Payment Processors

"Oh, so you wanna get paid???"

Then We Need To Talk About...
...Payment Processors!

PART 1: WHAT IS A "PAYMENT PROCESSOR?"

The definition of a "payment processor" is very simple:

A "payment processor" is a computer application that enables one party to transfer funds to another party. Put another way, a payment processor allows you to send money to, or receive money from, another person.

In simplest terms a payment processor makes it possible for you to: (1) "buy stuff" (send money) AND
(2) receive commissions (receive money)
over the Internet.

Payment processors usually work in two different "modes":

MODE 1 (Sending Money):
Used in this mode, a payment processor enables you to PURCHASE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES online. In the context of Internet marketing, the best example would be when you wish to purchase an ongoing subscription to one of many traffic generating programs. A payment processor enables you to pay for that subscription. In other words, it transfers money FROM your "pocket" TO the "pocket" of the Admin or owner of that particular program.

MODE 2 (Receiving Money):
Used in this mode, a payment processor enables you to RECEIVE PAYMENTS FOR COMMISSIONS YOU'VE EARNED in promoting a product or service for a particular company. In the context of Internet marketing, the best example would be when you have earned a 50% commission for having sold a product or service to a prospect. If the item you sold has a retail value of, say $20.00, you would have earned a 50% commission ($10.00). But, although you have EARNED that $10.00, you have not yet been PAID that $10.00. A payment processor enables the Admin, or owner, of that program to pay your justly earned $10.00 commission. In other words, it transfers money FROM the "pocket" of the Admin, or owner, TO your "pocket."

And THAT'S what it's all about, right? That's why we're all here - to make M-O-N-E-Y!!

Now, the best known payment processor, of course, is PayPal.

And PayPal makes getting paid quick, fast, and oh-so-easy. But there's a WEE bit of a problem with PayPal.....

PART II: THE PROBLEM WITH PAYPAL

Not that long ago, our lives as Internet marketers were S-I-M-P-L-E!

Our lives were simple because of PayPal. PayPal, as we all know, is ALSO a payment processor, and PayPal has three very unique, positive features:

PayPal has been around since December of 1998; virtually EVERYONE is familiar with PayPal and most everyone has (or had!) a PayPal account.

PayPal functions easily in BOTH of the above modes; using PayPal, you can "pay for stuff" (Mode 1), and you can receive commissions (Mode 2).

A PayPal account is very easy to set up and manage.

Yep! Life WAS simple.

Virtually every program owner used PayPal to accept payment for purchases, and virtually every program owner used PayPal to pay commissions.

One payment processor! Just ONE payment processor to "do it all!" Internet marketing was S-I-M-P-L-E.

Unfortunately, PayPal has a disconcerting "little" quirk...

...every few years PayPal "goes on the warpath" and indiscriminately closes members' accounts. During the most recent spate of closures, over 100,000 individual members had their personal PayPal accounts closed, and DOZENS of program owners had THEIR accounts curtailed!

No notice is given; no warning is issued. You go to bed one night at peace with the world; the next morning you wake up to find that your PayPal account has been "limited." In many cases, account balances are frozen for up to six months!!!

Why does PayPal limit or close accounts??

There are theories, but no one seems to know for sure. And PayPal sure ain't sayin'! The only explanation that is given is a vague "Violation of Terms of Service" notification. And there is NO recourse; once the account is "limited" (i.e. "closed") no further dialogue is possible with the PayPal Home Office. You are DONE; you are finished with PayPal, and any money you had in your PayPal account may be frozen for up to six months!

Now, if truth be told, such indiscriminate account closures by PayPal is nothing new. It occurred in the Spring of 2010 and again in the Fall of 2016. The most recent round of account closures SHOULD have been foreseen and steps taken to alleviate it. But we Internet marketers (yes, both individuals and program owners) are a lazy lot; we all took the easy road and continued to rely ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY on just one, single payment processor..... PayPal.

PART III: "SO WHAT IS THE SOLUTION, STAN?
HOW CAN I CONTINUE TO MARKET ON THE
INTERNET, AND MAKE SURE I GET PAID!?"

The solution is, and always has been, quite simple. It's "Secret" # 8 in the Secrets of the Big Dogs ebook: to quote, "The Big Dogs of Internet marketing always DIVERSIFY their efforts and always have a backup plan - a Plan "B"

As it appears now, at this current stage of evolution of the Internet, individuals AND program owners can NEVER return to the self-satisfied days of foolishly relying on a SINGLE payment processor.

For safety's sake we must all diversify by becoming familiar and using MULTIPLE (one, two, or MORE!) payment processors in addition to PayPal!

Fortunately, there are numerous other payment processors that are currently being used by program owners to pay you your commissions. Although there are many more, below we will highlight a few of the more popular processors that are currently being used by the majority of program owners to pay commissions.

Now it would be overkill to set up accounts with ALL of the payment processors below if you don't need them. Here's the simple 4-step procedure to determine which processors you need to join. Of course, it goes without saying, that you can use this simple 4-step procedure for any other programs you you may be a member of which are OUTSIDE of the Big Dogs program. (NOTE: ALL of these processor programs are FREE to setup an account, by-the-way):

Enter the website of a program of which you are a member, and from whom you wish to receive commissions.

Go to the "My Account" page, or the "Update Profile" page, or the "Edit Details" page, or the "Affiliate Program" page, etc. Near the bottom of that page you will see the various choices that program owner uses to pay commissions. Choose just ONE - your favorite.

Enter the appropriate email address or username for your payment processor of choice.

Make sure to "Update" the page!

PART IV: HERE THEY ARE!
THE CURRENTLY MOST USED
PAYMENT PROCESSORS:

Wise (formerly "TransferWise")

Wise was founded in early 2011 by people who built Skype and PayPal. They came up with simple and innovative idea to transfer money between people rather than countries. As a result they were in position to offer great service for an incredible 0.35% + $0.80 per transaction and without any hidden fees. Currently, Wise can send and receive funds for you in over 50 countries.

The Wise website indicates that, once you are sent commissions into your Wise account, you will then receive your funds into your bank account in 2 to 3 business days; however, if transferred Monday through Friday, your funds are usually and automatically in your bank account in just a few hours.

(You can see a full list of supported countries and regions here):
TransferWise Supported Regions

You can signup for a free TransferWise account at the link below:
https://wise.com

UpHold

UpHold serves 184+ countries, across more than 30 different currencies (both traditional - i.e. dollars, pounds, rubles, etc - and crypto - i.e. BitCoin, LiteCoin, Ethereum, etc), and since their launch in 2015 has powered more than three BILLION dollars in transactions. You can add funds to your UpHold account using a bank transfer or via bitcoin, and you can send or receive money to or from any UpHold member in over 180 countries.

The UpHold website indicates that, once you are sent commissions into your UpHold account, you will then receive your funds into your bank account in 2 to 3 business days, AFTER you request them from UpHold; however, if transferred Monday through Friday, your funds are usually and automatically in your bank account in less than TWO (business) days.

(You can see a full list of excluded countries and regions here):
UpHold Excluded Regions

You can signup for a free UpHold account at the link below:
https://uphold.com

ZellePay

"ZellePay" is an easy way to send money directly between almost any United States bank accounts - typically within minutes! With just an email address or mobile phone number, you can quickly, safely and easily send and receive money through your local bank application (or the Zelle app if your bank doesn’t currently offer Zelle).

Although ZellePay is not available outside the United States (both sender and receiver must reside in the U.S.), I LOVE it! My funds are transferred almost immediately, and there are NO fees!

(You can see a full list of supported banks in the United States here):
ZellePay Supported Banks

You can signup for a free ZellePay account at the link below:
https://www.zellepay.com/

GooglePay

Google has made online payments a whole lot easier. In February 2018, the company announced it’s combining all of its different payment methods into one unified brand, called GooglePay. GooglePay is a peer-to-peer (i.e. "person to person") payments service developed by Google that allows people to send and receive money from a mobile device or desktop computer at no cost to either sender or receiver. When set up, a GooglePay account must be linked to an existing debit card or bank account in the United States or United Kingdom.

(You can see a full list of supported countries and regions here):
GooglePay Supported Regions

You can signup for a free GooglePay account at the link below:
https://pay.google.com/about/

CoinPayments and CoinBase

Is "cryptocurrency" the future of the Internet?

Is it safe to say that, in a few years, all financial transactions on the Internet will be done using cryptocurrency (BitCoin, LiteCoin, Ethereum, etc)? Will one or more of the various "crypto-coins" completely replace the use of "fiat currencies" (US dollars, British pounds, Euros, etc) for Internet transactions?

Well, we'll see; we'll see.

In the meantime, however, many online programs are ALREADY using cryptocurrency to transact business, and it's yet another "tool in our Internet marketing toolbox" that we would be foolish to ignore.

Now, in order to transact business using BitCoin, for example, you actually need to join TWO separate programs: CoinPayments.net and CoinBase.com.

You can signup for a free CoinPayments account at the link below:
https://www.coinpayments.net/

AND.....

You can signup for a free CoinBase account at the link below:
https://www.coinbase.com/

And, if you need assistance with CoinPayments and/or CoinBase, the tutorial below will be of help:

http://bigdogsecrets.com/01-payment-processors-crypto-tutorial.htm

PayPal

As stated above, many, MANY individuals, as well as program owners have had their PayPal accounts closed and funds frozen without warning or recourse! Personally, I have been one of the lucky ones, and my PayPal account is still intact. HOWEVER..... I advise against using your PayPal account to send or receive money to or from any programs related to "Internet marketing," IF another processor is available.

In all fairness though, it's important to point out that, although approximately 100 thousand individuals may have lost their PayPal accounts, there are a total of 250 MILLION PayPal accounts in the world! Yes, PayPal unquestionably remains the "Gold Standard" of payment processors. So, if you don't already have one.....

You can signup for a free PayPal account at the link below:
https://www.paypal.com/

And one final (IMPORTANT!) word about.....
.....PAYPAL!

As we stated above, PayPal DOES remain the "gold standard" of payment processors. It's by far the simplest and easiest to set up and use. Yes, it's true that PayPal generally focuses their wrath on the so-called "Internet marketing" or "work at home"niche, but the individuals and program owners who lost their accounts only account for FOUR HUNDRETHS OF ONE PERCENT of the total PayPal membership!

So..... if you have a PayPal account, and a program you are using uses PayPal to pay commissions, that's fine. Just be sure and take two intelligent and necessary precautions:

1. Be aware that, in addition to PayPal, there are several other payment processors available. (Diversify!)
2. Don't let more money than is necessary in your PayPal account. Get it into your bank account as quickly as possible.

In fact, this is good advice for ALL payment processors! Don't let money "build up" to any degree in ANY of your processor accounts. Place it where it's safe and accessible by you.

Part V: The Current CHIP Programs
And the Payment Processors Each Uses
to Pay Commissions

C.H.I.P. PROGRAM RECEIVE COMMISSIONS VIA YOUR CHOICE OF

BuildABizOnlne TransferWise
ORU

ProActveMailer
UpHold
     (Use UpHold email address)
TransferWise
     (Use TransferWise email address)
PayPal
     (Use PayPal email address)

Mailsy UpHold
     (Use UpHold email address)
TransferWise
     (Use TransferWise email address)
PayPal
     (Use PayPal email address)
Zelle
GooglePay
Bitcoin

StateOfTheArtMailer UpHold
     (Use UpHold email address)
TransferWise
     (Use TransferWise email address)
Zelle
Skrill
Bitcoin (via Coinpayments merchant ID)

MasterSafelistBlaster Zelle
Bitcoin (via Coinpayments merchant ID)

TheLeadMagnet UpHold
     (Use UpHold email address)
PayPal
     (Use PayPal email address)

MisterSafelist PayPal
     (Use PayPal email address)
Bitcoin

CommandoMailer UpHold
     (Use UpHold email address)
TransferWise
     (Use TransferWise email address)
GooglePay
Bitcoin

ListAvail UpHold
     (Use UpHold email address)
Bitcoin

GlobalSafelist UpHold
     (Use UpHold email address)
TransferWise
     (Use TransferWise email address)
Payoneer
     (Use Payoneer username)
Bitcoin

AdsMessenger UpHold
     (Use UpHold email address)
Bitcoin

EuropeanSafelist TransferWise
     (Use TransferWise email address)
PayPal
     (Use PayPal email address)

AdChiever UpHold
     (Use UpHold email address)
TransferWise
     (Use TransferWise email address)
Zelle
Skrill
Bitcoin

EmailHog
Uphold
     (Use UpHold email address)
TransferWise
     (Use TransferWise email address)
Zelle
GooglePay
Skrill
Bitcoin
ORU

Herculist
Uphold
     (Use UpHold email address)
TransferWise
     (Use TransferWise email address)
Zelle
Bitcoin

LeadsLeap TransferWise
     (Use TransferWise email address)
PayPal

SUMMARY

Change can be frightening, and the temptation is often to resist it. But change almost always provides opportunities - to learn new things, to rethink tired processes, and to improve the way we work. Just when I thought I had Internet marketing "down solid," one of the most fundamental facets of our niche - getting paid..... CHANGED! Just remember: we cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the game.

"Some people don't like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is disaster."
                     -Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, Inc.

"The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity."
                      -Peter Drucker, management consultant and author

"What's dangerous is not to evolve."
                   -Jeff Bezos, President of Amazon.com

In the meantime, just remember Big Dogs "Secret" Number Three:

“On the Internet, rapid change is a fact of life!
Learn to accept it.”

Or as the U.S. Marines say.....