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For those of you who signed up before Oct. 7th, you know that I have been trying to get a merchant account so I could integrate TWRPS' own payment processor. If you signed up after Oct. 7th and were not aware of that, this is the reason we have delayed the launch until Nov. 7th.
Here's where we stand. As you know, TWRPS is a brand new business. In fact, we are not even in business yet and therefore have not been given the opportunity to establish our credibility to the world. What you may not be aware of is that in the world of payment processors and merchant accounts, multi-level marketing companies are viewed as being "higher risk" companies. This is mostly due to the fact that so many people in the multi-level marketing industry have horrifically abused it to use people for their money, thereby tarnishing the reputation of the industry for other reputable companies within it. Despite the fact that it is my goal to clean up the MLM industry by creating a truly honest and ethical business that places the interests of the members above everything else (even above my own interests) and actually gives its members the wonderful opportunity it is stating, the credit card processors and banks issuing merchant accounts are forced to make their decisions based on that which they have repeatedly seen in this industry rather than by what I say. Looking at it from their point of view, while it is very frustrating, I completely understand.
When the fact that TWRPS is technically in the "higher risk" MLM industry is combined with the fact that TWRPS is a brand new business that has not yet been given the opportunity to establish a clear track record of complete credibility, the banks and merchant accounts were only willing to grant me so much. I have been approved for a merchant account with a limit of $60,000 per month (which is actually very good for an unknown businessman with a company that has not yet been given the chance to establish its credibility). However, that would only allow TWRPS to have 2000 members, and since we currently have almost 30,000 members, if more than only 6% of our current member base upgraded their accounts (and it will obviously be FAR more than 6%), TWRPS would go over its merchant account's $60,000 monthly limit. When a company exceeds its merchant account's monthly limit, the following can happen.
1. The company is charged very high penalty fees. (With only a $0.95 profit margin from each transaction, TWRPS can not afford to be hit with excessive penalty fees.)
2. The merchant account could be instantly terminated, abruptly leaving the company without a payment processor.
3. The company's funds could be frozen and held for up to 6 months. (TWRPS could EASILY wind up processing more than $300,000 a month. There is no way I can take the risk of anyone freezing such a large amount of money, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT'S YOUR MONEY.)
Because of this, I have decided it would be an extremely unwise move to accept funds through TWRPS' own credit card processor and merchant account at this time, as it would absolutely result in at least one of the three outcomes listed above, and in all likelihood, it would result in all three due to the fact that TWRPS would be drastically exceeding its monthly limit.
So where does this leave us? Well, first and foremost, it leaves us with AlertPay. TWRPS is a brand new business that has not yet been given the opportunity to prove its credibility, and the fact is that AlertPay will allow TWRPS to accept funds without any monthly limit. While AlertPay does allow some MLM businesses to use them as a payment processor (TWRPS has already been approved), like other payment processors and banks that issue merchant accounts, they do consider MLM companies to be "higher risk." Therefore, the transaction fee per $29.95 payment to TWRPS will be $2.55, making the total monthly TWRPS membership fee $32.50 ($29.95 TWRPS membership fee + $2.55 AlertPay transaction fee = $32.50 total.)
Fortunately, I was able to work with AlertPay to eliminate the currency conversion transaction fee for those paying via foreign (non-USD) currency, which would have placed an extra $0.75 on the transaction fee.
Despite my sincerest intentions and hard efforts (and trust me when I say I have bent over backwards and worked myself to exhaustion trying to find the best solution possible to our payment processor issue), it appears that I am going to have to prove myself and TWRPS' complete credibility to the world of finance before I am able to work with a bank that will grant me a merchant account with a monthly limit of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
I'm sure you all can understand that as with any new business, we are in a building process and must go through all the usual step by step processes that all new businesses must go through. I wish that the payment processors and banks could simply look within me and see that they will never find a more trustworthy person, but that of course is impossible, and they must do what they feel is best for themselves. Perhaps after a year of being in business with a perfect track record (and trust me, it will be 100% perfect), TWRPS' credibility will be more firmly established and I will be able to make a better deal with a bank, but for now, I must prove myself and my company to the world.
Now, I realize that for many of you in other countries, AlertPay is not the easiest payment processor to work with. Because of this, we are also integrating Solid Trust Pay (www.solidtrustpay.com). While Solid Trust Pay absolutely does work with MLM businesses, their transaction fees are higher than AlertPay, being a $3.85 transaction fee per $29.95 payment. I have been informed by the owner of Solid Trust Pay that after proving my company's credibility over time, I can reduce that transaction fee to $3.20 per $29.95 payment, but nevertheless, Solid Trust Pay's transaction fees will always be higher than AlertPay, so if you are able to work with AlertPay, I would obviously advise you to do so.
Whichever processor better suits your needs, I advise you to create an account with them as soon as possible. For AlertPay, simply go to www.alertpay.com and create a Personal Pro Account (do not create a business account). If you feel that for whatever reasons you may not be able to make a credit card payment via AlertPay (if you live in a country that makes it difficult to do so, or if you simply do not have a credit card), I advise you to fund your account the $32.50 through a bank transfer (you must link your bank account to your AlertPay account to do this). Do not do a bank wire, as that will cost you at least $20. Do a bank transfer instead. If a bank transfer is not an option, you can always fund your account via a money order as well. If you do not already have an AlertPay account and would like to create one, I suggest you do so as soon as possible, as AlertPay's account verification process can take up to two weeks. Please contact AlertPay's customer support for any assistance you need with funding or verifying your account, as they will be able to help you far better than TWRPS' support considering they obviously know their own company better than we do.
For Solid Trust Pay, simply go to www.solidtrustpay.com and create a Personal Account (do not create a business account). I have been informed by the owner of Solid Trust Pay that their account verification process only takes around 48-72 hours, but nevertheless, I suggest you create your account with them as soon as possible if you choose to use them to make your payment to TWRPS. As with AlertPay, if you feel for some reason you will not be able to use a credit card to make your payment, please begin the process of funding your Solid Trust Pay account with the $33.80 needed to make a payment to TWRPS through them. If you need any assistance with verifying or funding your Solid Trust Pay account, please contact their customer service, as they will be able to assist you with issues concerning their company far better than TWRPS will be able to.
I apologize for the high transaction fees involved with these companies, but there is literally nothing I can do about it. However, to be perfectly honest, even if I were able to get a merchant account that allowed me to have a monthly limit of hundreds of thousands of dollars, the transaction fee still would have been at least $1.50 (and potentially higher) for a $29.95 payment in the MLM industry, so while that may be lower than AlertPay and Solid Trust Pay, it is only slightly lower. Furthermore, due to the fact that I have made my profit margin so low (only $0.95 from every $29.95 payment) in an effort to pay you all as much as possible, I MUST add these transaction fees to the monthly membership fee, as my minimal profit margin would obviously be completely erased by these transaction fees if I didn't, and even worse, they would put me in severe debt with each transaction, so I therefore MUST add the transaction fees to the monthly TWRPS membership fee.
Many of you have asked about using PayPal. PayPal will not allow MLM companies to accept funds through their service. It is clearly written in their Terms of Service. However, I contacted PayPal repeatedly to inquire if MLM companies could pay their members commissions through PayPal. The result was four PayPal employees stating that it IS allowable, one PayPal employee stating that he didn't want to give me a "yes" or "no" answer, and PayPal's Acceptable Use Department stating that it is NOT allowable. Obviously, this does not build my faith in using PayPal at all, so I have decided to listen to the many warnings of my colleagues in this industry and stay away from PayPal completely, as I clearly don't want PayPal freezing potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars with their apparent fickle attitude toward this issue.
If any of you wish to use PayPal to pay for your TWRPS account, there is a way to do this. You can apply for a PayPal debit card and use it to pay your TWRPS membership fee through AlertPay or Solid Trust Pay. The funds would then be deducted from your PayPal account. I hope this helps those of you who wish to use PayPal.
I have contacted numerous other payment processors as well that many of you have suggested, such as Neteller and Payoneer, only to receive absolutely zero communication from their support departments in return, which obviously is not a good sign. While I certainly wish that AlertPay and Solid Trust Pay had lower transaction fees, I must say that they always promptly get back to me whenever I contact them.
With the combination of using AlertPay and Solid Trust Pay to both receive payments and pay commissions, TWRPS should have the ability to provide its global member base with a reliable way to both make payments to TWRPS and receive commissions from TWRPS.
I hope you all understand that this is an inevitable part of starting a new business. We are going to have to prove ourselves before we are able to have the same perks and benefits of well established companies that have been in business for years with clear track records. Please keep in mind that those well established companies started out just like TWRPS and had to prove themselves to the world at one point too. You have to crawl before you walk, walk before you run, and run before you fly.
Until I am able to integrate a payment processor that will slightly lower the transaction fees, I hope you will all look at the VERY bright side of this by realizing that not only do we now have two payment processors that are completely willing to work with our MLM company, but also, that by reading this, you are truly in on the very foundation of a business that EASILY has the potential to become one of the most successful businesses in the MLM, affiliate marketing, and home-based/online business industries. You all seriously could not be in a better place at a better time.
Thanks everyone,
James Al-Oboudi
