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One thing I would strongly recommend. GET OFF STRIPE. Talk to a proper bank like USBank or Chase. It is not hard to integrate with their payment processor. They

by subhro 3y ago

One thing I would strongly recommend. GET OFF STRIPE. Talk to a proper bank like USBank or Chase. It is not hard to integrate with their payment processor. They WILL send you through proper underwriting and will have your back. At least they had and continues to have mine with a firearms business. Let me be also very clear. When you are going through underwriting, you will feel at times that this was a colossally bad idea, but it pays off its trouble in gold.

rexreed 3y ago
What tech do you use to integrate it with your apps? Especially ones that seem to greatly prefer Stripe? Chase has been a solid bank for us but I'd like to not mix my payment processor and bank in case things go south. What are your rates? Do you have to pay monthly gateway fees or minimums? How long did the underwriting process take and what were the major headaches?
- subhro 3y ago
  My web store runs WooCommerce and there are multiple plugins maintained by the processor that makes the payment processing seamless. They also provide SDKs for many popular frameworks for the integration. Rate wise, I pay about 2.8% + 0.15c. Obviously different mechanisms (dipped vs typed vs internet) have different rates. There are no monthly gateway fees. The underwriting took about 3 weeks, but again I was very prompt in answering followup questions. I did not feel any additional headaches that I already did not anticipate due to the underwriting process. They did ask for a lot of documentation (that I totally expected them to ask and in my opinion is very relevant), licensing and such but again I am operating in a VERY regulated industry. They did want some clarification of business processes since they were not 100% familiar with selling guns online and in person. But I will say, they were very interested in understanding my requirements and help me do things according to the published laws and guidelines. Feel free to write to me at my hn_username at 80386 dot org if you want to chat. I would love to help with this if you are interested. You do not need to mix your bank and payment processor. For example, my credit/debit card stack is USBank + Elavon but I bank with Navy Federal. I don't even have a checking account with USBank.
  - rexreed 3y ago
    Thanks! I'll definitely reach out as I'm getting closer to the 2nd bank alternative for sure. I'm on Woocommerce as well. Is this Paymentech? You have a business bank account with Navy Federal? Lots of questions ;)
    - subhro 3y ago
      Email me and we will discuss more. :)
xtracto 3y ago
Right, to anyone looking for alternatives, check out FISGlobal/Worldplay. They have a payment product that is "closer" to the card network, so it can be cheaper than Stripe.
- subhro 3y ago
  I would say, they are not Stripe, yet. Unless you go through underwriting, it means nothing. Also, they just failed a basic sniff test. I called their 800 number to ask if they would work with a firearms business and reached a voicemail. They say department is available between 8AM and 8PM Eastern. It is just after 6PM eastern right now. That does not instill a lot of confidence.

by subhro 3y ago

rexreed 3y ago

What tech do you use to integrate it with your apps? Especially ones that seem to greatly prefer Stripe? Chase has been a solid bank for us but I'd like to not mix my payment processor and bank in case things go south. What are your rates? Do you have to pay monthly gateway fees or minimums? How long did the underwriting process take and what were the major headaches?

subhro 3y ago
My web store runs WooCommerce and there are multiple plugins maintained by the processor that makes the payment processing seamless. They also provide SDKs for many popular frameworks for the integration. Rate wise, I pay about 2.8% + 0.15c. Obviously different mechanisms (dipped vs typed vs internet) have different rates. There are no monthly gateway fees. The underwriting took about 3 weeks, but again I was very prompt in answering followup questions. I did not feel any additional headaches that I already did not anticipate due to the underwriting process. They did ask for a lot of documentation (that I totally expected them to ask and in my opinion is very relevant), licensing and such but again I am operating in a VERY regulated industry. They did want some clarification of business processes since they were not 100% familiar with selling guns online and in person. But I will say, they were very interested in understanding my requirements and help me do things according to the published laws and guidelines. Feel free to write to me at my hn_username at 80386 dot org if you want to chat. I would love to help with this if you are interested. You do not need to mix your bank and payment processor. For example, my credit/debit card stack is USBank + Elavon but I bank with Navy Federal. I don't even have a checking account with USBank.
- rexreed 3y ago
  Thanks! I'll definitely reach out as I'm getting closer to the 2nd bank alternative for sure. I'm on Woocommerce as well. Is this Paymentech? You have a business bank account with Navy Federal? Lots of questions ;)
  - subhro 3y ago
    Email me and we will discuss more. :)

xtracto 3y ago

Right, to anyone looking for alternatives, check out FISGlobal/Worldplay. They have a payment product that is "closer" to the card network, so it can be cheaper than Stripe.

subhro 3y ago
I would say, they are not Stripe, yet. Unless you go through underwriting, it means nothing. Also, they just failed a basic sniff test. I called their 800 number to ask if they would work with a firearms business and reached a voicemail. They say department is available between 8AM and 8PM Eastern. It is just after 6PM eastern right now. That does not instill a lot of confidence.