Success and Setbacks of an Internet Marketer

Greetings Bloggers All!

I could easily keep this story all to myself, but simply because I've been unable to find a complete answer anywhere do I allow you all to take a glimpse behind the curtain of my efforts.

I'm creating a membership called Success Patrol, and for some time now I've been trying to set up a merchant account, or any kind of payment process.

Now just let me say fot the record, Success Patrol has been falsely seen as a Multi Level marketing company. It just isn't so.
We have commission schedules where members can earn from their referrals, and even a referral rewards system that allows members to upgrade for $1, working much the same as Pay Per Lead systems available in many places.
But a decision was made, and we weren't going to be able to use PayPal. In truth, there's a bit of mixed feelings there, because we've all heard the horror stories of PayPal holding a sites funds for up to six months, and for a site that pays commissions, that could be a death sentence.
Not using PayPal upsets some people....oh well...

I decided it was time to wade into moving my present merchant account up from the IVR (phone in the card numbers) to an E-Commerce, and naively didn't think there should be any problems.
In reality, it's been a nightmare of bureaucracy, and a complete failure on the part of the banks credit card companies and online processors to outline application processes and requirements so that the average business person can make informed decisions and get things accomplished in the quickest and best way possible.

Instead half the people on the phone (at least those I spoke to) either mistook what I needed as a product, or failed to give me all the information for my applications, or couldn't help me at all, so I experienced incredible frustration from delays, miscommunication, and after all was said and done, NO MERCHANT ACCOUNT!!

Incredible as it may sound, after striving for two months, it was determined I would have to place a $10,000 deposit, or create an off-shore account JUST for the privilege of paying them even more to operate my membership site.
For a small business these expenses are out of the question (or at least for mine).

I should also mention that I'm in Canada, and that likely has a lot to do with it. Most people I talked to during my appeals told me that the Canadian banking system is extremely conservative.
NO KIDDING!
Sad fact is though, there shouldn't be any difference because if I could get south of the border and setup an American Business Account with an American Bank, I'd have already received my Merchant Account and launched my site.

So in particular, for Canadian business people intending to get a merchant account, be VERY clear with those you are talking to about what you need, and ask them to ensure you've been informed of every possible piece of information that you're going to be asked for. The application process takes about 10 working days, and this can easily turn into months as my case shows.

Success is still my vision and still within my grasp, and eventually Success Patrol WILL launch, and the members will benefits greatly from everything we've put together, and some day I'll sit and decide WHO of these stubborn merchant account providers I will GRACE with MY business!

To Success!

Tim Southernwood - CEO
Success Patrol
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