously vulnerable to hacking and tampering.
This brings us to the security issue. Because this provider is based in Nigeria, some people have been suspicious that it may be a scam. This is mostly due to the infamous reputation of certain types of Nigerian internet scam artists. However, all sources seem to agree that Voguepay is legitimate and definitely not a scam.
Pricing for this service isn’t too bad. They take a 3.8% commission for all credit card transaction fees and a 1.5% commission on cash withdrawals. They also charge a one-time merchant verification fee of $20.00. Still, it doesn’t cost anything to create an account, and that certainly helps.
When we look at reviews for this service, they seem to be pretty positive. Let’s take a look at two sets of reviews so that we can get a general sense of how satisfied Voguepay customers are.
The first site gives Voguepay three stars out of five, while the second one gives the company 4.5 stars. This would average out to a rating of about four stars. The most common quality that is praised by users of this network is their fast-responding customer service. Even on the review sites, we can see that they make every effort to respond quickly to their customers.
On the downside, some users have complained of delays in remittances. Some have said that they have experienced payment delays of up to seven days, which may be unacceptable for those who operate on a tight budget. As such, this factor should be carefully watched.
Voguepay does a good job of keeping the customer well-informed. At any time, you can go into your account page and access various metrics and statistics regarding your business. Not only does this give you an easy way to verify payments over time, but it also ensures that you can keep closer track of your money.
These metrics also take the form of weekly performance reports that are sent directly to the account holder’s primary email. By using these reports, a business can get a better idea of what is working and what is not.
2. E-Payouts
E-Payouts is another popular option. Most of the advertising for this company focuses on its ability to consolidate many different forms of payment into a simple and easy-to-use package. At first glance, this claim does appear to be true.
To use E-Payouts, you simply register an account and then verify your data. Next, you link a bank account or a Paypal account. Then, you register your websites and other payment sources so that all of the money can be aggregated into your total.
This service has the advantage of being fully optimized for all mobile devices. The added convenience of this factor can be a real time-saver, especially when you’re on the go and don’t necessarily have time to open up the computer.
E-Payouts does not pay on your schedule, but theirs. You get a monthly payment automatically, and this will contain all your earning for that month. While this may be inconvenient for some, it does remove a little bit of stress by automating the entire process.
The rates for this service are a little bit steep. E-Payouts will collect a 6.4 commission for credit cards, which is then added to the provider’s fee of 3.6%. On top of that, there is an additional charge of $0.50 per transaction. By the time it’s over, you could end up paying quite a bit of money just to move your money, and that’s not so good.
At the same time, there are no other fees. E-Payouts specifically guarantees that they will charge you nothing until a sale is made. So, the prices may be a little steep, but at least they are all up-front and consolidated.
This company seems to do a lot of gift card giveaways. One look at their Twitter feed is enough to show how often they do this kind of thing. While this is nothing more than a perk, it might be worth the extra trouble if you get lucky.
In terms of trustworthiness, this one could be categorized as “average.” When looking at the reviews, we see that some users complain about this company, “taking money from scammers.” While it is unclear what this means, it is definitely not the company’s fault if someone tricks you into giving away your money. See the section titled “Caveat Emptor” below.
3. E-Merchant Broker
EMB is a company that specializes in high-risk payment models like IPTV. We already know that this kind of thing isn’t usually a high-risk investment, but that is neither here nor there. Since an IPTV business will always be considered as high-risk until more regulations are put into place, we have to work with the perception that currently exists.
According to their website, EMB’s primary focus is to provide payment for high-risk ventures that other companies turn away. They seem to be heavily geared toward servicing these types of businesses as well.
EMB offers a very convenient payment system that uses E-checks to provide fast and reliable payment. The advantages of this system are obvious since you don’t have to wait for a specific payday or meet any particular threshold. This type of payment scheme is also known as remote deposit capture.
E-checks have several other advantages apart from their speed. They also allow your customers to pay without being charged any additional fees, which would be necessary if they used a credit card for payment. Another advantage is that E-checks provide a pretty tight security infrastructure. The customer enters their sensitive bank information, and it is encrypted from that moment.
The information then goes to a third-party provider like EMB, and a digital image of a physical check is then sent to a bank. The Check Clearing For The 21st Century Act is the law that made all of this possible, in case you’re wondering about the legal status of this payment method.
Rates are a complicated matter with this company. Rather than having a simple set of flat rates, EMB chooses to tailor each price plan in terms of the amount of risk involved. This makes sense, in a way, since some businesses actually are high-risk while others (like IPTV) are only perceived as such.
Still, EMB advertises a commission rate “as low as 2.99%”, so the rates are probably reasonable. Still, if you want to actually get a rate that low (or anything in the ballpark), you should read these guidelines published by the company.
One of the best features offered by EMB is chargeback protection. When an e-customer decides to dispute a particular transaction, the money will often be held in limbo while the refund process goes through its various stages. Unfortunately, the standards by which these cases are evaluated often seem to favor the customer over the merchant.
Although these kinds of rules are put into place in an effort to protect the consumer from fraud, they often end up exposing the merchant to an excessive risk of fraud. These kinds of scams have become especially common on eBay, where scam artists will file for a refund after receiving their merchandise, claiming that it never came in the mail. I have personally been scammed in this way, and there was absolutely nothing that I could do about the matter.
According to this study, fraud of this sort is becoming quite common. Anywhere that scammers see an opportunity, they are likely to pounce, but EMB does a good job of preventing these kinds of scams through their chargeback protection program.
Trust is probably the most important factor for a business of this type. After all, you are trusting a company with access to your money. One good way to check the reputation of any business is to look for their profile with the Better Business Bureau.
EMB has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, and their reviews were stellar once again. Out of 52 customer reviews, only one was a complaint. Since this complaint is marked as “resolved,” that person was probably compensated. It is uncommon for any business to have such a high rating with the BBB.
As if that weren’t enough, EMB even offers business funding for those who qualify. We can see that this business is trying to function as a one-stop shop for online entrepreneurs, and that is a good thing if you happen to be an online entrepreneur! All of these factors explain the exceptionally good reviews that we see regarding this company.
4. Payment Cloud
Payment Cloud seems to be another popular option. This company was established in 2010 and is based in California. Payment cloud provides services for all kinds of businesses, but they seem to specialize in high-risk accounts.
One thing that speaks well for the company is the fact that Stripe, one of the internet’s biggest payment gateways, has been known to refer their declined customers directly to Payment Cloud. Authorize.com and Dharma Merchant Services will often do the same thing. This does lend PC a certain air of legitimacy.
This company seems to get very positive reviews from customers as well. Most users say that the company has very responsive customer service and that their fraud and chargeback prevention helped in various ways.
When it comes to problems, this company only has one that we can see. There is no publicly available pricing information. The company doesn’t really give you anything on which to base an estimate.
This isn’t a huge problem, because pricing schemes of this kind are common for this kind of business. Still, it is frustrating that you have to go through a long process just to get a quote. At least they give you a free credit card reader with your new account!
The company should at least give customers some idea as to pricing, and PC has not done so. Another problem is that, once you sign up with EMB, you will be locked into a contract that you cannot break without paying. Some users have reported that they had to pay thousands of dollars to get out of a contract with this company.
In terms of trust and security, this one gets high marks because of all the major institutions with which they do business. If this company got involved in anything shady, they would quickly lose the ability to do business with all of these big surface-level companies.
Therefore, their business model depends on maintaining important business relationships and keeping the trust of their customers. This is good for you because it provides motivation for the company to deal with you in an honest way. There are no guarantees that you will be satisfied, but we can safely say that this service won’t scam you.
Payment Cloud is registered as an ISO with a number of different banks, including Chesapeake Bank and Merrick Bank. They are also partnered with a large number of other payment processing companies. All this brings us to one of the most important points about this company.
Payment Cloud is not a direct payment processing service. It is a gateway that works to combine a huge variety of different services under one roof. By bringing all these options together, they aim to connect the customer with the best set of companies and payment options to suit their business needs.
5. Host Merchant Services
Host Merchant Services is a company that provides many payment options across the board. They deal with physical equipment like card readers and ATM’s, as well as offering solutions for E-payments of various kinds. Although this company does not claim to specialize in high-risk accounts, they are generally willing to accept them.
Here, we run into the only significant problem of this service for a business like IPTV that is deemed “high risk.” The business seems to be geared toward serving more standard business needs, and they mainly seem to have begun accepting high-risk accounts based on a need for new business.
Still, it’s hard to knock a company that gets such good reviews. Most customer reviews speak of this company as being more reliable and honest than those with whom they previously did business. Reviews from the Better Business Bureau were also extremely good, resulting in an A+ rating.
This company seems to put a lot of focus on the use of gift cards and other promotional offers so this might be a good payment gateway for you if your company happens to offer such things.
When it comes to pricing, this company is surprisingly straightforward. First of all, the company charges flat transaction fees. These fees are quite small, amounting to a 0.35% commission on e-sales. The fine print tells us that there is an additional fee of ten cents for every individual transaction.
This is incredibly cheap, but there are also monthly fees. To continue using this service, you pay a flat fee of $15.00 a month. You can pay an extra $5.00 per month and receive some special access. On top of that, you must pay an annual rate of $24.00.
This company markets itself as being more honest and straightforward than its competitors, and this does seem to be true in regards to their pricing. Complete pricing information was much easier to find for this company as opposed to the others on this list.
Those monthly fees are a significant downside, just because they are applied regardless of your business activity. You could have a totally dead month, and you would still have to pay. This makes things a little harder on startup businesses that may not have a lot of working capital.
Caveat Emptor
There is a reason why all of these services are considered “high-risk services.” Because of the fact that anyone can use them, these nonstandard payment options will sometimes act as a magnet to unscrupulous individuals. It is important to bear in mind that these payment providers will not take any responsibility for protecting you from foolishness.
You should be careful in your business dealings, especially when dealing over the internet. These payment processors are only required to ensure that your transaction goes through as agreed. Scam avoidance is something that you must do for yourself. There is an old Latin saying that fits this situation: Caveat emptor, which means “let the buyer beware.”
Conclusion: Which One Is The Best?
Of the five payment processors that we have examined, all of them seem to be reputable and able to handle the job of providing quality support to businesses that other companies won’t touch for one reason or another.
Companies like this are only necessary because this particular area of commerce is still quite new and very poorly regulated. Until that situation changes, nonstandard payment options will be the norm. However, we can all look forward to a day when IPTV outgrows its undeserved reputation and becomes a lot more convenient and affordable for everyone involved.
As for which company is the best, we have to give the win to E-Merchant Broker. There are several reasons for this, but most of it comes down to trust. Unlike some of the companies on this list, EMB is subject to the laws of the United States, which means that there is some chance for accountability if something goes wrong.
More to the point, this service seems to have an exceptionally good track record. With fewer than ten public complaints, it is actually difficult to find a bad review for this company. When we examine their features, we only find two small downsides, and neither of them is particularly problematic.
The lack of a standard and publicly available pricing chart is a slight problem, but many companies prefer to price these services on an individual basis. Therefore, this factor should be expected in most circumstances. Also, most customers seem to feel that rates tend to be lower with a custom plan. The contractual obligation is a small price to pay for good and reliable payment service.
All of the other companies on our list had at least one serious problem, even though they were quite good overall. Still, we are confident that E-Merchant Broker is probably the best choice for your developing IPTV business.
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