Competitor to Epassporte - what would you want?
 

some of you like 'em
some of you don't

what are some things that you would like in a competitor?
what would make you switch?

US based

A risk department that accepts me, even after I send 8.1 megapixel pictures of my passport, ID, credit card and explain why my banking account is in the US and I live in Uruguay.

That'd be great. :thumbsup

Oh, and try to drag Keyser along as well, because he's a great rep.

this wouldbe nice for non US users..

you can able to deposit your money to you own bank (dollar account)

someone has to be negative
 

i would like an email before my money is stolen...so i can plan on eating top ramen, instead of being surprised..........

why? besides the deposit idea mentioned in the thread

Because things take too long when they are off-shore, and I can't get to them if they are off-shore.

Atleast somewhat sane exchange rates.

everything epassporte has AND a good support team..


epassporte does everything "fairly" well as far as im concerned , but shoddy support ( although havent used them recently , some of the recent stories are almost word for word what i have gone through , )

improperly trained support staff only adds to the problems... one that occurs often is the "hold" payment on a small charge. User calls epassporte asks why theres a payment hold . epassporte says " it will be released in X days" . of course it never is , and ring ring they get called back.. sorry sir _____ it will be there in X days.. doesnt happen ring ring.. etc etc..

If they were just transparent from the start they wouldnt have a guy calling support 4 times for the same problem getting diff answers everytime. customer may not be happy but at least he knows the truth.

i agree with smokey

An office that is really manned 24/7.

something that works with canadian banks.. epass *claims* they do.. but i've been waiting for almost a year and its still not linked..i tried calling support once but that was pointless..

:Oh crap

Another vote for US-based.

good feedback - keep them coming

besides the support things
more automation?
more like paypal?
easier ways to fund and withdraw funds?
interest earned?

ability to send a checks from epass to the card holder.
wire transfer with a lower fee than the current $50.

amen to that.....they are ludicrous at times

deposits to bank accounts regardless location

First I have a question for you...

Why do you ask? One thing you haven't yet said in this thread is whether or not a viable alternative is in the works. Asking is one thing, making something happen is quite another.


That said, here are my thoughts/suggestions--

-- Something that is like paypal, but with the best qualities of epass as well mixed in. An adult-friendly paypal would be ideal.

-- Lighten up on the fees. Fees fees fees. For example, if there will be an ATM card in the works, know this -- It costs me nothing, repeat: NOTHING to have my bank replace my existing ATM card I have with them. If it's worn out etc, they replace it free. When it expires they issue me a new one.. free. After all, aren't you making money already on each transaction I make? Enough with the fees already.

-- And don't charge an ATM usage fee either, because since your new company would have no ATM's of your own for me to use, I would have to use those from other banks, all of whom charge a non-customer user fee. There are other ways to nickle-and-dime your customers without having to lay these extra needless fees on them.

-- Support -- Just go reread Smokey's post above. Nothing fuels anger against a company like getting the idiot runaround from support and having hours upon hours of your time wasted in trying to get something fixed with your account. You know, I had an issue with paypal not too long ago, the first one in all the years I've been a paypal user in fact. It took only a handful of emails to get things made right for me. If they were still adult-friendly I wouldn't even bother making this post.

-- Smooth operation, user-friendly -- Paypal is virtually effortless, for me anyway, always has been. Now only used for my mainstream stuff, but it's still effortless. If I want to pay someone an amount that exceeds whats in my account, my Visa card is then automatically billed for the excess amount. If I want to download some funds from my paypal account into my actual bank account the transaction is done in a matter of days, and the fees are minimal. No fuss, no angry board posts saying how they fucked up or that I'm not getting support service etc... just smooth transactions.

-- Making your clients jump through too many hoops --- Why is is that I've seen so many people on the boards in the past few years screaming about epass and how they have been made to confirm, confirm, reconfirm, and bend over to confirm their documents, ID's and credentials? Why?? And in all the time I've been a client of paypal I have yet to see one thread about them making people jump through similar hoops. Why is that? Paypal has never made me jump through a goddam thing. Ever. I think I prefer the non-hoop method, don't you?

-- Store & product/service selling options --- I don't know what epass has, but with paypal as many of you know you can set up a product or service with it's own link simply by inputting a bit of information in their interface, it spits out a linking code and away you go.... you slap that code on your website and sell that product or service. The store sales thing is great, think about having it in this new company you haven't mentioned or confirmed about yet.


Okay that's it from me... for now. :D

CDSmith, Smokey, % Baddog covered it 99% of the way for me.
Last tidbits for me would be to have ability to add & delete cards & accounts associated with it at whim.
I also seem to run into the ever present issue of verifying a card or account when I attempt to add it. The pending transaction never shows, bank shows no signs of it, and epassporte just blames my bank. So a card is stuck in "pending verification" forever. Yet when paypal attempts such a charge, walla presto bingo there it is.
I also have yet to get a plastic card on principle alone and use my epassporte only as a means to pay others. I could be cycling a lot more money through them of course. Yet the idea of paying a certain amount for a card, paying for it again year after year, and also paying fee's to use it goes against what I am willing to endorse.
Lastly even though some dislike it about paypal. I really would feel more comfortable if they offered some sort of coverage, insurance, or reversal processes like paypal does.

What about feedback system for every user? it will built confident while trading/selling/buying. (btw, it was my idea for my own payment system, i have ya free ;))

First of all it must not run with my money after some months of operation.

Second, It must have somewhat easy way to join -- like moneybookers, means .. if you want to topup then add credit card otherwise you can accept payments.

egold is doing so, moneybookers is doing so .. its not such a big risk. And there must be some buyer's protection.

good info guys :)
epass rocking for me :)

the answer
very high probability
exploring all options

real 24/7 support that's actually helpful and sure, keep keyser, he's great! :thumbsup

international wire without $5k minimum and lower fee than $50.

ofcourse, it should be much easier to join! :)

i vote for non-US based! :winkwink:

Well i would like to see bigger ATM withdraw.That is all what i need.Plus it will be great if they could provide services like ccbill have.

question?

fee structure the same as paypal is acceptable?

For me yup. The fees paypal charge me are dirt cheap & not even a factor when I use their service several times per week.

The only thing I can add would be as others have already said. International account withdrawls regardless of account holders place of residence.

-N

Take non credit cards like the uks solo and meastro which is used arround the world. Also the ability to use it as a card processor that doesnt ask customers to join epass.

any feedback from the day-time crowd?

Security, I would prefer to have a digipass when logging into my account. Not sure if they are popular in the states but in Sweden basically every bank gives you a small little keypad that is set to your account, and you can't login without using it.

Just don't like the fact that my account is basically just protected by a password.

how many of you would like this feature?
adds cost
complexity

thinking more along the line of a site-key type of system that BofA and a few other banks around the world use

more input ?

let someone with a personal account send money to a business account!

Then my last bit of advice is this, from the pages of Captain Obvious....

Cut no corners. Do nothing half-way or half-assed. The best deal possible always, the best bank, the highest quality service all the way around. No cheap outsourced support staff, hire on a crack team of highly trained people who won't piss all your clients off. If complaints are coming in against one or two of your support team, but a lot of kudos and good comments are being made about one or two others, then DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT and go have a chat with those who aren't cutting it, and if need be replace them.

Best of luck. :D

interest for keeping money in your account ;)

Wasnt Chio going to release a program that would put epass out of business?

maybe not waiting more than one hour on the phone for someone who can't fix anything is what i can ask for.

Well them bastards made me jump through hoops before your lucky, I made 2 purchases rather large on consecuttive days and the bastards froze me to verify it was me and my account it took weeks well 1 1/2 they sent out a form to my address and then wanted a utility bill and all this shit before they would go through with the transaction I was not happy but it all worked out they called it unuasal activity

Customer service is obviously the big issue. Working off scripts isn't unreasonable for first-line (telephone) support and if those scripts were adequate, they would be able to cope with the majority of routine issues. But second-line support should not be using the same scripts, which presumably is the reason EPassporte so often send out those aggravating and largely useless templated emails.

MO is obviously quite effective, but it is still ludicrous for a legitimate business to depend so heavily on a single individual, especially one who has to work through other members of staff. Although he is often able to break through the rubber wall the rest of us face, he is still dependent on being given the right information and on others to act. That does not always work as it should.

Speed is another issue. ATM withdrawals and internal transfers are obviously handled promptly, but things such as withdrawals, dropping unclaimed transactions, etc., are painfully slow. EP always blame the "rules", but a bank actually handles the transactions and I seriously doubt that bank's own customers have to tolerate transaction speeds which are so out of step with the norm.

So-called security would be the third thing for me because with even legitimate banks and card companies proving themselves vulnerable, I do not like having more information about me than absolutely necessary, floating around out there. Even were it not enough to verify a bank account or credit card (which my bank confirms can include verification of my address), together with sending a card to that address, I totally fail to see how emailing or faxing further information (which because of those transmission methods would be relatively easy to doctor), adds to anyone's security.

Finally, fees should be structured to appear less like a scalping operation. I have never attempted to compare overall costs between EP and PP for the use of their services, but by charging for everything little thing they can, EP come across very negatively.

I'm having this problem with epass right now. The pending transaction has been pending for days, and getting an answer from epass has been anything but simple.

How about something US based that simply incorporates the fast movement of money and provides a consistently high level of service. Ease of use, fast transfers - I would pay extra for that.

Brad