PayPal Alternative PayStand Launches — No Transaction Fees

A new online payment system promises its users no transaction fees.

Instead, a monthly fee from PayStand will allow your small business to accept credit cards, e-cash, e-checks, foreign currencies, and even Bitcoins. And you won’t lose a penny off your sale price. PayStand CEO Jeremy Almond spoke about PayStand in an interview with Small Business Trends recently. He says his company’s platform is one way for merchants to begin testing new currencies and expanding their customer base.

After being tested in beta, PayStand is now open to all. If your business sees profits consumed by per-transaction fees charged by other services like PayPal, Stripe, or Square, PayStand could compete with those well-known brands. The difference could be in the thousands saved in transaction fees by year’s end.

For example, if your business conducts $300,000 in credit card sales a year and is charged 3 percent in fees, that’s $10,000 a year directly to the payment platform. A $50 per month plan with PayStand would cost your business $600 a year instead. Almond says businesses considering a flat monthly fee over a per-transaction fee would need to be making at least $12,000 in annual credit card sales to see savings.

PayStand offers four different pricing tiers, based on your sales volume and other options, the company’s official website explains. Plans start at $24 per month but range up to $299 a month. The premium pricing tiers have more options available. They include live technical support, more customizable platform design, and more product listings and variations.

This may not be the right service for some business, though. If you’re a hobby business or a micro-business, Almond says PayStand’s monthly fee may eat away at more of your profits. But businesses that deal in big-ticket items, like a technical support specialist or other professional service, would likely see a benefit from a monthly fee. Non-profit groups that accept online donations and artists selling digital products could also benefit.

Almond says the key consideration is the amount of sales you make, explaining:

“Anything dealing in volume, this is the way to go.”

Here is how PayStand works and what your customers would experience in a transaction:

You enter your inventory on the PayStand dashboard.  Embed codes let you share the products you’ve entered into inventory on your website or in an email. There are also links that allow you to share the inventory you’ve entered on PayStand on your social media feeds. There’s even a free Facebook app that syncs with your business’ Facebook page. The code adds a button with each product which allows customers to place an order.

Customers on your site, social media pages or reading your email will not be taken to another site to complete the transaction. Instead, a pop-up window featuring your company logo appears to allow the transaction to be completed.

Almond compares this to the experience merchants may have had with other online payment systems, saying:

“The general PayPal experience is obtrusive. They’re your customers and coming to your site. Why does the payment company interject themselves in your transaction?”

All PayStand’s payment templates are optimized for PCs, tablets, and smartphones so your customers can access and pay for your products from any device. The company also offers all users a free online storefront if you wish to use that to generate sales.

Sales are linked to the bank account you provide through your PayStand account. Users have options to have earnings deposited daily or weekly. And unlike PayPal and others, there are no freezes or holds on the money your customers pay you.

Images: PayStand

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