5 Easy Services to Accept Credit Cards as a Computer Technician

Authors: Bryce Whitty

Accepting Credit Cards seems to be a question that is frequently asked on the Technibble forums. The members of our great community often chime in and mention the credit card service they are using. I have compiled this information into one easy to read post.
There are many other services out there, but these are some of the options that Technibble members are actually using.

Keep in mind, these are fast, easy and convienient ways to start accepting credit card payments but if you are doing a large amount of credit card payments (say, $75,000+ per annum) then it may be cheaper to talk to a bank as their fees are lower in the higher turnover areas. For everyone else, here are some good options to get setup quickly and cheaply:
 
Paypal – http://www.paypal.comSupports Many Countries
Paypal is by far one of the quickest and easiest ways to start accepting credit cards. However, it isnt the cheapest.
A great way to start accepting credit card payments onsite is to create a Paypal button either on your on your main site, or on a hidden mobile friendly page. To set this up:

  • Log into Paypal, click the “Merchant Services” tab up the top
  • Click “Buy Now buttons” on the right hand side under the “Website Payments” heading
  • On the “Create Paypal payment button” page, choose “Buy Now” as the button type, make the item name something like “YourBusinessName Payment” and leave the item ID and price empty. You will need to set the currency though.
  • You can leave everything else as the default and click “Create Button”. Take the code given to you and place it on your website or a mobile friendly page (that may have this button as the only thing on it so it loads quickly on your phone).

Their fees and pricing can be found here.

 

ProPay – http://www.propay.com – USA & Canada
ProPay seems to get the most mentions on the forums. They have no setup fee but there is a small annual fee. They have no monthly minimums or long-term contracts.

They allow you and your clients to pay via Phone where you enter the credit card number on the keypad.
They also offer an iPhone attachment for free (you pay $14 shipping though) that turns your iPhone 3G or 3GS into a mobile credit card terminal which would allow you to take credit card payments while onsite. If you dont own an iPhone 3G or 3GS, they also have a mobile web interface where you can enter in credit card numbers through your phones web browser.

One thing worth mentioning is that some technicians who make use of ProPay had to pay a $1000 reserve because they deem “Computer Repair, Web and Graphic Design” as high risk. I dont know whether this will apply to all computer technicans or the decision was based off other factors specific to the members on the forums. However, one technician managed to get the reserve down to $500 because he was using the ProPay card reader.

Their fees and pricing can be found here.

 

Intuit – http://payments.intuit.com – USA & Canada (Canada only some features)
Intuit, the makers of Quickbooks got a few mentions on the forums. They offer an iPhone credit card reading attachment, a bluetooth card reader for non-iPhone devices and a bluetooth card reader with printer, also for non-iPhone devices. You can make payments via their web page or download an application that works for many smart phones including the iPhone, Blackberry, HTC, Palm and more.

There is a monthly service fee of $12.95 but no monthly minimums or setup fees.
Their fees and pricing can be found here. (click the pricing tab)

 

Squareup – http://www.squareup.com – USA
I was thinking of giving Squareup a miss because some people had questioned their reliability because they are very new on the scene. However, after asking around on the Technibble forums and the Technibble twitter, it seems a lot of technicians are making use of it. If you do over $1000 in credit card payments within the span of 7 days, the money will be held for thirty days and then put in your account.

Squareup offer a free card reader that plugs into your Apple device (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch) or your Android OS phone (Motorola, HTC, Samsung etc..)

Their fees and pricing can be found here (goto the ¢ tab).

 

Tyro – http://www.tyro.com – Australia
Tyro is an Australian based company that provide credit card terminals for shops, mobile based terminals that make use of GPRS while you are onsite and a web interface for everything else. With Tyro, it appears you need to pay for the terminals which are $520 for the ethernet version, $680 for the WIFI version and $780 for the GPRS model. Tyro is more expensive than the super cheap and easy startups that exist in the USA, but in Australia there isnt a whole lot of choice.

Their fees and pricing can be found here.


I tried to find some recommended options for our UK readers. However, all of the UK technicians I asked on our forums and twitter said they just use Paypal. If you know of some great UK services for accepting credit cards, please leave a comment below.

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