Are you a newbie online Entrepreneur having no clue how to get payments for your online business activities? If you are getting confused with terms such as Merchant Account, Payment Gateway, Third Party Payment Processor and wondering what that has to do with collection of payment for goods and services you render, this post is meant to help you. For well established online entrepreneur, you may find some useful tips in addition to what you already know.
I often receive emails from my readers (especially those from Nigeria) asking for help on how to open a PayPal account or a US bank account. Reading through some of the requests, it is obvious that those asking for help do not even fully understand what their needs are and as such often ask for solution that does not fit their need. So, I will start with a little explanation on what an online entrepreneur requires to collect payment online and then make suggestions on how even a Nigerian Entrepreneur can collect payment online.
Collecting Payment Online
Once you offer products or service for sale online, it is important that you have in place an easy way that your would be customer can pay you for such product or service. However, the system of receiving payment online will largely depend on the kind of customers you deal with and the kind of product/service you offer. Let’s look at some practical examples.
- My web hosting company NAIRAHOST is owned by a Nigerian and I pay for their services with local currency (Nigerian Naira), by using the banking facility provided in Nigeria. It is smooth and convenient for me. However, their customers outside Nigeria pay with dollars using Credit Cards or PayPal.
- Of recent, I bought a Toshiba Laptop from BestBuy. The payment was made using a US bank issued Credit Card (this was done on my behalf by a friend).
- Last week, I paid for a heavy industrial equipment worth several thousands of dollars. Even though the company is online, payment was made via secure Bank Telex Transfer because the amount involved was huge.
From this simple examples, you can see that one payment option may not fit all situations. The nature of your business activities plays a major role in determining what Payment Option your customer will consider suitable. So the first question to ask is; How do my customers want to pay? While there are several payment options such as:
- Paper Cheque – A paper cheque is written and mailed to you. Not the most convenient or timely option.
- Wire Transfer (Bank Telex Transfer) – Most suitable for huge amount of money. e.g local bank to a foreign correspondent bank.
- Credit Cards – Most suitable for any amount of money. eg. MasterCard, VisaCard
- E-Payments – Highly convenient for small amount of money. eg. E-Gold
I only listed the various options, but time will only permit us to look at just one. So, I will focus on the most common option, being credit card payment.
Credit Card Payments
Statistics have it that 90% of all online sales get settled through credit cards. So if the customers want to pay with their credit cards, you must put in place a facility for accepting credit card. It is a fact that for you to do business with consumers in the developed countries, your online business must be able to accept credit cards as a form of payment. To accept Credit Card payments, you will need to obtain either a personal merchant account or use the service of a third party processor.
What is a merchant account?
This is a special account provided by a bank or financial institution that enables an entrepreneur accept customer Credit Cards and other electronic payments via an e-commerce website. Simply put, it is a special kind of bank account. The process of getting a merchant account can be simple or rigorous depending on the kind of business activity the entrepreneur is carrying out online.
Third Party Credit Card Processors
If your business is small and your monthly turnover is less than five thousand, you may not need to bother about getting a personal merchant account. You can actually start collecting payment online by using the service of a third party Credit Card Processor. When the business turnover grows, you can then obtain your own merchant account. Let look at examples of affordable Third Party Credit Card Processors you can use.
PayPal
This is the most famous of them all. PayPal is a simple and affordable payment solution for new online entrepreneurs. It safes you the high cost and stress often associated with getting a merchant account. Also, PayPal offers different solutions to Online Entrepreneurs. We will take a look at three of them.
- PayPal Website Payments Standard: Your customers are afforded the option of payment with Credit Cards or Paypal. The transaction is processed on PayPal secure server.
- PayPal Website Payments Pro: Almost the same with above, but the customer does not leave your website at any time. It is quite similar to having your own merchant account.
- PayPal Email Payments: This is the most common one. You simply open an account with PayPal and request your customers to pay you using your PayPal account details. This is sufficient for small online businesses who receives payments that are less than a thousand dollars per transaction. However, it is advisable and financially wise to upgrade to either of the two options mentioned earlier as soon as possible.
Advantages of using PayPal: PayPal is about the most popular payment options available online today. It is easy to open an account and the processing of transactions is quite fast. Also, a great number of consumers from the developed nations use PayPal.
Disadvantages of using PayPal: PayPal is not available to entrepreneurs residing in some countries, for example Nigerian Entrepreneurs residing in Nigeria are not allowed to open a PayPal account from Nigeria. Beside this, many former users of PayPal claim that your account can get frozen for a number of reasons and you stand to loose whatever amount of money you have in the account. This can be scary for an entrepreneur. Before choosing PayPal it is advisable that you read reviews on websites such as www.PayPalSucks.com
Note: I am neither promoting nor discrediting PayPal. I use it but cautiously. Also note that the account I use was NOT opened from Nigeria (don’t fall prey to scammers who promise to open PayPal for you in Nigeria. A quick trip to PayPal.com will show you that Nigerians are not accepted for now. If you use a dubious way to open as a Nigerian Entrepreneur who is residing in Nigeria, you stand a higher risk of getting your account frozen).
AlertPay
AlertPay is an online payment service similar to PayPal. It provides individuals and businesses the ability to send and receive payments online without exposing their personal or financial information. The service is being provided by a Canadian privately owned and managed company founded in 2004. It is a rapidly growing leader in online payments. AlertPay offers several options:
AlertPay Personal Accounts
- Personal Pro Account: If you want to sell something online and you need to get paid in a hurry the Personal Pro Account is the way to go. It gives you the flexibility to send and receive payments and do business using your name. You can open a free account in less than 5minutes by clicking here.
- Personal Starter Account: If you are skeptical or not sure of where to start, use this option. The Personal Starter account is the ideal account to shop online safely without exposing your financial or personal information. It affords you the opportunity to get cash from your friends and family or send payments online for FREE.
Advantages of opening an AlertPay Personal Account:
1. No cost to send or receive payments
2. Accept numerous payments options.
3. Access to AlertPay Business Tools
4. Free for shoppers
5. Shop online without exposing your financial details.
6. Highly Secure.
AlertPay Business Account
If you own a business and you operate it using a unique business name different from your personal name, then an AlertPay Business account will be a good choice. It is tailored to meet all the needs of your online business. You will have access to numerous online business tools that will help your business grow online.
Advantages of opening an AlertPay Business Account:
• Conduct business under your company name
• Low transaction fees per transaction
• Accept Credit Card payments
• Sub accounts: Manage multiple online businesses with one account
• Website Payments: Buy Now Buttons, Subscriptions and Recurring Payments
• Business Tools: Integrate AlertPay into 3rd party applications
• Mass Pay: Send out payments to groups of people
Naturally, I love AlertPay because they allow online entrepreneurs from all over the world to open an account, Nigerians inclusive.
Note: I maintain an account with AlertPay and participate in their referral program.
There are other third party payment processors like 2Checkout.com, moneybooker.com, ikobo.com etc. But time and space will not permit that I talk about them now. Maybe I will discuss some of them in future post. Wishing you success in your online ventures. See you at the top. Cheers.
Update: Please note that AlertPay was bought over by Payza in March, 2012. Payza offer the same service AlertPay was offering and much more.
Thanks for sending me the update,but I still need an answer concerning the website.
can you please teach me on how i can open a new 2checkout account . i need an free information from you, then if posibble email me on how to also open an payoneer account to, i just want to start an online business and accepting payment is my problem
I wnt 2 knw abt all dis paid to click/read e-mail sites. Are they real? E.g awsurvey,rolex-mails.com
@Mcleo
Thanks for visiting. A pity I don’t know much about paid to click sites. However, I belive someone that do will see your request and respond. Thanks for visiting.
I registered with Alertpay for quite some time now. and when I uploaded my photo id and bank account statement, the account was not verified.
how can you help out.
@Kunle
I think the first point of call is the support service of AlertPay. Folks here on this blog won’t be able to help you with your peculiar situation. I suggest you contact AlertPay support service via email.
They are in a better position to explain why your account remained unverified even after you have submitted the required documents. Cheers.
NaijaEcash.
Boy, you are bam. I stunmbled on your site and I have been on it for the past hour. What you are doing here is what some self- styled gurus pack as ebooks and skin fellow Nigerians. And to see that you are so young, theremay yet be hope for Nigeria. May your tribe increase.
There are questions to ask but will leave that till another day. Today is to praise you and you desrve it,
continue to be nice.
Naijaecash,
Question today.
I have a reliable brother in USA, how may he assist on this payment palava?
Can he get a card for me? Is it possible to opena USA account for me?
@Otunba
If you have a reliable brother like you said, then you may want to try using PAYPAL instead of ALERTPAY. Not that Paypal is better, it is just that it is more popular than ALERTPAY and has wider acceptance among merchants online.
What your brother need to do is open a BUSINESS paypal account, and add an email for you. That will enable you use the paypal account from Nigeria.
However, he should be ready for reactivation of the PayPal account once a while because PayPal will raise eyebrow and want to verify periodically that truly your brother is in US. This is because IP addresses from Nigeria triggers their system and they will surely want to verify that the account is authentic.
For me, it is safe to go this way.
Your brother won’t be able to open a US bank account for you without you being present there. That is the after effect of that horrible 9/11 attack on US. The system is quite tight now.
Wishing you the very best. Cheers.
Dear Naijaecash,
Kudos for ur efforts and openess in some of ur articles. I am a first time visitor to ur blog and i have read ur post on starting out as an internet entrepreneur, starting with a blog..etc
However, isn’t there any write up that provides a down-to-earth or an A B C of internet entrepreneuring that u can recommend ? particularly for a Nigerian based in Nigeria starting out with little or no knowledge about the terrain.
Some of the terms here: Paypal, Alert pay, third party processors appear complicated to a newbie or an aspiring internet entrepreneur like myself. I believe they are more suited to persons already in the business.
Where does the Nigerian banks come in in all these internet payments ? Pls help with something more elementary.
Thank you
Hello Bros,
i have been trying to get into online biz for long my major problem is getting verified by paypal any help?, and do u know any basic book and software on buying old domain?.
thanks in advance.
thanks for the work u doing.please am trying to verify my alertpay account and i have submitted the required docs but i saw an error message that not all docs have been submitted.and its taking longer time.pls assist on what to do.thanks
@Tony
Your best option is to send an email to support at AlertPay. Many have complained about their being slow in processing verification.
Nice article. I have an online store at tokoonline88.com. Sometimes my customers do use bank transfer and I can check with the internet banking facility. But if the buyers are from overseas usually I use paypal.
I Am From Nigeria I Need Master Card That Can Open International Account For By Sign Up Now?
@Samuel
Your question is not quite clear. If what you’re looking for is a MasterCard Debit Card that you can use for online purchase of products or services, then there are several Nigerian banks that offers such. For example, you can get such from Zenith Bank, GTBank, Diamond Bank, First City Monument Bank. I was reliably told that First City Monument Bank even offers their MasterCard to non-customers.
If this is not what you want. Then I suggest you rephrase your request. Thanks for visiting Nigerian Entrepreneur.
from ur reply, to the other above questions, i can see that u are God fearing man like i do. and i will like to be updated with legal online transaction that will not lead me to sin. sir, i have opened alertpay account b/4 but under bank account, Nigeria was not shown. can u tell me what to do?
The online payment solutions industry has experienced intense growth in recent years and has become a highly competitive market. Each payment solution offers something different that sets it apart from the other. PayVision.com is a company that offers Payment Solutions worldwide. They have a set of credit/debit cards that are in cooperation with several major European, American and Asian banks. PayVision’s payment services accept more than 150 currencies and also offer competitive rates to customers.
you are the bomb. thanks for the information. i have sold couple of articles on line but find it difficult to receive my pay. but now with your information i can use alertpay to receive my money. thanks man
Thanks for the compliment. It’s good to know that the article has indeed helped some people who want to know how to receive payment online. You didn’t post your website. What kind of online business do you do?
i love to make money online to my alertpay.com or help send me money to add to fund my alertpay.com
I don’t quite understand your request. Are you looking for an AlertPay fund exchanger or what?
Good day. I want to open an AlertPay Account.. Do I need to open a domiciliary account here first before opening the Alertpay account. Or I can open the Alertpay account first without the Dom acc..
tnx.
You can open an AlertPay without a domiciliary account. A domiciliary account will only be needed when you want to pay-in a foreign check into a Nigerian bank. Cheers.
So how and what would alertpay pay me…
how do i verify a business accout with alertpay.they seem to be asking for a tax clearance or something.i just want a payment alternative to paypal so i can sell online.thanks
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Is there any way people in Nigeria can make payments online with their bank cards (Mastercard/Visa) without having to go through alertpay or any other third party? Can you elaborate on this please. Thanks
Yes it is possible to make payment with MasterCard/Visa cards issued by Nigerian banks. As long as it is denominated in one of the international currency e.g. US dollar. I have one of such cards. It is a MasterCard Debit Card issued to me by a Nigerian Bank. However, it is advisable to contact the online seller or merchant to confirm that they will accept the card. I’ve heard some funny stories of rejected payments by some online merchants. When such happen, you end up having your fund tied up and you may not even get a full refund because of charges that will be deducted for the failed transaction. I hope this helps. Cheers.
nice posts!!! glad to found its. its really works for me …thanks a lot!!
I must confess,i’m love with this article,it has opened my eyes to so many things.i’ve got sm questions dat have been bothering my mind & i’ll be so glad if u can be of help.
1. Smtimes,i love to buy some books &ebooks on the internet bt i’m always face with the challenge of how to pay for the book in dollars & HOW TO RECIEVE IT HERE IN NIGERIA.i’ll be so grateful if u can help me with that.
2. I’ve bought and read book abt how to do online business,i’ve been having problems getting started with one.as a newbie,what will you advice me 2 do,this is really bothering my mind.thanks
I STUMBLED ON YOUR WONDERFUL ARTICLE.PLEASE WHAT DOES A DOMICILIARY ACCOUNT HAVE TO DO WITH ONLINE PURCHASES AND HOW DO I GET PAYMENT FOR VIDEOS SOLD ONLINE.
u r rily doin a gud work here… i must thank u very much for ur help to us all. please i nid to know, i have a brother in d US who can open a paypal account 4 me.. i know u said he can use his US address and my email address to open it , but whose name, phone number and date of birth should be used? mine or his?
He should use his details to open the account and add your email account to the paypal account. Whenever you need to accept payment via email, you simply give your email address to the client. Since the details are his, it is easy for him to verify and re-verify whenever PayPal blocks the account with the excuse that they feel some unauthorized transaction is taking place. If your details are used, it will become difficult along the line for the account to be sustained. I hope this helps. Cheers.
I use PayPal Email Payments. Sending or receiving money is very easy, just by email address. When associated to a credit card, you can transfer money on your card and than go to the bank and take the cash.
cellgsmservice´s last blog post ..Decodare iOS 41 posibila
Pls buddie,i av just opened an alertpay acc. but i cudnt put my Nigerian acc. no. Plz ow do i go abt this? tnx.
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I have an alertpay account and i have been participating in globalcashptr.com referrals. And as a free member you need to earn certain amount before you can claim your money through payout module, and once you do that your alertpay ought to be credited with that amount. However, i got to that amount in november last year2010 and till now my alertpay acount has not still be credited what do i do? how do i request for the money? I would be very grateful if you can assist.
Dave
I will suggest you contact globalcashptr.com support service. They are in the best position to provide you with information on why your Alertpay account has not yet been credited. Cheers.
Quick question pls, If I have a customer in Nigeria with a bank card that has Naira as its currency, is it possible for this customer to pay online using 2checkout or alertpay? I spoke to 2checkout and since naira is not one of their accepted currencies, they said “you can accept foreign currencies, and the customers bank will handle the conversion”. Do you know if this is true? I mean, will Nigerian banks automatically handle the conversion without a penalty for the customer? (2)What if this bank card is in an international currency like you mentioned in one of your response above, will it be possible. For instance, the mastercard/debit card issued to you by the Nigerian bank, couldn’t you have used that for your best buy purchase or any purchase outside Nigeria? One of my friends used the (USD denomination) mastercard outside Nigeria and the card was not accepted at the point of transaction. Do you know if this is the norm or its probably just one time disappointment?
Your question is not clear. However, I’ll make some assumption and try to answer you.
1. Is it possible to buy online with a Naira denominated card? Answer: It depends on the Nigerian bank that issued the card. For example, GTBank Naira denominated cards can be used to make purchases online. Irrespective of the currency the item is denominated in. GTBank will convert the naira to USD or whatever foreign currency. The rate of conversion is totally dependent on GTBank.
2. Can Naira denominated card be used to pay on a website using 2checkout or AlertPay as merchant? Answer: Yes, if the Nigerian bank that issued the card says that it can be used online. For example, if you use GTBank naira denominated card on a website that collects payment via 2checkout or AlertPay, the amount you’re paying will be converted to naira by GTBank and deducted from your account.
3. Do Online Merchant accept MasterCard (debit card) issued by Nigerian banks? Answer: Yes. I’ve been using MasterCard issued by two different Nigerian banks for over a year now. It has made my Payoneer MasterCard redundant. However, it is advisable to always ask the seller if he/she will accept such card first before you use the card, i.e. if that is your first time of buying from such seller. The reason been that getting refund for a rejected payment can be complicated and you will be charged by the Nigerian bank.
Hope these help. Regards.
Thanks a lot. That was what I was asking about.
how can my nigerian father send me money to the usa?
Quick question pls, If I have a customer in Nigeria with a bank card that has Naira as its currency, is it possible for this customer to pay online using 2checkout or alertpay? I spoke to 2checkout and since naira is not one of their accepted currencies, they said “you can accept foreign currencies, and the customers bank will handle the conversion”. Do you know if this is true? I mean, will Nigerian banks automatically handle the conversion without a penalty for the customer? (2)What if this bank card is in an international currency like you mentioned in one of your response above, will it be possible. For instance, the mastercard/debit card issued to you by the Nigerian bank, couldn’t you have used that for your best buy purchase or any purchase outside Nigeria? One of my friends used the (USD denomination) mastercard outside Nigeria and the card was not accepted at the point of transaction. Do you know if this is the norm or its probably just one time disappointment?
Using my past experience as basis for answering your question (i.e. my answer is limited to what I know). The best solution is for your customer to use either a VISA or MASTERCARD debit card issued by a Nigerian bank. Such cards are either denominated in US dollar or have the feature of auto conversion e.g. the GTBank Naira Bank which is actually a MASTERCARD debit card.
The experience of your friend is just a one time disappointment. Online merchants recognize and accept cards issued by Nigerian banks so far such cards are either VISA or MASTERCARD.
Hope this helps. Cheers
i wish to thank you for the free elitement on online method of payment.Please i will appreciate it more if you give me the clue to opening an alertpay acount to enable me receive payment for the online job am doing now.
Simply click on the AlertPay link above. It is free. Cheers.
Tnks 4 ur gud wrk.my question is this,Is there any bank in Nigeria that operate an intl.E-commerce merchant Account?
I don’t know of any. Maybe somebody else have an idea.
please, i want to sell some books online but am having problem with how to link my account number so that people will be paying with either credit cards or debit cards.pls help
Your question is not explicit enough. You need to provide further information. For example if you are in Nigeria and you wish to sell the books online, you can’t use your bank account to make sales and accept credit cards. You will need to get a merchant account in order to receive payment from buyers. The most popular and cheap merchant account for online entrepreneurs and small business owners is PayPal. However, the company does not open account for Nigerians. The alternative to Paypal is AlertPay.
Registering for AlertPay is free. Simply click the link ALERTPAY. Cheers.
Ol boy, u the bomb, keep up the good work
first i will like 2 say thanks for the 1daful enlightenment.but this is what i want to know how do i get my alertpay account number after opening it also how can i put in money and withdraw into my nigeria savings account(*ie can i opera8 it wit a savings account if what i want to do involves dollar) why? cos i opened and when i checked the list of countries to put in a bank account number nigeria was not there.well i can do with a more personnal and confidential help if u can help notify me with an e mail. thanks
I am a newbie in online business. i kindly request your assistance in answering some questions like this one:
i) i registered for an online job (precisely Google job of posting add) i was asked to pay some amount of money, please how do i know if it is real.
ii) among their payment option is visa, MasterCard e.t.c. but i don’t know how to go about it. please put me through.
iii) do i need to open a bank account as part of the requirements?
Ayo, it is difficult to tell if the online job you got is REAL or a SCAM because you did not give the website address. However, I’m suspicious of the genuiness of the job opportunity because they should be talking about how to pay you for the service you will render, not asking you to pay money before giving you the opportunity.
You can get a MasterCard Debit Card which you can use for making payment online from Nigerian banks such as GTBank, Zenith, FCMB etc. You will need to open a naira savings or current account before you will be issued such card. I hope this little information helps. Cheers.
Please can you send me genuine websites that offer genuine job opportunity
Sir,
Am new to on-line business. And am in to trade and render services, like in the area of Admin/Clerical duties. I have gone ahead to do all the necessary registrations on-line by having my VTN, Graphcard and paypal aaccounts.
Now my problem is how to direct my payments from Paypal to my account here in Nigeria since I don’t have any US bank account with a Routing number as needed.
Therefore, can Payalert effect this payment for me by accepting and transferring sanme into my account?
I shall be very grateful if this could be possible, before I commence transaction. Thanks.
AlertPay and PayPal are not the same company. As such payments made into PayPal cannot be retrieved into AlertPay. Since your concern is on how to retrieve your fund from PayPal I suggest you register for a 2CheckOut account. 2CO offers MasterCard Debit Card to all their account holders. Also, they can collect payment from PayPal and same will be deposited into your MasterCard Debit Card. That way, you can use the fund in your account for whatever you wish. Alternatively, you will need to transfer funds into a trustworthy relative or friend account who will later transfer same to your Nigerian Bank Account (it is not the best option because anything can happen in between). Hope this helps. Someone else may have a better suggestion for you. Cheers.
Sir,
Am new to on-line business, and am into one business online now, and they are asking me for paypal, MasterCard debit card before they can pay me, but this is the first time for me to hear about this Alertpay, my question is that should opening this Alertpay or paypal, or i should go for mastercard debit card direct and if i want to go for that Mastercard debit card, where should i go, am i go to collect it from Bank or i will filled form Online pls put me through am eager to hear from you
hello… you really did a great job with this article….. am new to online payments, i just opened an alertpay account, and am about to verify, i have completed the phone validation verification the next verification which is the Bank Transfer or Bank Wire (SWIFT) Deposit (A) and credit card validation (B)… which of them am i too to complete next.. pls i need your help
hello… you really did a great job with this article….. am new to online payments, i just opened an alertpay account, and am about to verify, i have completed the phone validation verification the next verification which is the Bank Transfer or Bank Wire (SWIFT) Deposit (A) and credit card validation (B)… which of them am i too to complete next.. pls i need your help
Great job NaijaEcash, you have just solved a major headache for me. From your post, AlertPay will be the way to go for me. What do you have to say for Interswitch transactions?
My online transaction request is for online payment on a business site i want to launch. Payment from individual users from foreign countries wont be more than $100/month and in Nigeria 15,000/month.
Thanks
You can use AlertPay. A lot of Nigerians are begining to take interest in AlertPay. Cheers.
PLEASE SIR GOD WILL HELP YOU THE ONLY PROBLEM I HAVE IS THAT, I DON’T HAVE CREDIT CARD MY QUESTION IS (HOW CAN I GET CREDIT CARD? ,IT IS DIFFERENT BETWEEN USA CREDIT CARD AND NIGERIA CREDIT CARD? WHICH WEBSITE SELLING IT?
THANK YOU SIR.
Thanks for the generous compliment. From the look of things, Interswitch will be a good option for your Nigerian customers there is no harm in combining it with AlterPay. Wishing you all the best. Cheers.
i have master card,funded by my mum,but i want to recieve the money in cash in Nigeria.
send me to my email: godspyosumah@yahoo.com
Thanks for your good advice.
I have captured the interest of opening an account with AlertPay. Now I want to ask, How do I link my AlertPay account to my local bank account in Zenith bank.
Thanks for you patronage
cashcrate.com/3596140 follow this link and ull love it, an online paying site that doesnt require paypal, they send u cheques and tell u wen a job requires credit card. make money taking 2 surveya a day and refering people.
As regards having a paypal account in Nigeria, i am aware that the regulation set forth by the Office of Foreign Assets Control ( OFAC ) an office of the US Treasury, forbid & prohibits all countries worldwide from allowing Nigeria to use a paypal account to recieve money online but you just talked about AlertPay to recieve money offshore from Nigeria which is not true. I recently registered with AlertPay and i have a Personal Starter Account but AlertPay presently told me they don’t accept local banking account from Nigeria to recieve money online from offshore ( abroad ) and it also don’t accept Credit Card / Master Card verification for now in any online payment from Nigeria. Please! Confirm this information and you will see what i am saying as truth and this is the present reality on ground as regards to AlertPay. I tried using AlertPay to recieve money online but their customer service told me it is not possible for now to allow local bank account from Nigeria and that of Master Card verification, but said it will only be possible to deposit money into AlertPay but cannot withdraw money via AlertPay to Nigeria. Do anyone knows the solution to solving this problem via AlertPay ?
Patrick, I don’t quite understand what you are trying to do. But from what you have written I will attempt to share the little I know with you.
1. You can use AlertPay to receive money from others online. If you have a personal starter account, people can pay you using your email address. To receive payment from others via their credit card, you need to get an alert pay business account.
2. When you register a free account with AlertPay, you will be asked to verify your account. The purpose is to lend credibility to the account so that people conducting business with you will know that you are indeed a human-being that can be traced. You can verify using your international passport or driver’s licence. Also, you will be required to make a small payment into your account. I did that using a MasterCard Debit card that was issued to me by First City Monument Bank Plc, Nigeria. If AlertPay no longer accept Nigerian Banks issued MasterCard Debit Card, I’m not aware.
3. Withdrawing fund into your local bank account can be done using several method (each having different cost).
(a) You can sell the fund in your AlertPay account to an exchanger who will pay you the equivalent in Naira.
(b) You can request AlertPay to issue you a Dollar or Euro Cheque which you can pay into a US domiciliary account here in Nigeria (it will take about 21days, for the cheque to get cleared).
If the above doesn’t answer your question, then I suggest you rephrase your questions. Ask one question at a time and keep your statements short and simple. That way, it will be easy for anyone with information to advice.
Thanks for visiting and commenting on Nigerian Entrepreneur.
Hello! Tony, believe it or not! Good day! What i said about AlertPay is a confirmation of the response i got from AlertPay while trying to verify my bank account and Master Card inorder to possibly use it to withdraw funds. This verification failed and on contacting AlertPay customer service, to find out the reasons 4 this failed transactions, this is the email reply i recieve from AlertPay as follows: On 3/15/12, AlertPay Customer Support wrote:
> Hello Mr. Patrick,
>
> Thank you for contacting AlertPay. My name is Vineet and I am happy to
> assist you.
>
> Our members in Nigeria can deposit money into their AlertPay accounts by
> money order, certified check or bank wire. For reasons beyond our control,
> localized bank transfers are not supported at this time.
>
> Please also note that currently, it is not possible for our Nigerian members
> to withdraw funds out of their AlertPay account. While you can still deposit
> money into your account as well as make payments directly with your
> validated credit card or AlertPay balance, it is temporarily not possible to
> withdraw funds.
>
> We are working on offering more deposit and withdrawal methods for our loyal
> members in Nigeria.
>
> Unfortunately we are currently unable to process credit card transactions
> and this includes transactions for credit card verification purposes. We are
> working diligently to resolve this issue and hope to resume normal credit
> card processing services soon.
>
> In the meantime, you can verify your account by completing Option A: bank
> transfer/wire deposit.
>
> This verification method allows you to deposit money into your AlertPay
> account by bank transfer or bank wire. All you have to do is follow these
> steps to get started:
>
> 1. Login to your AlertPay account.
> 2. Click on “Profile”.
> 3. Under “Personal”, click on “Verification”.
> 4. Select bank transfer or bank wire from the list of options.
> 5. Follow the instructions to add your bank for verification purposes.
>
> Please note that once you add your bank account, you can use it for
> subsequent deposits without having to add the information again. Bank
> transfers are completed in 4-6 business days and bank wires in 2-4 business
> days. Furthermore, you must deposit a minimum of $50.00 USD (or equivalent)
> for verification, but cannot exceed the cumulative limit of $999.99 USD.
>
> Thank you for choosing AlertPay. If you have any additional questions, feel
> free to check out our helpful Frequently Asked Questions at
> https://. helpdesk.alertpay.com
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Vineet
> Customer Support Advisor
> AlertPay Customer Support
>
> Ticket Details
> ===================
> Ticket ID: OUI-741732
> Department: Banking Support
> Status: Closed
>
Hello! Tony, from my recent post about AlertPay, have you carried out your latest research to confirm my statement as regards to AlertPay and withdrawal of funds in Nigeria via AlertPay ? Have you cross checked and confirmed what i said about AlertPay not being able to allow people to withdraw money in Nigeria online from abroad via AlertPay 4 now till further notice ?
I don’t need to verify what you wrote because I belief the correspondence with AlertPay support desk that you included in your comment is genuine. I want to belief that whatever gave rise to the present situation will be resolved by AlertPay. Meanwhile, you can still get your fund out of AlertPay by either: Making purchases with the fund in your account or getting an AlertPay exchanger to give you Naira equivalent (though they tend to be expensive). If I get other information, I won’t hesitate to post it. Cheers.
hi, is there any Nigerian banks that accepts payment via paypal? i have a client that needs to make an urgent payment via paypal and i do not have a paypal account. what do i do?