Merchant Account

[flefant]

I was wondering if any of you know anything about setting up a merchant account and payment gateway here in SA.

My business partners and I are launching a membership site - and we'll need to be able to take credit card payments and issue refunds etc.

I've done this before in the UK but not sure what the banking requirements are here in SA.

For example in the UK, you needed a LTD company setup, which had to be formed at least 6 months prior to applying for a merchant account, it also had to have a certain amount of money in the bank account, and should be able to demonstrate active trading by statement of accounts etc.

Anyway, I was wondering if you knew what the criteria here are in SA.

Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Matt

 

[Mars]

The best thing would be to contact the banks themselves..

I know that having a locally hosted website is a must tho.. Along with jumping through all the hoops.

Getting an actual cc machine is a lot easier than accepting it online.

 

[Grimspoon]

You will need to approach your bank, you will either need to have a business account with them, if not you will probably need to present them with a business plan. They will do their thing and either grant or deny you a merchant account.

I have one for the family business and it was easy to get as we have a business account with them. My bank are also in bed with a payment gateway so they took care of that as well.

 

[Mars]

It was not easy for me.

Not only do I have a business bank account, I have a credit card machine.

 

[Grimspoon]

It was not easy for me.

Not only do I have a business bank account, I have a credit card machine.

Yeah I have heard it can be a really pain for some people. Its not a case of working in a applying.

 

[Louisvdw]

For a website, you should use a gateway supplier. There are a few that operate in SA.
I suggest you look at the forum at http://www.webhostingtalk.co.za/ as it has been talked about there in detail. Setcom.com is one of the cheapest, but their integration is limited. netcash.co.za and mygate.co.za have more integration options, but ask a monthly access fee. They also have more features like recurring payments that Setcom do not have.