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Thread: Processing your own credit cards?

  1. #1
    AlexxaHex
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    Default Processing your own credit cards?

    This was inspired by a thread in HH....I'm kinda grossed out by the amount that clubs charge us and custys to use funny money.

    I used to work for a friend of mine who owned a payment processing company. I helped him make sales. I also learned a little bit about how credit card payments are processed in small businesses. Essentially, anybody with a business license and business bank account can process credit cards. The amount a merchant pays for this processing depends on their business credit score and the amount of volume they plan to process (the higher the volume, the lower the percentage). Online and adult businesses are considered "high risk" and therefore the percentages are a bit higher.

    When I was working in merchant services, I actually called a few escort businesses to try and set up service with them (my boss was totally cool with it). I was told that there is a terminal that is portable, so that means you can swipe cards no matter where you are. My boss thought it would be good for escorts to take the terminal on outcalls!
    Couldn't we, as dancers do the same if we had a business license? Instead of relying on clubs to process our CC payments, we could be doing it ourselves. We could keep our portable terminals in our lockers until we had a custy who wanted to process a CC. Otherwise we'd just push for cash payments. There is always the issue of charge backs, which I think is what would make it risky. Does anyone know how common it is for custys to charge back their CC payments at the club? Would this ever work in a club setting?

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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    Do you think it would be safe to keep it behind the bar? So that when you use it you would just walk up to the bar and have him swipe his card.

    Also, how would you deal with charge backs if/when it happens? Say he charges $500 worth of CR and he charges back. Would you eat the money? Or fight it in court? The time and money involved in that seems scary.

    I think it would be beneficial for the dancer who gets alot taken out when she has to use a card and one that also has a high volume of credit card charges for her services.

    btw, read my reply as to explaining the fees thing in my thread when you can. Its a doozy.
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  3. #3
    AlexxaHex
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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    I'm pretty certain that the processing company that the merchant has an account with will fight a charge back as much as they can, but beyond that I believe the merchant has to "eat" the loss and this might also cause their fees to increase.

    I'm not quite sure what a realistic processing volume would be, since our business fluctuates so much. It might be more beneficial for someone who works a LOT also and has several regular VIP customers who frequently pay with cards. One example that comes to mind is a dancer I know who has a reg that charges $2K every time he comes in, which is at least 3 times a month. He always paid with funny money.

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    God/dess Bridgette's Avatar
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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    I thought about this a few years ago, when I first heard about wireless swipe terminals. I think it would be a HUGE chargeback risk - you'd probably have so many chargeback disputes you'd lose your merchant account. Customers are notorious for pulling that shit on clubs - they'd be WORSE about it if they were charging directly to dancers' accounts.

    Also in order to cover your ass you'd have to make the guy do a thumbprint and sign, sign, sign! There's no way you could do this without the club knowing about it - and I can't think of any club that would be ok with it.

    Furthermore, I got a merchant account for my website recently. With the major credit card companies' restrictions on all the details of how you process transactions, it would be a NIGHTMARE to keep up with that shit. All merchant accounts are assigned a risk manager with whatever bank they use to get the account, and that risk manager is basically going to look over your shoulder constantly for the first few months, and if they see any little thing that looks "off" (like most transactions we would do), they will suspend your account indefinitely, hold your funds, and they can even close your account altogether. No stripper wants to put up with that shit.

    Hence, I never tried it and won't ever.

    Quote Originally Posted by pheno View Post
    When you lead a nontraditional life don't try to measure it with traditional milestones.

  5. #5
    AlexxaHex
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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    I also didn't think about the fact that Visa is very anti-adult business. I remember them wanting a $700 (one time) fee for me to accept their cards for my BDSM pay site.

    Crap.

  6. #6
    aussiepunkshocker
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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    Quite a few years ago now, I knew a drug dealer wha had that set up in his house. Great idea if it could work but I doubt it would be just straight forward and easy.

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    Featured Member Kalligirl's Avatar
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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    I knew a girl who escorted and carried one of those damn things in her purse. I never wanted to deal with all the bullshit that came along with it, but she and another girl I knew still use them. Say they are a pain in the ass though.

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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    I'm lazy right now because I'm eating, but I saw an online ad once for sending money by text message. Like paypal through your cell phone. I'm sure with those, you'd be covered by the company (paypal or whoever's) policies. You'd have to have a cell phone registered to your name or a valid email, but it's cheaper than paying to accept credit cards probably.

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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    Depending on what type of club you work at would determine if having a merchant account would help you. Personally, I wouldn't get an account strictly to use in the club. Humboldt bank is one of the few companies who is cool with adult businesses.

    Smaller clubs, SOME of which may not have a merchant account, most likely don't care. Big structured clubs would see that as cutting into their action. In a smaller club in a smaller town, where some of the customers are known by the staff, you'd have a lesser chance of chargeback fraud in my opinion.

    Plus, when you get a merchant account, the company wants to know a lot of details about your average charges, etc. They usually assign you a monthly limit, and won't process charges over that until you have a track record with them. More than one or two chargebacks could get you shut down, unless you do a lot of volume, and are a well known mainstream business.

    To viably charge guys for dances, you should get their details from their drivers license or state ID, and also get them to sign a statement approving the charges and agreeing to not dispute them. If they did dispute the charges, you would need to submit this paperwork into the processing company to prove your case. Many guys might lose the mood of getting dances from you once they see you as a business and not a romantic interest for the moment.

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    Member charliegurll's Avatar
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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    ummm dumb question but this is something ive thought of doing before but your using a term im not sure i clearly understand. is a charge back when they cant cover there bill with theyre account or is it something else?
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=ksICC85qyRc



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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    A chargeback is where the customer calls the credit card company to claim s/he didn't authorize the charge - basically saying someone's committing fraud, so the card company will not make them pay the bill and the merchant often loses the money.

    American Express is REALLY tightass about this - all a customer has to do is just say he's not happy with the product or whatever, and the merchant will lose the money. This is why many companies simply do not accept Amex cards.

    Visa and Mastercard aren't quite that bad, but they are still very strict, ESPECIALLY for adult businesses. Anytime a customer claims they didn't authorize a charge, the merchant has to prove beyond any doubt that it was legit, or they lose the money. How many strippers will keep the kind of records necessary for this? Maybe 1 in 1000. And we haven't even mentioned that any money you run through a credit card in your name is going to be traced by the government...

    THIS is why clubs charge high fees for credit card use.

    Quote Originally Posted by pheno View Post
    When you lead a nontraditional life don't try to measure it with traditional milestones.

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    in order to get a credit card processing merchant account as an adult business these days, it is necessary to

    A. have a brick and mortar business address
    B. undergo a homeland security investigation (costs about $750)
    C. have decent credit
    D. agree to holdback provisions set by the commercial bank (i.e. 10% of processed charges are held in escrow as a reserve against chargebacks)
    E. agree to pay 5-10% of processed charges as a processing fee

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    God/dess Emily's Avatar
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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    what about something like paypal? can you process that using a mobile phone with internet as long as they have a paypal account?

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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    thnx for explaining that bridgette and from what you guys say it sounds like the cc companies just screw you from every angle bastards btw from what melonie said sounds like i can add another thing to my list of ways homeland security dosent screw over the average american citizen *eye roll*
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=ksICC85qyRc



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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    paypal immediately kicks off any accounts which they determine are linked to an adult business.

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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    okay now thats bs. why do they do that? its paypal not disney
    http://youtube.com/watch?v=ksICC85qyRc



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    Featured Member pinkpvc's Avatar
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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    when i read the title all i could think of was a man swiping a credit card through a girls butt crack
    You'd still be paying monthly fees for a merchant account and i'm sure there are other costs. seems a bit too much of a hassle for the average stripper.
    And as for paypal, well their hopeless at chargeback protection too
    Looks like we'll just have to keep getting stiffed.

  18. #18
    God/dess Bridgette's Avatar
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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    Yes you could do paypal charges. The customer would have to have a paypal account already established, AND have mobile payments setup for his cell number. Customer can send a text to pay you, and you could login to your account on your pda and see the money right then and there.

    However, how many guys do you think are going to already be setup on their paypal accounts to do this? Not many, and I don't see it as being common enough to make it worth asking every dude (and then spending time explaining when they ask WTF you're talking about) just to find 1 guy here and there who might have the account setup and be willing to pay you this way.

    ALSO, chargebacks happen with paypal too. If someone claims fraud through paypal, paypal will automatically remove the funds from your account (and they'll initiate a withdrawal from your bank account if it sends your paypal balance too low). They will want you to prove the charge was legit - either provide tracking numbers for product shipped or some other form of proof that you provided a service, AND that the charge was indeed authorized at the time of payment. They will hold your money for WEEKS and sometimes MONTHS until they decide whether or not the charge was legit. Other than providing your documentation, you have no say in the matter. Oh, and good luck getting any help or info from paypal on the phone if you have a dispute.

    Paypal also doesn't allow any type of adult business transactions. So as soon as they figure out you're charging for lapdances via paypal, you'll lose your account (and possibly whatever money you had in the account).

    I speak from experience.

    Quote Originally Posted by pheno View Post
    When you lead a nontraditional life don't try to measure it with traditional milestones.

  19. #19
    AlexxaHex
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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    I love how Paypal basically saw their whole business flourish off of adult businesses, and now they won't touch us at all. It's not worth risking the money you have in there to see if it works. They will take all of it and freeze your account indefinitely. I boycott Paypal just on principle and this keeps me off of Ebay as well so it has a doubly positive effect.

    There are other payment processors that take a HUGE percentage and they generally work online only. 5-10% is a dream to me. Niteflirt charges 30%.

    There is also the Green Dot card. I want to use it as pre-payment for sessions when I go back to work and for financial domination. I pay $4.99 a month to have a credit card of sorts that doesn't require credit or a bank account - you just buy these Money Pak cards to refill the balance ($20-500). I don't think there is a transaction fee for the Money Pak. If there is, it's very little. You buy it at CVS or Walgreens (there are a few other major drug stores that carry them) and go online to verify your identity. They mail you an actual card and you use it anywhere like you would a credit or debit card. When you want someone else to add to your balance, they just go to the drug store and buy a Money Pak card and put however much they want to give onto it at the counter. You can also set up a direct deposit with your paychecks. Guys seem to like it because it's very anonymous and there is no paper trail for the wife to find out. I plan on using it in the next few weeks so I'll let you know how it turns out. Not sure how it would fit into the whole SC experience because the guy could just give you cash if he were going to the drug store to convert it to credit anyway. Kind of defeats the purpose. Maybe it could be useful to some of you.

    Another similar card is the Rush Card.

    Hmmmmm...so from the info I've been seeing, it just doesn't seem possible for us to swipe individually right now. Especially with that info Melonie stated about the homeland sec. checks and holding funds in escrow, it would be a nightmare.

  20. #20
    buffie06
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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    I didnt have time to read all the replies, but I think managment would not allow this as it takes form their money. Also is a custoemr gonna trust you to do this and what if he charges it bk specifically b/c he knows its you and not the club?

  21. #21
    God/dess Bridgette's Avatar
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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    ^Yeah, we covered that You're right.

    Quote Originally Posted by pheno View Post
    When you lead a nontraditional life don't try to measure it with traditional milestones.

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    I boycott Paypal just on principle and this keeps me off of Ebay as well so it has a doubly positive effect.
    Actually, EBay BOUGHT OUT PayPal a couple of years ago so that they could rake more profits off every EBay sale. As soon as EBay had new management in place at PayPal, out came the policy of 'no more adult businesses'.

    There are other payment processors that take a HUGE percentage and they generally work online only. 5-10% is a dream to me. Niteflirt charges 30%
    the major difference is that having your own 'credit card merchant account' at a commercial bank and dealing directly with Mastercard and Visa results in much lower processing percentages than not having a 'credit card merchant account' of your own. Without a merchant account of your own, you're basically forced to use an 'umbrella' credit card processing service that 'fronts' for your adult business using their own credit card merchant account - in exchange for which they tack on an extra 10% or more on top of their bank's 5-10% actual credit card processing charge.

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    God/dess UtahMike's Avatar
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    Default Re: Processing your own credit cards?

    I would never use a credit card at a club because it would take away my anonymity. Just like you dancers do not me to know your real names and addresses, I do not want you to know mine. I've been known to leave the club to go to an ATM somewhere else and come back, but I never use one in a club.

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