

Ask HN: How do I accept all major credit cards when not based in the US? - marcamillion

I would like to be able to accept all major credit cards in USD, and have the funds transfered to a local bank account (Jamaica).&#60;p&#62;I have tried Paypal, but they send a check. They don't offer instant transfers to Jamaican bank accounts, only US ones.&#60;p&#62;I have a US bank account, so I guess I could have it transfered there, but am not sure how to get it from my US bank account to my local one without writing a check (which takes 45 days to clear) or without flying to the US and wiring the funds myself.&#60;p&#62;What options do I have to streamline this process?&#60;p&#62;Assume I will be earning recurring income from a subscription-based model, so I would need this to be a sustainable solution.&#60;p&#62;All suggestions are welcome, including setting up a US company and doing some sort of standing order transfer. Specifics to do the above would be greatly appreciated.
======
forkqueue
We're in the UK, so I don't know how applicable this is to Jamaica, but for
<http://kutoken.com/> we use HSBC Merchant processing to accept transactions
in GBP, USD and Euro.

HSBC give us the option of having the funds deposited into HSBC accounts in
those currencies, or converting to GBP (at our expense, not the customer's).

I'm very happy with this arrangement - it stops many customers from being put
off by not knowing how much the service is going to cost them month to month,
with the minimum of hassle for us.

~~~
marcamillion
Unfortunately HSBC isn't available in Jamaica :(

------
Aschwin
Virtual XS (Access)(<http://www.vxsbill.com/>) in The Netherlands do all kinds
of billing acceptance and are one of the most reliable partners for a lot of
companies all over the world. They do adult, gambling, pharmacy etc. Only
legit business is allowed, because you get screened to the bone. You've to
setup a company in The Netherlands, but they will wire all funds to your
account. At least, you can contact them and explain your situation. They are
more than willing to provide you with a suitable solution.

------
patio11
The absolute fastest way to do an I-can't-believe-its-not-a-wire-transfer is
to get your US bank to issue you a debit card with the Mastercard or VISA logo
on it, and then take that to an ATM in Jamaica. You'll get soaked like a
foreign tourist but, hey, no waiting on the money.

You can also give your US bank instructions to wire transfer it to you. Some
of them will let you do this online (Citibank does -- you'll have to clear
their Know Your Customer hurdle but otherwise it is fairly routine) and most
major ones will do it over the phone (again, if you can clear Know Your
Customer).

Know Your Customer isn't that scary, although people make it out to be.
Basically they'll ask you for a passport and government issued photo ID.

------
marcamillion
By the way...just to update this thread. So I have both a Wachovia and Bank of
America account.

Apparently Bank of America allows you to order wire transfers online - through
their 'transfer' feature. These orders can also be standing orders. I think
this will suffice for what I need in the near-term.

BOA's website has this to say about SafePass and transfers:

With SafePass, your daily limit will increase from $1,000 to $10,000.Your
weekly limit will increase from $2,500 to $20,000. Note: U.S. Trust, Bank of
America Private Wealth Management or Premier clients may have higher transfer
limits. Please contact your Relationship or Client Manager for more
information on your limits.

Thanks for all the feedback and tips.

~~~
starkfist
Just a warning, BofA wire transfer probably won't work. I tried to set this up
with a landlord years ago and what happens is that the transfer amount will be
locked up for a week or two, the transfer won't go through and then you'll
both get charged fees for it not working. Maybe it's better now, but I doubt
it.

------
marcamillion
Here is a link to some FAQ's for BOA.

[https://www.bankofamerica.com/www/en_US/eas-docs/cfc-
help/he...](https://www.bankofamerica.com/www/en_US/eas-docs/cfc-
help/help_faq.html#TransOut9)

Although I can't find the part about the limit of $10K. Maybe it is just for
my type of account - free student checking. Will have to upgrade the account
some time soon, I imagine.

------
radu_floricica
Also looking for payment processors outside US.

About Paypal, AFAIK they can transfer funds to your credit card (not bank
account) for about $2 per transfer. You have to authenticate the card before.
It involves them making a small transaction from which you take a confirmation
code (from the bank statements). Takes about 2-3 days.

------
aguynamedben
Not sure if it fits the bill, but check out <http://www.xoom.com>

~~~
marcamillion
This looks interesting, but I don't see any option about payment processing -
i.e. accepting credit cards, etc. from my customers and transferring to my
Jamaican bank accounts.

I have emailed them though, in the event that I missed something.

------
norbu09
we had the same issue as we are in NZ and US based companies often have that
panic that everything non US is not controllable. we went with worldpay and
have no issues with them. we currently accept visa/master in USD, NZD and EUR
via them.

------
tedshroyer
I thought you could do a wire transfer over the phone. Is that not the case?

~~~
marcamillion
Unfortunately...I have been using Wachovia...and I just got off the phone with
them, and they confirmed that I can't do a wire transfer without coming into a
branch - which sucks.

