PlastiQ Vs PayPal to accept payments for rentals

[dominidude]

Hello Tuggers
I just wanted to let you know that PlastiQ is an alternative to PayPal.
They charge the person making the payment, and their fees are not bad, 2.5% for using credit cards, and 1% for using debit cards.
Given that PayPal gives limited, if any, protection to buyers, and that most of the protection offered to a buyer when paying with a credit card comes from the credit card company anyway, it seems that switching from PayPal to PlastiQ is a no brainer for lessors.
Basically, someone renting their timeshare could explain to the customer that they can pay via check and hope they get what they believe they are paying for, or if the customer prefers, they can pay using their credit card, and pay a 2.5% transaction fee that also insures the customer can use the credit card dispute process if something is not quite right later on.
Before anyone brings it up, I am not receiving any financial compensation for saying this, and I have posted no links to any company. This is my way keeping everyone informed.

 

[DeniseM]

It would be great if there was a feasible alternative to PayPal - the major barrier will probably be getting people to use an unknown service. PayPal isn't perfect, but it's been around for awhile and many people have PP accounts, or are at least familiar with it.

 

[dominidude]

It would be great if there was a feasible alternative to PayPal - the major barrier will probably be getting people to use an unknown service. PayPal isn't perfect, but it's been around for awhile and many people have PP accounts, or are at least familiar with it.

I remember being very hesitant about having a PayPal account. It doesnt seem that long ago to me.

 

[tschwa2]

There are still people hesitant to use PayPal but at least most people have heard of it/are familiar with it.
I had someone pay me with Google Wallet and that was very convenient. Just to make it less complicated I usually only offer Paypal but if they offer something else that seems just as easy and safe, I'll do it.

 

[DeniseM]

Believe it or not, Paypal has been around for 19 years. But I think most people learned about it after ebay bought it in 2002.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Interesting idea! Plastiq shifts the 2.5% transaction fee to the buyer if they want to pay you by credit card. Although I have used Plastiq to pay for my kids college expenses and rent, I have never received payments from it. I think most people would want to simply mail you a check unless they want to use a credit card to pay. However I was just notified that they are now enabling ACH payments which could reduce the check processing time.

 

[am1]

When I used a credit card processing company to receive payments I discounted the price as the buyer was charged the fees. Still a little savings to me compared to the company charging me the fees.

Said company closed in June as was just for monthly and vacation rentals.

It is a tough business.

 

[Slinger]

I offer PayPal but the last 3 rentals all preferred to send me a check for the full amount up front.

A new electronic payment service may even be more difficult to swallow for the typical timeshare demographic.

Though I am not opposed to it.

 

[slip]

I just had a person pay me by mailing me a money order. First time in 6 years. All my payments have been received from either PayPal or credit cards.

 

[ronparise]

First , I say, I dont care how people get their money to me.. Carrier Pigeon is acceptable but two things .. 1) as Denise says. pay Pal is the standard; people know it and like it and most importantly, trust it. I will be happy to accept accept something new, but it has to be my customers idea and 2) No one wants to pay the fees. I sure dont when Im a customer

 

[dominidude]

Carrier Pigeon is acceptable

 

[am1]

I managed 2.5 years with out paypal. A little extra work but there are easier/better options

 

[vacationhopeful]

I tell people who are sending me money ... send me a USPS money order. The only mail I get is at my USPS Post Office box. And the USPS will cash for free any USPS Money Order (if the have the cash in the drawer to cover it) .. so I use the smaller dollar value USPS Money Orders as a simple and free travelers' checks with no cashing fees in the USA.

 

[dominidude]

Hey,
this is an update. Apparently there are several different options out there to pay and get paid WITHOUT having to pay ANY FEES to anyone and still enjoy most, though not all, of the fraud protections associated with paying with credit cards.

First, the Payer needs to pay with a DEBIT card. This is the only way for both the payer and payee to avoid paying fees. The services that allow payers to pay without a fee when using a debit card are: Circle Pay, Venmo, Google Wallet, and Square Cash. I believe Circle pay, Venmo, and Square Cash also allow payment with a credit card, but they charge fees for doing so.

My understanding is that Google Wallet does not accept credit cards.

The payee, or the person receiving the money, can accept payment from debit cards, without paying fees using any of Circle Pay, Venmo, Google Wallet, and Square Cash.

Both Circle Pay and Google Wallet have free instant payment posting. That means exactly what it sounds like, the money paid is available instantly by the receiver once payment is made.

As far as protection for the buyer when making a payment, below find a link to an article I found to be helpful.

https://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/how-dispute-debit-card-transaction-purchase-1282.php

That article says:
If you ran your debit card as "credit" -- that is, you didn't enter a PIN at the point of sale -- your bank has to follow dispute rules set out by Visa and MasterCard, Eaton-Cardone says.

Since 99.99% of all purchases online are not PIN based transactions, if a purchase is not what the buyer was led to believe and he/she can prove it, it seems like the DEBIT card buyer has most (though certainly not all) of the same basic protections as CREDIT card buyers.

 

[tschwa2]

Cards that require you to use as Debit to avoid the fees also run the card as a Debit and not credit. Visa and the others charge the fee when the Visa (or other credit) brand debit is run as a credit. Businesses absorb the cost as cost to do business. If you are trying to avoid the fee, someone will be giving up the protection.

 

[dominidude]

Businesses absorb the cost as cost to do business. If you are trying to avoid the fee, someone will be giving up the protection.

I'm not sure I follow.
1) You say that business absorb the cost to do business.
2) Then you say if you are trying to avoid the fee, that someone will be giving up protection.

First, my understanding is that the business is NOT absorbing costs. The business is paying to gather transaction data, and selling that data, possibly at a profit. Banks, Visa, and Mastercard already do this, but now other businesses want to get into the game. This is similar to the business model for Facebook, gmail, twitter, etc. The users do not pay directly for those services, instead, the company pays for the platform and makes a profit by selling users' data.

Second, since someone is paying visa and/or Mastercard, everyone involved in the payment process has to follow dispute rules set out by Visa and MasterCard. This is the protection wanted and used by most people who pay with credit cards. As far as I can tell, users using these services would get about 90% of the protection at zero costs.

Just wondering how you came about those two conclusions.