In November, Planet of the Vapes warned [link] business owners of the many companies which reported experiencing issues with their PayPal accounts. Companies were having their accounts frozen with no reason given and the balances locked for up to 180 days.
Many companies fell to PayPal’s change of policy over the last two months, with even more looking to jump before it happened.
IBVTA took to warning its members:
- If the PayPal account is active, consider withdrawing the funds to the bank account, to minimise any potential future impact on the business
- If PayPal have frozen the funds, make sure to follow their instructions to provide requested information
- If PayPal have frozen the account and they have been contacted to appeal for the release of their funds, keep a record of communication
- If the business has contacted PayPal to appeal for the release of their funds and they have not responded after 8 weeks, report this to the Financial Service Ombudsman for Small Businesses
- Look into alternative transaction gateway providers, making sure to carefully read all terms and conditions, and consider if the payment gateway is compatible with the e-commerce platform used
IBVTA has now taken further steps to assist its membership by forging a new partnership with a payment services provider.
“As a result of issues that vaping e-commerce businesses were having with PayPal, the IBVTA supported the sector by issuing advice to businesses and establishing partnerships with alternative providers,” IBVTA says.
“We are pleased to announce that we have now secured a further partnership with WorldNet Payments. WorldNet are a key online payment provider working with vape companies throughout Ireland and the UK, who offer competitive rates, fast set up and excellent customer service from day one.
“For point of sale, WorldNet provide a wide range of pre-certified devices, compatible with multiple processors for all your POS needs, with security, reporting and all the features you should expect.
“For online payments, WorldNet’s fully customizable payment page allows businesses to build a comfortable payments environment for your customers and creates a seamless payment journey through your website.”
IBVTA says WorldNet offers the following benefits:
- 3D Secure
- Advanced fraud screening tools
- Extensive back-end reporting facility
- Virtual Terminal for over the phone payments
- Support for a wide range of shopping carts
- Online Knowledge Base to ensure a quick and easy integration process
Robbie Hughes, Business Development Manager of WorldNet said: “Over the past 12 months we have seen a dramatic change in online processing for vape companies which unfortunately with some providers has resulted in abandoned shopping carts, or accounts being frozen or closed without any notice. Worldnet have partnered with the IBVTA as we firmly believe with their support and guidance, you are investing in an association which truly cares about your vaping business, particularly through these dark times.”
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Image by Mediamodifier from Pixabay
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
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