Finally An Online Payment Solution For All Of Trinidad & Tobago

Hang on to your hats and get ready to have your socks knocked off everyone! If you’re standing, sit, if you you’re sitting, lie down, if you’re lying down have someone close by to revive you for you’re going to be knocked unconscious, what I’m about to tell you is that good. I’m not even going to make you beg, I’m telling you right now in the very first paragraph. If you’re serious about E-Commerce, Forward Multimedia has secured an online payment solution for all of Trinidad & Tobago, available right here, right now and processing in TT Dollars!

You heard me right, and you heard it right here. I’ve been in discussions all last week with none other than First Atlantic Commerce, ring a bell? They were the payment gateway provider for the E-Commerce solution I reviewed in my article of last year Scotiabank’s E-Commerce Solution, Right For You? If you recall, I concluded that it wasn’t right for you, not because it was expensive but because Scotiabank said so themselves, quote: “presently the target market for this service is primarily Corporate & Commercial Customers – i.e. larger organizations and not ideal for small businesses.” But that was then…

It’s important to note that the overall payment solution comprises of 2 distinct, though connected, components:

1. The merchant account itself, provided by Scotiabank
2. The payment gateway, provided by First Atlantic Commerce

First Atlantic Commerce has no control over Scotiabank in terms of their offering and the merchants that they will accept, as that’s subject to Scotiabank’s approval process, however, both are looking to expand their client base of those seeking to accept online payments in Trinidad & Tobago. If you’re a Trini company with plans for an e-commerce business isn’t that music to your ears?

An Overview of the solution

I won’t get into specific details here, this is just an overview. The comprehensive solution is explained on my E-Commerce Page which I’ll link you to at the end of this article. You already know what online payment is, what it does and how it works. You really want to know how much it costs and what you have to do to get it.

How much it costs

For competitive reasons I can’t disclose absolute numbers and itemized breakdowns on my website, I hope you understand. But I can give you overall numbers so you can immediately determine if you can afford it.

There are 3 fixed costs involved:

1. Initial set-up (one time fees) with both Scotiabank and First Atlantic which costs around $3,000 TT
2. Monthly cost for the service (Scotiabank only)
3. Minimum monthly transaction fee (see below)

Transaction-based costs

1. Processing fee based on sales amount from 3%-5%
2. Fee per each transaction

What you have to do to get it

Well first you need your e-commerce website so you’ll need me, but one step is to visit Scotiabank. This will be explained thoroughly on my E-Commerce page.

Features/Benefits of this Payment Gateway

Some of the major features, according to First Atlantic Commerce are:

• Direct merchant account with acquiring bank (as opposed to an aggregate account)
• No need to redirect customers away from merchant site to a 3rd party payment page
• Daily settlement/payouts
• Multi-currency processing including local Trinidad & Tobago Dollars
• Real-time processing
• Virtual Terminal
• Mail Order/Telephone Order (MOTO) processing
• Repeat and Subscription Billing
• Customizable Hosted Pages
• Card Number Tokenization
• Ukash payment option
• Multi-currency check issuing & EFT
• Secure, web-based transaction reporting
• 24 x 7 telephone, web and email technical support
• 3-D Secure™
• CVV2/CVC2/CID and AVS checks
• PCI Compliant gateway

Why I recommend it

How do you spell ‘DUH’? I see no reason not to. Imagine this, a local bank where you can walk in and sign up, a payment gateway provider willing to provide same in an undeveloped market, and both willing to work with you and your web designer, what else can I say except that you don’t have to imagine?

What I especially like

I especially like the first 4 features which is what you won’t get from other solutions. However, the main selling point is the relationship factor in contrast to the arms length/faceless dealings from Paypal and 2Checkout. I also like that it overcomes some of the shortcomings of the two, such as:

• The limit on transfers out of Paypal
• You can’t transfer funds from Paypal to a Trinidad & Tobago bank account (but could to your credit card)
• The need for wire transfers from 2Checkout to your local bank
• The time factor between online payment collection and actually receiving the funds

This is not to knock these solutions now that this one is now available, we simply had to live with these disadvantages because there were no alternatives.

What about the apparent high cost?

Compared with Paypal and 2Checkout both of which has no set-up fees (2Checkout has a $50 USD but I usually use a coupon) I agree it’s relatively expensive. In addition both have no monthly fees while this does. Paypal however has a $0.30 USD transaction fee in addition to their processing fee.

I think a compromise has to be made because of the early stage of E-Commerce in Trinidad & Tobago. It’s also risky to offer this solution in such a young, unproven market despite the obvious potential. That being said, it’s only the infrastructure that’s young and undeveloped, the Trini online shoppers are already at the top of the game except that they’re buying online from US sites, using their Skyboxes and forwarding services instead. It’s also a fact that there are no true Amazon-type local e-commerce sites (and I stand by this statement) and this opens the door wide open as long as the E-tailer does his math.

Who should get excited about this opportunity?

In the short term I feel that medium sized, established businesses would be suited to this. Scotiabank would still have an evaluation process and your business will have to be approved. An established business would stand a better chance because of their sales history that can be used to extrapolate potential online sales and would also afford the investment required to set-up as it’s indeed an investment. The seemingly higher set-up costs would also attract the more serious businesses willing to put in the work for their online store thereby neutralizing the Trini impulse of ‘trying ah ting’ and wasting everyone’s time

That’s not to say that small businesses are going to be excluded even if they can afford the start-up cost. There are many individuals and small businesses with great business plans for e-commerce which may potentially work so my assumption is that every applicant small, medium or large, will be evaluated on a case by case basis. There is also a pre-qualification form at the start of the process.

That’s the longest overview I’ve done but this is a major development warranting the attention. Head on now to my E-Commerce page for some more information. You know you want to! Is this great news or what!!