[Sigmund451]

Aside from my dramatic title I think most of us have a love hate relationship with PayPal. They have been a necessary evil as well as a great service. However, the fees and the hassles are frequently an irritant. Sometimes I think I pay their rent.

A possible solution: I read in the Wall Street Journal Online that Chase Bank has a tool called Quickpay. It is something that really caught my eye and I investigated on line and spoke with the National Business Division of Chase about it.

The basic premise is that you can request and pay money from checking account to checking account (like you probably pay your monthly bills). One member must be a Chase account holder. There are a few other limitations. One being that the money is not instant. it takes 3-5 days.

If you are not a Chase customer you can still very quickly register with Chase and you can send money or be billed. I do not believe you can bill or receive money if you do not have a Chase account (they want more accounts of course)

An example: If you were to buy a mouthpiece from me I would ask you to register with chase (takes about 3 minutes). I would then bill you. Once you have registered I bill you trough my Case account. You never see my bank info and I never see yours. I bill you using your email account...just like Paypal. The bank has it linked to your account. If you accept the money request (like a PayPal request for funds) the transaction begins. In 3 to 5 days I receive funds and can ship the piece I made for you.

The great thing is, this is Free. Chase wants a piece of the action and of course wants to draw more people into getting an account....just good sense.

I dont know if people would be willing to do this. Currently it will not work internationally. It would certainly help people to keep costs down and reduce the times you are asked to split fees.

Id love to hear your thoughts. I think it has great potential. I believe US Bank and Wells Fargo are also trying to get into the money transfer game.

Thanks
Phil

Here is a Link to look at or just Google Chase Quickpay

https://www.chase.com/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/smallbusiness/online_banking/page/quickpay_faqs

 

[Graftonsax]

This sounds like a great idea, so for example you (or your business) would get a Chase checking account, I as a non Chase customer can go online and register and pay to your Chase account from my checking account? Sounds like if you want to receive money you need to have a Chase account (which might have fees and charges) and I think all checking accounts must be created in person. For a business such as yours where you are usually just collecting money it's a great idea, and you can always use Paypal if your business needs to buy something, because buyers don't pay for paypal. Cool.

 

[Sigmund451]

Yes once you register you tell me your email, not your account number and I bill you. You then get a money request and say ok. It then comes from your checking.

If you want to get money you need a chase account so that would cost doing it both directions.
If you are a frequent seller it would be worth opening the account if customers would register and pay you that way.

 

[magical pig]

The problem is, I believe, if you seldom use your Chase checking account you're charged fees. To benefit from what a "free" checking account you need a certain number of transactions every month.

 

[Sigmund451]

I guess my question is would customers go to the trouble to register their bank with chase so that I could bill them.

Frankly, I dont love any bank. If I did a lot of internet buying and swapping I would go to a bank that gave me that option....considering the fortune I give paypal every year

 

[Graftonsax]

The problem is, I believe, if you seldom use your Chase checking account you're charged fees. To benefit from what a "free" checking account you need a certain number of transactions every month.

I took from this that if you are the buyer you don't need an actual Chase checking account, to just register online.

 

[maddenma]

While I have a Chase account, I personally wouldn't agree to do this as a buyer unless there was some fraud protection. Might as well use Western Union.

 

[magical pig]

I took from this that if you are the buyer you don't need an actual Chase checking account, to just register online.

Oh okay. :faceinpalm:

 

[Sigmund451]

I would as a buyer if I were dealing with someone I trusted.

I would not do it if I suspected anything.

I dont trust that paypal will do much of anything to help me as a buyer anyway

 

[magical pig]

I dont trust that paypal will do much of anything to help me as a buyer anyway

Yeah it is a bank after all although it is specialized. And they make it especially hard or sneaky to get your money back when you need to.

 

[Graftonsax]

Oh okay. :faceinpalm:

We are looking at this from a sellers point of view, for him if he uses this account to accept money I don't think he needs to worry about fees for not enough transactions. It wouldn't make sense for someone who doesn't have a Chase checking account to get one just to make a payment with this method.

I think if its free and easy to register they would use it, if you got to jump through some hoops to get your 3rd party bank registered with Chase then you are probably back to accepting personal checks.

 

[Sigmund451]

Actually its not the same as taking a personal check if you wait the few days for the electronic check to clear. I was thinking of using it and offering some kind of incentive/discount or free shipping. When I sell a mouthpiece I have to make it first. A few days for money to clear isnt an issue since it takes time to make the piece.

I saw the form a buyer would have to fill out. It only has to be done once. It would take less than 5 minutes. Its pretty basic.

 

[Buck Laughlin]

How would this benefit the buyer? Paypal and credit cards are good for buyers because they cost us nothing and are extremely convenient. I don't really know how many people would take the trouble to register with Chase just to make things easier/better/cheaper for a seller. I like using Paypal as a buyer for many reasons, including spending my balances after I sell things on eBay. Also, if it meant giving Chase (or any other party/company) access to my checking account, I would never do it. I'm just being honest here from a buyer's perspective in the hope that it will help you with your decision. Maybe you could offer this Chase alternative as an option for those buyers willing to do it -- maybe in exchange for some modest incentive like free shipping or something. But I would continue to offer Paypal or major credits cards as a payment option.

 

[clarnibass]

....considering the fortune I give paypal every year

Just wondering since I've never received a PayPal payment, are the fees significantly higher than with a regular credit card payment?

 

[Smokey613]

The eBay/PayPal model is getting increasingly more expensive for the seller. I wish there was an alternative but it is the easiest system to use for the buyer. I remember back when I had a part time business and accepted credit cards. Now this was way back in the mid to late 80s so things were a lot different then. A VISA or M/C transaction cost me 4% and AMEX was 6%. I just padded my prices to offset the fees and offered a corresponding discount for cash transactions. Not sure what online sellers are doing in today's technology rich environment.

 

[Sigmund451]

Well it was a nice idea. Bottom line is the bottom line and with everything going up I was trying to not have to raise prices more than I have to. The long term win for buyers is that prices can stay lower when overhead costs are controlled. When they go up so does the cost of the product.

Frankly, Id rather give customers free shipping for saving me money than charging them more and giving it to paypal. Id still take other forms of payment but I guess Buck is right. People will not want to bother but the same people will continue to complain about fees or increases to cover them.

I still may give it a try with an incentive. Id like to see the little guys win for a change.