Will the branded
reseller need a website and merchant account?
We provide all branded
resellers with an eCommerce website that
includes Member Services area, member only
pages, a personalized start page, localized with
news, weather and yellow pages to each zip code,
automatic provisioning of services and much,
much more!
Anyone accepting credit cards
needs a merchant account and a gateway service.
However, the Alliance
VoIP Solution provides the merchant
account as part of the total VoIP Success
System.
Some Wholesale VoIP Providers
require the Branded Reseller to secure their own
merchant account and gateway service. A few,
like Alliance Solutions, provide a "shared"
merchant account. Each has its advantages and
its disadvantages. What is the difference?
Your Own Merchant Account:
The upside for setting up your own merchant
account is that it gives you daily control of
your money - you receive payments into your
account every day. The downside is that it is
costly, you have to be approved, it can take up
to six weeks to set up, there is a lot of
administration, you will probably have to pay
higher discount rates and the Wholesale VoIP
Provider makes you pay in advance (prepay) for
services used by your subscribers. As a result,
this can wreak havoc with a Branded Reseller's
cash flow - especially in a case with fast
customer growth. The faster your customer base
grows, the more you must pay in advance each
month.
A Shared Merchant Account:
The upside for a shared merchant account is that
you save the costs of having to set up your own
merchant account (as much as $500), you save the
monthly maintenance fees (as much as $50/month),
you do not have to be approved, it is available
immediately, you save all of the administrative
work (this is handled by the Wholesale VoIP
Provider), you probably receive lower discount
rates (due to the combined volume through the
account) and you do not have to prepay for the
services used by your customers. The downside is
that you receive funds once a month rather than
daily.
Why does a Wholesale VoIP
Provider require payment in advance?
First, everything in this business is prepay for
everyone. This means that the Wholesale Provider
must also prepay for all services your customers
will use. So by requiring the reseller to
prepay, it keeps the provider's cash flow
stable. Second, it lowers the risk of bad debt.
Alliance Solutions offers
both methods:
With the Alliance
VoIP Solution, a Branded VoIP Reseller can
choose either method. If you choose to use your
own merchant account, you will need to prepay
for all services. If you choose to use our
shared merchant account, you will not need to
prepay for all services.
Using Our Shared VoIP
Merchant Account:
In the case of our shared merchant account, we
use a "generic" name: "Digital Telephone
Services." We collect the funds from the
customer through our merchant account, subtract
the wholesale costs of the services provided to
your customers and send you a check for the
difference. The customer sees a charge on their
credit card statement from "Digital Telephone
Services." Because we collect the funds from the
customer in advance, we do not require our VoIP
Reseller to prepay for services. Currently 95%+
of our Branded Resellers are using the shared
account.
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