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Grex > Coop11 > #179: Grex donations via buisiness account with paypal? | |
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don
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Grex donations via buisiness account with paypal?
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Jun 11 16:08 UTC 2000 |
Paypal now allows buisiness accounts. They work the same way as the personal
accounts do with the minor exceptions of a 1.9% fee on receiving money (11
cents for a one-month membership donation, much cheaper than via credit card)
and an automatic sweep of the balance into grex's checking account (.6% fee,
or 3 and a half cents per membership donation; manual ACH transfers are still
free with them, and should be free with the bank) daily. Paypal has three
advantages:
* Very convenient for the donor
* Cheap for grex
* $5 bonus in grex's account each time someone opens a paypal account to send
money to grex
Discuss.
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| 11 responses total. |
aruba
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response 1 of 11:
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Jun 11 22:17 UTC 2000 |
I think the treasurer's job is complicated enough already. I'd have to be
convinced that this would bring in a lot of money before I'd think it was
worth whatever beaurocracy it entails.
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other
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response 2 of 11:
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Jun 11 22:24 UTC 2000 |
I think this may be a case of the best option not being available at the time
the decision was made. I think it is worth looking further into, just so we
can develop a basis for judging whether switching to or adding this service
is justifiable. If it can't be done right away because it's not top priority,
I have no issues with that.
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don
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response 3 of 11:
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Jun 11 22:30 UTC 2000 |
It's definately less beaurocratically intensive than credit cards :)
Here's the beaurocracy needed: Every month or so, the treasurer logs in and
requests that a check be cut. This check arrives. To find out who donated,
the treasurer logs in and looks at the tranaction history which itemizes who
sent in what. He takes this information down just like he would for the credit
cards.
If clicking on a few buttons to get a check is too tough, paypal can
automatically deposit the balance into a bank account daily. If finding out
who donated is too tough, I can maintain the account and send the treasurer
a list of the people via email.
The reason this could bring in money is that it's more convinient. The donor
just has to click a few buttons and it's done.
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don
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response 4 of 11:
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Jun 11 22:32 UTC 2000 |
other slipped in. I'll agree that it's not top priority, but this should go
in the same pile as the credit card issue (already resolved) for our long-term
goals of increasing membership. This was discussed a bit in one of the credit
card items, but the main objection was that paypal didn't have anything for
buisinesses at the time.
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other
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response 5 of 11:
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Jun 12 03:03 UTC 2000 |
I knew it was on the list and that the business limitation was why it was
not considered further when i made my last comment.
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don
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response 6 of 11:
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Jun 12 16:57 UTC 2000 |
Exactly, and now there's no more buisiness limitations. It doesn't cost
anything (besides the 1.9% commission) to use paypal, so the only drawback
is that it would put an extra 15 or so minutes of work on the treasurer. Not
much of a drawback.
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aruba
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response 7 of 11:
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Jun 12 21:12 UTC 2000 |
What does it say on the credit card bill of someone who donates to Grex via
PayPal?
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don
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response 8 of 11:
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Jun 12 23:44 UTC 2000 |
That's a good question. I *think* it says PayPal.
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janc
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response 9 of 11:
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Jun 13 03:22 UTC 2000 |
Couple notes on Paypal:
- To pay through paypal, people must first sign up with Paypal. They
must either deposit money in a paypal account by mailing a check or
doing a EFT from their bank, or they must give Paypal a credit card
number. (This means all paypal users either have credit cards or
are willing to deal with clumsy ways of transfering money.)
- Unlike Credit card payments, paypal payments are non-reversable and
non-refundable. (An advantage for us, the payee, but not for
payers.)
- To use paypal you must be a resident of the United States and at
least 18 years old. (The biggest gain we got off credit cards was
probably international users.)
So if we did Paypal *instead* of Credit Cards, we'd lose all the
international users, and gain nobody since anyone who can pay through
paypal can already find other ways to pay us. We'd be somewhat better
protected against fraud.
If we do Paypal in addition to Credit Cards, then it costs us extra
money. Remember that at the level we are doing business at, the Credit
Card fees are essentially flat monthly fees. We don't save any Credit
Card fees if a user opts to pay by Paypal instead of Credit Cards. But
we do incur some fees to Paypal.
Not to disparage Paypal - it's great for things like E-Bay payments
between people who aren't set up to take credit cards. But I think
Credit Cards are a better option for Grex.
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aruba
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response 10 of 11:
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Jun 13 03:39 UTC 2000 |
Thanks for that explanation, Jan.
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hhsrat
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response 11 of 11:
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Jun 13 23:42 UTC 2000 |
(the under 18 may be a small percentage of members gained through credit
card, but we do exist)
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