Affiliate Programs for Website Hosting Companies

Today with E-banking and E-commerce becoming more mainstream; the services that banks, processors and their affiliates are able to offer make breaking the mold of local and domestic processing an easier and more seamless integration for merchants. This does not mean that domestic banks are suffering and local vendors will eventually stop using them. Web hosting companies are seeing a lot more businesses than usual come to them as vendors to either supplement their existing business or start up and maintain a new entity. Websites are funnels for advertisers, satellite industries and support businesses like banking and customer support. The hosting companies are really doing a lot of work for free so that not only their main client (the merchant) can do business, but also several other companies can make their money. This is fine, but what if you are a hosting company that sets up E-commerce websites for businesses every day only to send them packing off to a search engine to find credit card processing or can’t even answer the question?

Merchant service providers, processors and banks see the forest for the trees in that website hosting companies can be a great referral and affiliate source for them in ultimately obtaining new business. Why give the business away when you can refer it to a paying partner? Processors that deal with multiple banks naturally are able to achieve superior results through excellent rates, custom tailored processing solutions and services that customers may not have thought were available through their current or even any bank or processor. Processors are able to pay commissions to web hosting companies for the leads, and with website optimization becoming increasingly difficult; these fees often prove to be a more calculated expense with a higher rate of return than the processor or merchant service provider climbing the ladder to the first page of a search engine. Merchant service providers interact with several processors, who in turn interact with a number of banks. Likewise banks and merchant service providers foster relationships where the processor is the last piece of the puzzle when the deal comes together. As there are a number of scenarios, any one of these ultimately benefits merchants and the web hosting company that brought them to a processor or merchant service provider first. Merchant service providers typically are on the front line in the credit card processing battle. They deal with new customers every day and are able to gauge the ultimate success of the processing relationship and in turn match them with a processor and/ or bank that will foster the most seamless, quick and least cost intensive credit card processing solution for their customers. For web hosting companies flat rate referrals are only the beginning; high volume, high dollar merchants referred to merchant service providers often rate a percentage commission which can add up quickly. There are a lot of variables when it comes to these relationships, and for web hosting companies, researching the right merchant service provider will improve your customer relations and offer you a niche’ in the market.

Jennifer Loganathan is the President and CEO of Stradafee Limited. Stradafee is a leading international payments company based in New York. Stradafee is a retail and ecommerce payment processing provider specializing in international and Internet merchant account solutions. Stradafee also offers check processing, high risk merchant accounts and offshore merchant account options. Stradafee can help businesses of all industries and sizes. For more information on credit card processing and check processing please visit www.stradafee.com.

High Volume Merchant Accounts for Growing Businesses

Growing your business is hard enough in a slow American economy. Forecasting a year or more for your business is the least you, as a merchant should be doing to stay in business for just another year. Today, savvy owners and senior management are concentrating on seeing through the current circumstances and look to the future of their respective industries as a whole. When times are tough or slow, planning, changing direction and growing your business are the most productive uses of your time as weathering a storm is much easier if you are able to prepare for better skies down the road. The concept of a burning platform in business has been around for a long time; however, today is swallowing businesses whole in no time flat. The burning platform concept dictates that organizations need to change and adapt to their external environments, not just to remain competitive, but to remain. While larger companies may enact a ten year plan involving supplier relations and new markets, medium and smaller size company’s needs are more short term oriented. They tend to make decisions that will sustain their business for the next two to five years and concentrate on product and franchise or dealer differentiation.

Regardless of the size or type of business you are, one common goal that all businesses set is growth. While, it’s nice to set the world on fire, most growth is arduous and calculated. Regardless of the size of business that you are, a spike in sales, especially credit card sales may get you in trouble with your processor or bank. Most businesses have processing limits and guidelines; differences in batch submissions, whether it’s just an increase in the ticket amount or total volume will probably get your account flagged by the bank or processor. Interrupted service will cost you money short and long term. To avoid interrupted service, a processing increase or back up processors should be on the short list of things to get accomplished when there’s some downtime. A lot of merchants that enjoy high volume, uninterrupted processing capabilities are E-commerce merchants and wholesale distribution companies. To them, their ability to process credit cards is essential to their business surviving on a weekly basis. For other businesses, high volume processing is not completely unattainable. Merchant service providers have proved to be quite helpful to medium and even small businesses that want a high volume account. The application process is the same as the account you probably have now, and set up times are just as quickly, sometimes faster than conventional and domestic accounts. Many banks and processors that offer high volume merchant accounts are found offshore. International banks follow the same banking rules and guidelines that make it an easy transition for US companies to process through. Merchant service providers deal with both domestic and international banks; making custom tailored processing solutions for merchants a reality. If you are a merchant that is interested in obtaining a high volume merchant, contact a merchant service provider today.
Jennifer Loganathan is the President and CEO of Stradafee Limited. Stradafee is a leading international payments company based in New York. Stradafee is a retail and ecommerce payment processing provider specializing in international and Internet merchant account solutions. Stradafee also offers check processing, high risk merchant accounts and offshore merchant account options. Stradafee can help businesses of all industries and sizes. For more information on credit card processing and check processing please visit www.stradafee.com.

Why Are Merchants Going International?

2001 was a long time ago; in the United States, our lives are much different than they were before the events of September eleventh. Families aged quickly and consumers as well as merchants found the need to protect their businesses as the future, in every sense of the term was uncertain. This isn’t an attempt to reignite fear in any of my readers as it’s a reminder that the business arena has changed and every facet needs to be scrutinized, or rather rethought in order for that merchant to remain in the game.

As with all great wars that the United States has been involved with, American businesses play a great part in the success or failure that the country will endure for many years after the fighting has gone. It’s a lot more than weathering a storm when merchants attempt to forecast the economic climate for the next five and even ten years to come. Even more than the current political and military situations in which the US is consumed in, it is more than likely the actions of many “Big” businesses that have a huge impact on long term economic and social fears that engulf many of our lives and definitely sway even the most shrewd and conservative of American consumers when it comes to decisions with their money and their family’s futures. These actions revolve around large businesses within the past ten years becoming enormous. Don’t blame NAFTA or the politicians, this isn’t about that, this is about the survival and reemergence of quality businesses that can sustain global markets. This article isn’t about how big business has ruined America, because they haven’t. What has happened though, is great products have become so mainstream that branding a product is as easy as sourcing an Asian factory that will make them for .05% of the retail worth so that profits can be turned quickly.

Now, for a minute, it seemed like I was sounding a bit unfair, so I’ll get to the point, which is why US merchants are going international. International is easy to accomplish in terms of sales overseas, with the help of the internet; however international in terms of a successful banking profile is a little different. Because most markets are flooded with basic and (I don’t want to say cookie cutter), but cookie cutter products, product differentiation is the key to getting consumers out of malls and mass appeal stores and onto the internet where people can research and shop for the products that they really want. Going international is the key for the success of the merchants that carry specialty products, the one’s that those “In the know” want. They’re the products and services aren’t the result of a market test. The international marketplace is a way to create a volume atmosphere where suppliers and merchants can turn a profit decent enough to keep the costs of these products and services low enough while still keeping in the tradition of boutique and specialty stores. We hope that merchants who embrace this type of business forum will find success in their endeavors. Merchant service providers work closely with specialty, international and online businesses every day. We wish you success and look forward to your continued business.


Jennifer Loganathan is the President and CEO of Stradafee Limited. Stradafee is a leading international payments company based in New York. Stradafee is a retail and ecommerce payment processing provider specializing in international and Internet merchant account solutions. Stradafee also offers check processing, high risk merchant accounts and offshore merchant account options. Stradafee can help businesses of all industries and sizes. For more information on credit card processing and check processing please visit www.stradafee.com.

Merchant Accounts for Stone and Topsoil Companies

The topsoil and stone business is more or less a necessity driven industry that is becoming harder and harder every day to maintain and for businesses to stay competitive. The reason behind the pinch is the increasing cost of fuel. The stone industry is separated into three categories, quarries, gravel pits and recyclables.

Quarries typically use measured and strategically placed charges to blast stone into workable sized pieces. Then the stone is either loaded into trucks and hauled to a stationary processing plant that crushes, screens and sometimes washes the stone with high pressure watering systems to clean off sand and fines. The end products are uniformly sized materials that are used for roads, parking lots, driveways and in the building process. The materials that quarries and gravel pits make are used to make concrete and asphalt, both of which are used to build the roads we drive, walk on, run on and bicycle on every day.

Gravel pits are similar to quarries in that the processes for crushing, screening and washing the products is much the same. To harvest the stone from a gravel pit doesn’t necessitate the use of explosives as the material can be excavated with heavy equipment due to the fact that gravel is a mixture of sand and natural stone that lays beneath most of the worlds geography that ledge stone (which is quarry rock) does not inhabit. Various regions of the world are known for different types of rocks; some are hard, some are soft and some are very abrasive.

As both quarries and gravel pits typically use off-road dump trucks to transport the feed product to the stationary plants, some operations are turning to mobile equipment to bring the plant to the pile. Today, with the cost of fuel being so high, eliminating machinery and manpower and maintenance is a much needed cost saving measure. What is happening is as the face of a quarry or gravel pit moves back, the machinery moves with it. This not only eliminated the costly haul trucks, but it increases cycle times as the material doesn’t have to travel long distances to the plant.

Recyclable stone products are typically concrete and asphalt that are the products of the demolition and road rebuilding process. In the past, these materials were hauled to landfills and buried; today, savvy contractors are purchasing and renting mobile rock crushers much like the ones used in quarries, to crush down their jobsite waste to be used back on that jobsite or sold to other contractors in that area. This can work well for other contractors as a quarry or gravel pit may be a far drive and the fuel costs for getting a product to them may be too expensive.

Topsoil companies or organics producers either purchase raw workable topsoil and other products that can be turned into topsoil, mulches for landscaping and highly enriched garden and potting materials. Many of these companies use their own trucks to deliver their products to customers, while others travel to jobsites to turn an unusable and unsalable material into a salable commodity.

Both the stone and topsoil industries are really feeling the pinch of high fuel prices and a soft economy. Increases in products make up for some of it to offset these circumstances, but to remain competitive, even more cost saving measures need to be implemented. As these businesses typically accept credit cards, many of the transactions are done over the telephone and a receipt is either printed to be signed by the customer on delivery, or an invoice is sent out. In most cases, the transactions are classified by banks as “Card not Present Transactions” and these businesses are placed in a high risk category without even knowing about it. Merchant service providers have a lot to offer these merchants in the stone and topsoil industry. They’re used to dealing with business owners that mainly run card not present transactions and they often deal with high volume high batch submissions. What they can offer are competitive rates, custom tailored services to various industries and low fees. Contact a merchant service provider today to find out more.


Jennifer Loganathan is the President and CEO of Stradafee Limited. Stradafee is a leading international payments company based in New York. Stradafee is a retail and ecommerce payment processing provider specializing in international and Internet merchant account solutions. Stradafee also offers check processing, high risk merchant accounts and offshore merchant account options. Stradafee can help businesses of all industries and sizes. For more information on credit card processing and check processing please visit www.stradafee.com.

Should I Have an ACH Account?

For most merchants, using their credit card merchant account has not only helped their business grow, but it has been the mainstay of their cash flow. For online merchants, not being able to accept credit cards is not an option. Another great option for merchants to electronically process consumer transactions is through ACH.

ACH is Automatic Clearing House and basically an electronic wire transfer system and the transactions are settled in much the same way that traditional paper check transactions are; meaning that the bank divides the batch submissions by the originator bank and sends them off to clear, and wit for the respective deposits. Unlike paper checks, ACH transactions are usually high dollar amounts and are popular with international merchants selling products or services to clients abroad. This usually works out well because of the time and risk involved with mailing funds. Internet merchants are believed to be particularly savvy when it comes to funds acceptance diversification. ACH has been around since the early 1970’s and has always been a risk for businesses to perform due to theft and fraud. Unfortunately criminals will always find a way into the most elaborate and secure funds transfer systems; however, this cannot stop merchants from looking forward to add ACH to their stable of acceptance venues.

When ACH was born, the US Federal Reserve offered help by way of offering electronics and computer systems to aid banking institutions deal with, organize and settle ACH transactions. In 1974 NACHA, which is the National Automatic Clearing House Association, to help establish rules and guidelines as well as regulate certain portions of the ACH industry. Today they operate and maintain their website which is www.nacha.org which offers news, information, resource links and statistics for merchants that are interested in ACH. Currently ACH transactions increase an average of about 15% each year, with a 13.4% volume increase in 2007. Due to the internet revolution, ACH has grown steadily and seems to show no slowdown in sight for the near future; however it is unclear today what the effects of a slow economy or recession will have on these transactions. It is possible that ACH transactions may spike in a slow economy because of the relative low cost of a per transaction fee, no discount rate and no chargeback risk. As with any avenue in business, industry professionals work to make their products and services more mainstream and a questionable economy just may be the way to accomplish that.

Setting up an ACH account is fairly simple. Many merchant service providers that set up and assist in the maintenance of merchant credit card accounts offer ACH set up services. This is great for one stop shoppers; however there are companies that specialize in ACH set up and servicing specifically ACH customers. The application process is very similar to credit card acceptance applications and there is usually a set up fee, monthly fee and transaction fee, which is the same for credit card accounts. A great money savings for merchants is that there is no discount rate involved. This means that there is no percentage of each dollar being processed taken out for the bank or processor. Transaction fees vary, but usually fall between $.25 and $1.00 per transaction. This can mean real dollars saved for certain industries, but it would be a hard sell for many merchants that benefit from the ease of credit cards and allot for those expenses. While it may not happen tomorrow, ACH is here to stay and enjoys steady growth in a fickle and ever changing marketplace. If you are interested in information on ACH accounts, checking with your merchant service provider is not a bad place to start.

Jennifer Loganathan is the President and CEO of Stradafee Limited. Stradafee is a leading international payments company based in New York. Stradafee is a retail and ecommerce payment processing provider specializing in international and Internet merchant account solutions. Stradafee also offers check processing, high risk merchant accounts and offshore merchant account options. Stradafee can help businesses of all industries and sizes. For more information on credit card processing and check processing please visit www.stradafee.com.

Merchant Accounts for Heavy Equipment Retailers

With the weak United States economy, the heavy equipment industry is adapting and overcoming by going global. For this and all of the construction industry, a weak economy is a frightening thought. For the larger contractors, a lack of federal and state funds for large projects like roads, bridges and infrastructure mean that they won’t be working as much and need to start liking at medium and small jobs. For the medium and small contractors, a weak or slow economy means that contract work from large contractors will dwindle or at least there will be more competition. For small specialized businesses like landscapers, loggers and tree service companies a slow economy means that businesses and homeowners won’t be spending the money that year. If you’re in the equipment retail or rental business, all of these people are your customers and if any one of those demographics are have a bad year, then so are you.

For every region in the country, their seasons break at different times. Basically no one likes working when it’s too hot or cold, that included equipment. You get the picture. The heavy equipment industry is basically at the mercy of the economy both directly and indirectly. Cost saving measures are implemented every day to make sure that their machinery maintains its equity, customers receive the service and maintenance they need and the company can be in business for another year. From the big dealerships to small equipment houses, they all do extremely well at watching their day to day costs and making sure that equipment deals pass the fairness test. A real aspect of the industry that is not given as much attention as it may should pertains to their banking and funds acceptance. As with many service industries, many dealers have card not present accounts so that they can take credit cards over the phone or on a jobsite; while they’re also set up at the store with a terminal for parts and other over the counter sales. While it may seem like a credit card driven industry, most dealers use their own credit lines established through an internal credit department that invoices customers and sets, increases and puts stops on all lines of credit within the company. What if this internal cost could be outsourced by using the customer’s credit cards to complete transactions? Many domestic banks probably won’t jump at the chance to have out low rate credit lines to the equipment and construction industry, but there are many banks and processors offshore and international banks that look outside the box and may be willing to take a risk on credit lines for equipment, sales and rentals of heavy equipment. Merchant service providers are the best direct link to banks that are interested in that type of business. Just like contractors specialize in various skills and disciplines, doing the same thing day in, day out; merchant service providers are highly skilled in linking the right customers with the right banks. If you’re interested in a merchant account for your construction equipment sales, rental and parts business, contact a merchant service provider or find one on the internet.


Jennifer Loganathan is the President and CEO of Stradafee Limited. Stradafee is a leading international payments company based in New York. Stradafee is a retail and ecommerce payment processing provider specializing in international and Internet merchant account solutions. Stradafee also offers check processing, high risk merchant accounts and offshore merchant account options. Stradafee can help businesses of all industries and sizes. For more information on credit card processing and check processing please visit www.stradafee.com.

Merchant Accounts for Salons and Spas

Men don’t go to the barber anymore and their wives, daughters and girlfriends don’t just go to the salon, they go to the spa. With everyday life getting busier and more hectic, everyone needs a time out; the spa industry has just what you need to revitalize yourself and escape if not for just a bit. The spa has taken over the cosmetic and salon industry offering more than just haircuts. Most spas are full service; they offer services such as manicures, pedicures, massages, tanning and they’ll even do your make up for you. Five years ago, if you owned a spa or full service salon, you owned the market in your town. Today, with many to choose from, spas need to differentiate and offer services that separate themselves from their competition. Some of the most sought after services today are full body wraps, hot stone therapy and of course there’s always a line out the door for a three hundred dollar haircut. It really sounds crazy, but it’s true, people are doling out big bucks to make themselves feel better and there is really no slow down in sight for the near future.
In addition to traditional salons and spas, specialty spas and salons are popping up in major cities, except their clients are probably not who you think? Kids and pets, that’s right, pedicures, massages and fancy hair do’s for your children and prized pups currently make up a small but growing percentage of the spa industry. In addition to service and product differentiation, these small businesses need to keep up revenue and watch their profit margins as this industry is high end and its clients demand the very best in terms of atmosphere and amenities. If you’re a salon or spa owner, the banking industry may not be your best friend as of late. Banks are cutting back on business improvement loans, both in terms of the size of the loan, term of the loan and interest rates are not as good as they once were. However, businesses need to keep up with trends, change to meet consumer demands and expand to grow their businesses. These are realities that spa and salon owners cannot ignore if they want, if they want to stay in business for the long term. A great way for small businesses like these to save money is taking a good look at their credit card rates; really, what they are being charged by their bank and/or processor to accept credit cards at their business. So many business owners are just too busy running their business to take a close look at their statement every month, and just chalk up the fees and high discount rate to the cost of doing business today. If that’s the case, then please look again. Sometimes banks and processors will place a business like a salon or spa in a high risk category; they often justify this to their customers because of the nature of their business, in that these are not necessities but luxury purchases. If you find yourself in a position that you don’t want to be in for the future, you may want to contact a merchant service provider. A merchant service provider is simply a broker that deals with a lot of different banks. Two really good reasons for dealing with them over one bank is that you can shop rates of several banks while dealing with only one person and certain processors and merchant service providers deal mainly with specific types of industries. For spa and salon owners, this means that they’re in sync with busy times of the year and know how to handle chargebacks more effectively. For a business owner, that can mean real dollars saved and sleeping better at night!


Jennifer Loganathan is the President and CEO of Stradafee Limited. Stradafee is a leading international payments company based in New York. Stradafee is a retail and ecommerce payment processing provider specializing in international and Internet merchant account solutions. Stradafee also offers check processing, high risk merchant accounts and offshore merchant account options. Stradafee can help businesses of all industries and sizes. For more information on credit card processing and check processing please visit www.stradafee.com.

Merchant Accounts for Satellite TV Companies

The fight is on and some people would argue; but the satellite television industry is on fire and there aren’t any signs of the cable industry gaining any headway toward offering their customers competitive products or services that will sway folks from taking down the big ugly dish on the roof. Cable television is not a bad service in as much as it has been around forever and the companies have serviced their customers well. In fact it’s doubtful that cable will ever go away. What’s most exciting about the satellite television revolution is that the services are getting so much more competitive; where two and three years ago, better receivers, monthly fees and coverage area were consumer hot buttons. Now with high fidelity digital channels being a must have as well as number and selection of high definition channels being a main bone of contention for the present and future in customer loyalty. Today, satellite companies have cornered the market on high definition selection; having more of them and better selection, which is drawing customers their way. In terms of pricing and install fees, both satellite and cable tend to be very competitive; where perspective satellite customers may not have the direct line to the satellite in the sky, cable companies don’t service everywhere, in every crevice of the countryside. What is important to stay is that where satellite companies are pulling away from the competition with great services; the cable companies aren’t helping themselves out by cashing in on regular rate increases.

The really great thing about the satellite industry is that the dissemination of innovations happens so fast. Integrating homes, businesses and entire hotels is a bit easier due to high end components and wireless ability, which makes slot of accounts for satellite companies easier to maintain. Due to increased fuel prices, the cost of installation and cost of components is a bit higher today than it was three or even five years ago. Well, when it comes to raising prices, satellite television companies need to be careful; getting lumped into the category that their competitors in the cable business is always in the back of their minds. With a lot of billing done directly by automatic billing through their customer’s credit cards, these business owners typically pay a lot to banks in terms of rates and monthly processing fees. The day to day stresses and frustrations of running a business tend to take precedence over cost control. It’s probably not the most popular thing to say to a business owner, but many satellite companies are small businesses that need to control costs, but seldom have the time due to high workloads. A great way to control your merchant service costs is just by looking to your statement! That’s right, do it once a month; what you might find is that you are paying higher rates and unnecessary fees every month. You may also find that chargebacks due to customer’s credit card issues add up and if not addressed promptly will cost you, not them. You may also find that you’re probably paying a higher rate and were placed in a high risk category due to the fact that much if not all of your business is categorized as card not present. These transactions are convenient for business owners and basically necessary in the satellite industry, but are placed in that category as a rule based on principle by the bank because of the type of transaction that they are. By doing some basic research online, you may find that international banks or offshore banks that are located outside your domestic region are not only very competitive but probably offer better rates than your domestic bank. This is simply because this is found business outside of their market. Banking standards, while secure, are more lenient and merchant friendly toward the small business owner. Merchant service providers are usually the best resource to getting in touch with these banks and finding a better banking solution for you.

Jennifer Loganathan is the President and CEO of Stradafee Limited. Stradafee is a leading international payments company based in New York. Stradafee is a retail and ecommerce payment processing provider specializing in international and Internet merchant account solutions. Stradafee also offers check processing, high risk merchant accounts and offshore merchant account options. Stradafee can help businesses of all industries and sizes. For more information on credit card processing and check processing please visit www.stradafee.com.

Merchant Accounts for Online Investment Companies

Today, the United States no longer delegates the world market place. We may like to think that we do; however, due to the current situations we face abroad and not to mention how the rest of the world sees us, we are losing market share in almost every overseas endeavor we attempt. What does this have to do with online investment firms? A lot actually; foreign investment is more stable, so delving into those markets makes more sense. In the bigger picture, the saying that, “There’s more than one way to skin a cat,” is possibly the unspoken battle call of the American entrepreneur. This means that if our markets are down, then it is up to us and only us to find business elsewhere, and where better to find it than in the countries that are prospering in today’s markets.

If you invest money in the stock market, you and only you can answer the questions that draw you towards the venue which works best for you and your lifestyle. For a lot of people, that draws them online. Internet based investment is nothing new; in fact it’s becoming somewhat of a foregone conclusion. Even when it was new, it was easy to see that as the wave of the future, internet investment houses were bound to offer more services and options as time passes and that it wouldn’t take long for them to come out. For some users, checking their 401k once a month or less is worth it. Other people manage an intricate and complex portfolio, which requires daily and often hourly attention and maintenance. If you fall in between any of these two categories, then you’re like most people. If you’re not an American, then the chances that you fall somewhere between these two poles is not likely. As this type of service is real common in the United States, abroad, it is not so much.

With a sketchy financial future on the horizon, and many investors simply cutting their losses in the market, online investment companies that are feeling the hit the most are turning to other countries’ citizens as perspective new clients. The thought of branching out to not just other countries, but other cultures can be risky. In fact that’s just how banks see it. Doing business abroad, online and in a strictly service based industry is frankly making banks leery of these types of businesses, as legitimate as they are. What is this attributed to? To make a long story short, old and outdated banking policies. In America today, just as jobs are being shipped abroad and goods are being purchased and shipped overseas cheap, due to a weak US dollar; foreign banks are looking upon US banking and credit card processing in much the same way that US online investment companies are looking outside their main markets. The nice thing about this situation is that to be successful, online investment companies need to successfully process credit cards centrally, in banks that have a lot of experience with multi-currency processing. It’s really a good match; everyone gets to do what it is that they have the most experience doing. Merchant service providers currently deal with many of these banks; having long standing relationships with them and being able to tailor processing packages to each individuals needs.

Jennifer Loganathan is the President and CEO of Stradafee Limited. Stradafee is a leading international payments company based in New York. Stradafee is a retail and ecommerce payment processing provider specializing in international and Internet merchant account solutions. Stradafee also offers check processing, high risk merchant accounts and offshore merchant account options. Stradafee can help businesses of all industries and sizes. For more information on credit card processing and check processing please visit www.stradafee.com.

Merchant Accounts for Magazine Subscription Companies

Americans spend in the billions of dollars each and every year on magazines; whether they are bought off the shelf or have a running annual subscription, the periodical industry is definitely one that is not seeing any slow down due to current economic conditions. Perhaps it is easier and cheaper to dream than it is to buy or actually do. In any case, our homes and offices are stocked full of magazines and newspapers and a lot of them don’t even get read. One of the main reasons why people have so many magazines laying around is because the publishers make it so very easy and inexpensive to maintain an annual subscription. If you’ve ever thumbed through one, there’s no denying that they’re littered with inserts for the sole purpose of the reader to obtain a subscription. This isn’t bad at all; in fact most magazine subscribers can save as much as 85% off the cover price. The process is simple and almost perfected over years of tested and monitored progress. Person X sends in an insert, the publisher’s agent sends back a bill and sometimes the first issue with a bill, person X either sends back a check (which is becoming less common these days due to identity theft) or credit Card information for processing and presto, an annual subscription is born. That’s the easy part. Today, first time subscribers are ending their subscriptions to even their favorite magazines after the first year’s subscription has ended; however, the same customers continue to purchase those same magazines locally, at the store at full cover price. Why and how does this happen? There are a lot of opinions and publishers have definitely done their homework, but the bottom line is they know, but will probably not let us all know their secret to get subscriptions back up.

A popular way that has been tried in the past with some success is by means of telemarketing; meaning publishers or publisher’s agents will contract telemarketing companies to call current subscribers to renew their subscriptions over the telephone. This has been proven to be effective and will probably be done for some time. Though the telemarketing world has a dark cloud over it, magazine subscription renewal is accepted and in many cases a win win for both parties. Due to the nature of the telemarketing industry, the ability to process customer credit cards has been limited and definitely an uphill battle. It’s no secret that telemarketing is considered to be at or near the top of the list of industries that banks will take a risk on. Unfortunately for the publications industry, them and their telemarketing counterparts are taking a hit in the profit margin, and it all hinges on credit card processing. As banks don’t like to be hassled with magazine renewals through telemarketing companies, they do anyways, but attach extremely high rates and usually require a security deposit or end up holding a bit back for impending chargebacks. This isn’t going to change and will not get better, but may get worse as time passes. An alternative to processing domestically is going off shore through an international bank. Through most transactions are domestic, this is perfectly legal and offers benefits to the companies. Most international banks offer lower rates and some will even waive a security deposit. Many understand the chargeback process due to years of experience and know how to handle them effectively so that the issues are resolved for the customer and merchant in a timely manner. They also offer beneficial services like third party fraud scrubbing and virtual terminals for easy and safe processing. Daily batching is done much the same way, and payments can be just as quick as dealing with a domestic bank. Merchant service providers have a lot of experience with these banks, as they source from a number of banks. This can be the key to secure and reliable processing for years because merchant service providers can match banks with certain industries. If you would like more information on this, contact your merchant service provider or processor.

Jennifer Loganathan is the President and CEO of Stradafee Limited. Stradafee is a leading international payments company based in New York. Stradafee is a retail and ecommerce payment processing provider specializing in international and Internet merchant account solutions. Stradafee also offers check processing, high risk merchant accounts and offshore merchant account options. Stradafee can help businesses of all industries and sizes. For more information on credit card processing and check processing please visit www.stradafee.com.

What You Should Know About International Merchant Accounts in St. Kitts

The island of St. Kitts is a nice place for a vacation. It’s also a nice place to retire. So, if you decide to do the latter, what else will you decide to do on the island? Swim? Play golf?

Better yet, you can set up an international internet business to make some profits. The more money you have, the more comfortable you can live where you are. Before you are able to start the internet business, you have to get all of the proper paperwork together for your start-up.

The good thing about having an international merchant account for places like the island of St. Kitts is that the merchant accounts come from a foreign country. Not only that, the local regulations and tax rules are not bound to the island itself. Therefore, your business can receive more tax benefits. The international merchant accounts can receive different types of currency. This helps when you want to market your internet business to other parts of the world.

International merchant accounts have become well known and business people seem to like them better than the traditional merchant accounts. To set one up, you can use your own merchant account or use a third party account. Most merchants even on the island on St. Kitts, prefer setting up their own account. Setting up their own account provides them with additional tax benefits and profits.

In order for this to work online, merchants must have an internet merchant account. With an international merchant account, merchants are able to convert any foreign funds without incurring a transaction charge. You can also determine what currency you would like to receive your money in.

Regardless if you’re living on St. Kitts or elsewhere, international merchant accounts include shielding from fraudulent transactions and can lessen the amount of charge backs and other transactions.

With an international merchant account, high sales volume profits are the norm. Merchants in St Kitts will not have to subject themselves to limits because of their high sales volume. These accounts also report transactions in real time and accept just about all of the major credit cards.

If you as a St. Kitts merchant operate a high risk online business you would be able to set up one of these accounts. With advantages there are disadvantages. Using these accounts, merchants will incur hefty fees. These fees are costlier than those for an online business in the United States. Also, merchants may be subject to providing a security deposit.



Other than that, international merchant accounts are easy to set up and operate. If merchants in St. Kitts need to find a reputable international merchant account, they can do an online search. When they find several providers to choose from, they should be checked out thoroughly before making a decision.

Merchants want a system that’s reputable and reliable for their business needs. They also want to make sure that they can accept different currencies and quick payments for their system. Most importantly, merchants want to get their funds in the quickest time possible.


Jennifer Loganathan is the President and CEO of Stradafee Limited. Stradafee is a leading international payments company based in New York. Stradafee is a retail and ecommerce payment processing provider specializing in international and Internet merchant account solutions. Stradafee also offers check processing, high risk merchant accounts and offshore merchant account options. Stradafee can help businesses of all industries and sizes. For more information on credit card processing and check processing please visit www.stradafee.com.

Merchant Accounts for Hotels and Resorts

Everyone likes to travel and get away from the hustle and bustle of their daily lives. Destination weddings, all inclusive vacation resorts and boat rentals are becoming more and more popular among the vacation jaded. Travel agencies, brokers, wholesalers and direct sales houses that have lived through the peaks and valleys of various economies know, within reason how to predict consumer confidence. Today, the western economy is slow and travel is down; you know this, so watching your costs is a must to turn any profit.

There are several ways that business savvy travel industry insiders keep in the black and in business. the first is by packaging deals that cost average several aspects of a vacation; some with inflated costs and others that are true deals. This is fine by most consumers; nobody likes to shop around for a relaxing vacation. Another good way is to wholesale packages to businesses. Companies like to give away things to their employees that help drive business, build moral and keep the employees happy. This is a great way to associate a lot of value by buying in bulk. You all know this. With the relevant demise of corner travel agencies, online travel brokerage agencies have made some headway, sourcing sought after destinations with the amenities and activities that today’s traveler demands.

The travel industry is one of the internet’s most researched topics. Whether it’s destination, hotel, flight or packaging, most, if not all decisions can be made in your own home. Internet travel business owners feel the pinch every time they read their merchant account statements. Like any industry, there is a risk involved; however, banks view the travel industry in a high risk category. There are two reasons this happens. First is that there is an inherently high number of chargebacks in travel. People’s lives change, their plans change and there is always fraud and theft. These factors drive a merchant’s discount rate high, in some cases through the roof. Online travel merchants pay on the high end of the credit card industry; which is in itself an oxymoron. Travel entails moving people from point A to point B, right? Many times, travel is international. Merchants usually do business with clients within their domestic market; meaning US merchants are most likely to sell vacations and plane tickets to US customers. Many of these tickets and vacations involve international travel. When these merchants batch and process their transactions, it’s usually at a local bank, or at least a domestic bank…charging them a high discount rate reflecting a high risk business. Merchant service providers specialize in sourcing banks or banking solutions for various clients. There are a lot of benefits to obtaining a merchant account from a merchant service provider. They can offer many services that you may either have to pay for or may not have access to at all through your current bank. Some of these services include virtual terminals, third party fraud scrubbing and high volume accounts. If you’re in the travel industry and are interested in getting a better rate on your credit card transactions, contact a merchant service provider today.

Jennifer Loganathan is the President and CEO of Stradafee Limited. Stradafee is a leading international payments company based in New York. Stradafee is a retail and ecommerce payment processing provider specializing in international and Internet merchant account solutions. Stradafee also offers check processing, high risk merchant accounts and offshore merchant account options. Stradafee can help businesses of all industries and sizes. For more information on credit card processing and check processing please visit www.stradafee.com.

Merchant Accounts for Small Contractors

Small contractors in the United States are plentiful. Whether you’re looking for a landscaper, drywall hanger, framer, builder or general contractor, you’re covered. There’s definitely no shortage of skilled laborers and business owners that can complete the job. These types of businesses crux on the ability to get paid. Unlike other business owners, the accepted industry standard is that payment isn’t expected until the job is complete. There are exceptions like, large jobs that last over a month, where payroll needs to be met or supplies need to be purchased. Other than that, the public stigmatizes contractors to collect their money and disappear. Hence, the acceptable practice of not getting paid until the job is complete or paying only when certain portions of the job is completed. This problem is largely regionalized and primarily central to the United States. While It’s not fair to say that these problems between contractors and their customers are unfounded, because there are and have always been a rift between expectations, implied expectations and the final product. These are things that small contractors deal with on a daily basis and it has not been getting any easier for them with the growing number of do-it-your-selfers and more importantly, the growing number of botched jobs by homeowner handymen and women.

If you’re a small contractor, it may not be a bad idea to look into getting a merchant account. Some businesses already have them, but don’t like to use them. Some have them and transfer the rate hike to their customers, because of the fact that their bank usually charges them a high rate, due to the type of business that they’re in and how the money is processed. Let’s start with how the money is processed. Typically, transactions are processed at the merchant’s home or business and over the telephone or on a jobsite. In any case, these types of transactions are classified as card not present transactions, where, the customer doesn’t swipe a merchant terminal. Due to the types of transactions being processed and the type of business that contractors engage in, banks tend to assess higher rates to them and other merchants like them. If you are a contractor and are interested in either obtaining a merchant account, or currently have a merchant account, but would like to better your rates, payment methods or processing intervals, then shopping around for a better deal may be worth your while. Merchant service providers connect processors and banks with merchants of all types every day. The phrase, “Sticking a square peg in a round hole” is very much their concern. A bad banking relationship will never benefit the bank as well as the merchant. Pairing up two parties that have the same expectations going in, is as much the same as you, the contractor explaining the scope of a job, then bringing it to life on site. Merchant service providers have relationships with many different banks; your chances of finding the right fit for you and your business are higher, dealing with a merchant service provider. If you are a small contractor and would like more information about obtaining a merchant account, contact a merchant service provider today.

Jennifer Loganathan is the President and CEO of Stradafee Limited. Stradafee is a leading international payments company based in New York. Stradafee is a retail and ecommerce payment processing provider specializing in international and Internet merchant account solutions. Stradafee also offers check processing, high risk merchant accounts and offshore merchant account options. Stradafee can help businesses of all industries and sizes. For more information on credit card processing and check processing please visit www.stradafee.com.