Instant E-checking - No chargebacks - No NSF?s - No Reserve

[thor54]

April 15, 2003

ProBilling would like to announce the launch of our advertising campaign for DirectCheck, our revolutionary instant e-checking service. When your online customers pay with DirectCheck, the amount of the transaction is instantly credited to your proBilling account - no more waiting 3-7 days for the e-checks to clear the bank!

DirectCheck is an improvement on normal e-checking in other ways as well: DirectCheck sales are final - that means no more chargebacks or NSFs; we don't hold any reserve; our processing rate (13.5%) is probably less than you are paying for regular e-check transactions.

The DirectCheck Advantage

• Offering online checks can increase your sales by 20% or more. With DirectCheck, you get to keep the money from those sales.
• Instant proBilling account funding. No more waiting for the check to process and hoping it will clear.
• No reserve. Most 3rd party processors hold 5%-10% for up to 180 days.
• Rejection recovery. You work hard to market your site, drive traffic and encourage signups but up to 30% of credit card transactions get rejected. ProBilling offers DirectCheck as a payment option on rejected credit card transactions.
• No sign up fee, No set up fees, No registration fees, No maintenance fees.

Ideal applications for DirectCheck

• Real-time delivery of online goods and services like webcams, chat, phone services, streaming video etc.
• Subscription sites. Don't waste your bandwidth while you wait to see if the check clears.
• Tangible goods can be sent with confidence that the check will not come back as NSF or a chargeback.

Canadian DirectCheck...coming soon

• DirectCheck will be available for Canadian bank accounts in 6 to 8 weeks.

If you would like to sign up for or learn more about DirectCheck, please visit www.probilling.com and take the DirectCheck tour.

If you have any questions or comments about DirectCheck, we would be happy to address them in this thread.

[p00p]

Program a cgi-script and I'm in there. Until then, your method of authenticating users and adding them to a password file stinks. Actually, it doesn't exist as you don't even have a cgi for billing....

[woodman]

how do you authenticate real-time the checking account? I didn;t think there was a way to do that in the states yet unless you were doing some type of atm debit with a pin.

[Colin H]

Due to well known and recurring security issues with local CGI scripts we presently do not employ this method of password managment.

We are in development of a local script that would offer security beyond popular methods used today. We expect this script to be available to our merchants next month.

We currently offer several different tools to allow flexibility for you to set up your proBilling account to work with whatever systems you currently use. You will find the flexibility and ease of use of our password managment systems powerful and extremely useful for pretty much all applications.

If you have any questions about our password management methods, (or would like any assistance with your set up p00p)feel free to contact me directly, anytime.

[p00p]

Originally posted by Colin H
Due to well known and recurring security issues with local CGI scripts we presently do not employ this method of password managment.

We are in development of a local script that would offer security beyond popular methods used today. We expect this script to be available to our merchants next month.

We currently offer several different tools to allow flexibility for you to set up your proBilling account to work with whatever systems you currently use. You will find the flexibility and ease of use of our password managment systems powerful and extremely useful for pretty much all applications.

If you have any questions about our password management methods, (or would like any assistance with your set up p00p)feel free to contact me directly, anytime.

I will wait for the script. Thanks.

[EscortBiz]

On a side note I have been using Probilling for a while as a backup and I have to say they are great, I get my wire weekly and its all working nice, thanks guys!

[p00p]

Originally posted by EscortBiz
On a side note I have been using Probilling for a while as a backup and I have to say they are great, I get my wire weekly and its all working nice, thanks guys!

That's good news. Once that cgi is ready I am going to start using them....

[floridaphonegirl]

I LOVE the Direct Check option. I had been using the other check option and finding out AFTER I did a call the person's account was closed or NSF. Since I am providing a service vs. sending out a product the Direct Check option works much better for me. I always see on my transaction reports a caller who has tried to do a check and it's rejected and this saves me from doing the call and losing $$$. If you are in a phone sex type biz I would definitely recommend this option. Also, I've been nothing but pleased with Probilling and the service I've gotten from them. Quick to approve websites and answer questions. It's nice not to have to pay the fees for a high risk merchant account. They are also very prompt at paying and I can always count on my check being deposited into my account on time.

M.

[Trappa]

I jumped form billing company to billing company running from hot checks or waiting for days for them to clear. I'm been using this for a few mo. now, and it's great. The staff is great people - too.

Trappa

[Kimmykim]

ACH is still not guaranteed money...

Anyone saying they have a fool proof method of accepting a payment is fooling themself.

[drops]

Originally posted by Kimmykim
ACH is still not guaranteed money...

Anyone saying they have a fool proof method of accepting a payment is fooling themself.

lets see how this plays out.

[Kimmykim]

Originally posted by drops


lets see how this plays out.

I'm not particularly worried about how it plays out... I'm pretty set in my ways as to what companies I will trust with my money or to make me money lol

[Hell Puppy]

She's absolutely correct, ACH just doesn't work that way. Only way to guarantee the payment is a quasi-paypal like model where the funds are transferred to a third part and confirmed before they're allowed to be spent on the net.

At any rate, it aint happening without similar .htaccess based password management functionality and scripts such as every other processor provides. Even paypal figured that out eventually.

[Centurion]

Originally posted by floridaphonegirl
I LOVE the Direct Check option. I had been using the other check option and finding out AFTER I did a call the person's account was closed or NSF. Since I am providing a service vs. sending out a product the Direct Check option works much better for me. I always see on my transaction reports a caller who has tried to do a check and it's rejected and this saves me from doing the call and losing $$$. If you are in a phone sex type biz I would definitely recommend this option. Also, I've been nothing but pleased with Probilling and the service I've gotten from them. Quick to approve websites and answer questions. It's nice not to have to pay the fees for a high risk merchant account. They are also very prompt at paying and I can always count on my check being deposited into my account on time.

M.

First post EH? Well I will disagree with you on many fronts.

1)Customer service at ProBilling.com is terrible
THOR is the only person I've ever heard or seen anything good written about in regards to the staff of ProBilling. But Thor can't carry the entire company. Try calling them up and asking for help! Ask ANY webmaster who was with them for any amount of time how bad their telephone support is. Also ask the webmasters about how long they have to wait for answers to their emails.

2)QUICK to approve sites? YOU HAVE to be kidding? Their message board is (or was, since they are notorious for deleting posts they don't like that are unfavorable towards them). People have left messages BEGGING to get their sites approved even up to TWO WEEKS after having applied!

ProBilling lost their merchant account last fall for a couple of days and then did a song and dance about what really happened. They will NOT be truthful with you.

They have a great routine..but investigate them VERY carefully before joining. I know how many of you/us have already been burnt by other e-processors.

[drops]

I agree 100%

Perhaps I sounded a bit optimistic.

My comment above is to be taken as IF Probilling DID come up with some sort of way to keep ACH funds in the webmasters pocket, then maybe those ideas can be brought forth to all of us..

[Lensman]

Sounds pretty amazing to me. I'd love to know how it works.

[Kimmykim]

There are only so many ways to move money around. Of these ways, the least expensive have the biggest time lag and generally are the least reliable.

Credit/debit cards -- instant money but boy can the chargebacks get crazy.

Wire/EFT -- move money over nite to basically anywhere, pay for it and hope you're moving enough that its worth the cost.

ACH/checks -- two ways of processing a nearly same transaction. For instance on ACH if I allow Paypal to initiate a transfer and then a day later before B of A hands them the money I call up B of A and say forget it, guess what? That money stays in my account. I can write a check without the funds to cover it by the time it comes in to settle, even if it's good at the moment that I write it. I suppose it's possible to use a guaranty service like Telecheck to cover checks online but that's got to get expensive for someone.

Paypal/ePassporte/any other ones that might possibly be trustworthy -- minor issues with funding and withdrawing funds, doesn't have nearly so great an acceptability with real merchants yet... however the money does move around instantly and in most cases once you have it it's yours.

Cash in the mail -- cant beat it but the impulse doesnt usually last as long as it takes to do it lol ;)

[Big Rig]

Although we would like to explain how Direct Check works specifically, we're reluctant to make this information publicly available to our competitors. Our best practices and strategic alliances are as vital to our operations as our technology, so we have to safeguard them appropriately.

Direct Check is for real. Our merchant accountholders have been using it for several months now and we've had nothing but positive feedback about it. The service works great!

Why not decide for yourself? After all, signing up for a proBilling account is free.

[gothweb]

Originally posted by Lensman
Sounds pretty amazing to me. I'd love to know how it works.

That's a very nice way of saying what I was thinking... "Sounds too good to be true, I hope they will explain it more."

In terms of the general idea... I am still hoping that CCBill will pick up on some of my ideas for checks, or come up with a workable alternative of their own. Traditional online checks are dead, we're waiting for the replacement-- and I'd rather stick with my main biller.

[Kimmykim]

Originally posted by Big Rig
Although we would like to explain how Direct Check works specifically, we're reluctant to make this information publicly available to our competitors. Our best practices and strategic alliances are as vital to our operations as our technology, so we have to safeguard them appropriately.

Direct Check is for real. Our merchant accountholders have been using it for several months now and we've had nothing but positive feedback about it. The service works great!

Why not decide for yourself? After all, signing up for a proBilling account is free.

I could give away hundred dollar bills for nothing and someone would bitch you realize? There is no such thing as nothing but positive feedback...

[Colin H]

LOL your right Kimmykim, there is no way to please all the people all the time

But when DirectCheck is compared to traditional ACH processing, the response from our account holders has been very encouraging.

We are not saying we reinvented the wheel and changed the way thousands of banks use ACH. We are just using our experience, technologies and alliances to lessen the risk and inconvenience of accepting echecks online for our merchants.

[floridaphonegirl]

Originally posted by Centurion


First post EH? Well I will disagree with you on many fronts.

1)Customer service at ProBilling.com is terrible
THOR is the only person I've ever heard or seen anything good written about in regards to the staff of ProBilling. But Thor can't carry the entire company. Try calling them up and asking for help! Ask ANY webmaster who was with them for any amount of time how bad their telephone support is. Also ask the webmasters about how long they have to wait for answers to their emails.

2)QUICK to approve sites? YOU HAVE to be kidding? Their message board is (or was, since they are notorious for deleting posts they don't like that are unfavorable towards them). People have left messages BEGGING to get their sites approved even up to TWO WEEKS after having applied!

ProBilling lost their merchant account last fall for a couple of days and then did a song and dance about what really happened. They will NOT be truthful with you.

They have a great routine..but investigate them VERY carefully before joining. I know how many of you/us have already been burnt by other e-processors.

Yes it was my first post and now my second. I don't know the history of Probilling and maybe they did have some problems before and YES I admit that I do deal with Thor and only him and he's awesome! All i can tell you is so far I've been very pleased with their service. I looked at some of the other's and just felt more comfortable with this one. It's so hard to get a regular merchant account and this provided me a way to do business. Until they prove otherwise, I'm sticking with em.

[EscortBiz]

Originally posted by Kimmykim


Cash in the mail -- cant beat it but the impulse doesnt usually last as long as it takes to do it lol ;)

I wish it did last, I can just imagine tons of cash in the mail weekly

[Centurion]

Originally posted by floridaphonegirl


Yes it was my first post and now my second. I don't know the history of Probilling and maybe they did have some problems before and YES I admit that I do deal with Thor and only him and he's awesome! All i can tell you is so far I've been very pleased with their service. I looked at some of the other's and just felt more comfortable with this one. It's so hard to get a regular merchant account and this provided me a way to do business. Until they prove otherwise, I'm sticking with em.

Well do stick with them until they DO prove otherwise.
Good luck! I'm still waiting for answer to emails I sent over 2 months ago! (About money owed to me. Funny how they are nice to you when you join, and then after you've been with them awhile, they really don't seem to care how they treat you.)

[Kimmykim]

Originally posted by Centurion


Well do stick with them until they DO prove otherwise.
Good luck! I'm still waiting for answer to emails I sent over 2 months ago! (About money owed to me. Funny how they are nice to you when you join, and then after you've been with them awhile, they really don't seem to care how they treat you.)

Ouch.

[Colin H]

Centurion,

Please email me your account information, I'll investigate your situation and get back to you with an explanation or resolution if possible.

Thanks

[The Click]

Probilling works for me!

[Midnight]

Originally posted by p00p

That's good news. Once that cgi is ready I am going to start using them....

I agree with p00p on local authentication and password management. That said, I have two questions.

1. You allow a form post return page to be defined for each site that is set up.

There are any number of people who could write a workable cgi solution within 15 minutes, probably 25 minutes if they wanted to do concurrent mysql/mod_auth type processing. Hell, I am sure that they would even donate it to you for free if you kept their name in the comments of the code just for the advertisement of their skills.


2. I have been calling your office for two days, trying to get someone to answer one simple question.

You pay weekly, but no one seems to know how many weeks I have to wait before you will wire the check earned in week one.

In all fairness, you have that you pay weekly plastered all over the place. Your TOS does not reflect this statement, in section 5.2 it actually states that you pay every two weeks, one period in arrears.

You just opened your service, did your TOS change so rapidly?

I have a lot of people hitting me up for a billing solution that has form post back capabilities like epoch, paypal, jettis and ccbill have that do not require the $750 visa registration fee.

Do you have an icq number for anyone at your organization that people can contact?

[Cindyff]

Originally posted by Colin H
Due to well known and recurring security issues with local CGI scripts we presently do not employ this method of password managment.

We are in development of a local script that would offer security beyond popular methods used today. We expect this script to be available to our merchants next month.

We currently offer several different tools to allow flexibility for you to set up your proBilling account to work with whatever systems you currently use. You will find the flexibility and ease of use of our password managment systems powerful and extremely useful for pretty much all applications.

OK Colin its been well over a month since this post started is the local script ready yet

Cindy
If you have any questions about our password management methods, (or would like any assistance with your set up p00p)feel free to contact me directly, anytime.

[Cindyff]

My question stands is the script ready to incorporate into our system which at present incorporate Epoch , CCbill and Globill without a problem ?

Thanks
Cindy xx

[Zprogramz]

13.5% processing fee for checks? You must be kidding me. We pay about 5% total with real time account verfication. Our NSFs are less than 7% of our total volume.

Z

[Kimmykim]

Originally posted by Midnight
I have a lot of people hitting me up for a billing solution that has form post back capabilities like epoch, paypal, jettis and ccbill have that do not require the $750 visa registration fee.

For US based companies there is not one if you want to accept Visa.

How many times does that have to be mentioned before people finally realize that Visa is going to shut down the non compliant aggregators.

[notjoe]

Probilling.com is amazing!!

So far i have taken probably about 10-20 cheques and not a single one has come back!!


Keep up the good work you guys!


BTW, i love the fact you now show which payment method was used on the postback/emails you guys do!

[notjoe]

Originally posted by Cindyff
My question stands is the script ready to incorporate into our system which at present incorporate Epoch , CCbill and Globill without a problem ?

Thanks
Cindy xx

If you want i'll code u up a script for a couple of bucks to handle their postback data!

[notjoe]

Originally posted by Kimmykim
There are only so many ways to move money around. Of these ways, the least expensive have the biggest time lag and generally are the least reliable.

Credit/debit cards -- instant money but boy can the chargebacks get crazy.

Wire/EFT -- move money over nite to basically anywhere, pay for it and hope you're moving enough that its worth the cost.

ACH/checks -- two ways of processing a nearly same transaction. For instance on ACH if I allow Paypal to initiate a transfer and then a day later before B of A hands them the money I call up B of A and say forget it, guess what? That money stays in my account. I can write a check without the funds to cover it by the time it comes in to settle, even if it's good at the moment that I write it. I suppose it's possible to use a guaranty service like Telecheck to cover checks online but that's got to get expensive for someone.

Paypal/ePassporte/any other ones that might possibly be trustworthy -- minor issues with funding and withdrawing funds, doesn't have nearly so great an acceptability with real merchants yet... however the money does move around instantly and in most cases once you have it it's yours.

Cash in the mail -- cant beat it but the impulse doesnt usually last as long as it takes to do it lol ;)

How exactly do you charge back a debit card?

[FlyingIguana]

Originally posted by notjoe


How exactly do you charge back a debit card?

dell made an unauthorized withdrawal from my account once and the bank did nothing but charge me 25 bux when it bounced and i had over 2 grand sitting in my savings account. they told me there's nothing they could do about so i had to go fight with dell over it.

maybe things are different in the states, but from what i see you can't chargeback in canada.