Many customers ask if Paywise offers credit card services. Unfortunately, we do not. However, we suggest that customers consider using Stripe and Payoneer to accept credit card payments. We thank Wesley Gervais of Hivesource for sharing with us how he was able to accept credit card payments online at minimal cost. You can read his article on the Hivesource blog. In our article, we cover the salient points.
Local banks offer online credit card payment gateways. Namely, Scotiabank, First Citizen Bank, Republic Bank and First Caribbean International Bank. However, they do not target the small- to mid-sized businesses. Knowing this, entrepreneurs turn to the popular payment services such as PayPal. However, PayPal does not work for businesses in Trinidad and Tobago. You could open an individual account but this account type is not suited for business.
Stripe and Payoneer, two international services, provide an easy and affordable means to accept credit card payments online. Stripe allows both private individuals and businesses to accept payments over the Internet. Payoneer provides online money transfer and e-commerce payment services. To setup your account:
- Open an account in Stripe. Stripe will ask for a US bank account.
- Open an account in Payoneer. Payoneer will provide a US bank account that is linked to a debit card. The debit card will be mailed to you. Your application will be processed within two days. Once the application is processed the US bank account number is issued.
- On the Payoneer dashboard click on the Global Payment Service option for the bank information.
- Add the Payoneer US bank account to your Stripe account
- Viola! You can now accept credit card payments
Integrate Stripe into your website and you are ready to receive payments. Payments received are processed by Stripe and then credited to your Payoneer bank account after 2 working days. Transfer the funds to a Trinidad and Tobago bank account or use the Payoneer card to meet your business expenses.
Caveat…while this approach works now, it is possible that Stripe and/or Payoneer may change their policies and the option may no longer be available.
