The core of iBill, http://www.ibill.com - more formally known as the Internet Billing Company - is in the wide range of plans offered. These plans range from an authorization service for companies with existing e-commerce sites to a catalog-sales plan for companies that have no back-end billing or shopping-cart mechanisms in place.
Merchant Solutions
The Catalog Sales TP plan is ideally meant for merchants who have no back-end transaction processing: iBill provides a shopping cart and check-out mechanism. The process is simple: when the customer is ready to check out after reviewing their charges (including shipping and applicable taxes), they enter their address and credit-card information. After the charge has been authenticated by iBill, three forms of verification are sent out: the user receives a verification screen on their Web browser and an e-mail confirmation, while the vendor receives an e-mail purchase order, which includes the customer''s shipping address, the items purchased, and the total charges. With this service, a vendor must already have a merchant account with a financial institution that supports iBill. In addition, vendors can connect to a very detailed set of Command Management Interfaces that provide accounting, customer-service, and setup information, running the gamut from prices in catalog listings to specifics about transactions. The fee for this service is $1 per transaction, with a one-time fee of $149 and a minimum monthly fee of $50.
The Basic TP service is designed for Web merchants who already have a sizable Web presence - a merchant account, a secure Web server, secure transaction services - and want a back-end tool for the actual billing process. The only change you''ll need to make to your Web site is adding a link to your back-end software to post credit-card information to the iBill server via a secure (HTTPS) connection. You''re paid directly, with iBill later deducting its commission from an ACH withdrawal. In addition, vendors can connect to a very detailed set of Command Management Interfaces that provide accounting, customer-service, and setup information, running the gamut from prices in catalog listings to specifics about transactions. The fee is 25 cents per transaction, with a one-time setup fee of $149 and a minimum monthly maintenance fee of $50.
The Reseller Subscription service is geared toward businesses in the service and recurring-billing realms. (It''s also the service for companies lacking merchant accounts.) In this service, iBill is actually the billing agent on behalf of your company, managing credit-card authorizations and end-user billing inquiries. As in the Basic TP service, vendors can connect to a set of Command Management Interfaces. The fee for this service is based on a sliding scale as a percentage of your billables: 15 percent for billables between $0 and $9,999; 14 percent for billables between $10,000 and $24,999; 13 percent for billables between $25,000 and $49,999; 12 percent for billables between $50,000 and $99,999; and a negotiable rate for billables at $100,000 and up.
The Subscription Sales TP service sets up iBill to handle back-end transactions for the purchase of content or services on a one-time or recurring basis, where a user is sent directly to an iBill secure Web page via HTTPS, where they input their credit-card information. The information is then checked via risk-management scoring algorithms (but not authorize a specific transaction) to assess the risk factor of the transaction. If the card is approved, the customer is cleared to return to your site and complete a transaction. Future transactions can also be approvedby issuing the user a username and a password. There are four ways to set up these username/password combos: manual hardcoding, PIN coding, listed usernames/passwords, and iBill access control. Merchants are paid directly, with iBill later deducting its commission from an ACH withdrawal. Similarly to the other services, vendors can connect to a set of Command Management Interfaces that provide accounting, customer-service, and setup information. These services also run the gamut from prices in catalog listings to specifics about transactions. The fee is $1.00 per transaction, with a one-time setup fee of $149 and a minimum monthly maintenance fee of $50. In addition, there are two billing options that are unrelated to credit cards. The Web900 program charges customers via their phone bill, with the charge appearing as a 900-number charge, without the use of a credit card. The fees for this service are considerably higher than for credit-card charges, ranging between 20 percent and 35 percent of the transaction, depending on the charge for the call. You can also choose to accept online checks, where a user passes along their account information and iBill electronically transfers the funds from the account. Again, no credit card is needed, and iBill charges a flat 15 percent fee, with no monthly minimum. You can sign up for any of these services online.
iBill''s Web site also contains a host of useful information about establishing an e-commerce site, along with some of the necessary tools. Be warned that it''s important to know what iBill can do and what it''s not going to do. At its core, iBill offers a set of plans for pure transaction processing, with or without a merchant account on your end. The CMI interface is excellent at tracking transactions, but iBill does not offer the advanced tools needed to interact with, say, a back-end accounting or inventory system.
All in all, iBill is a strong choice for e-commerce sites wishing to add billing services to their e-commerce sites.
Pros: Excellent Web-based administration tools; manages real-time credit-card processing; wide array of plans to meet most needs; rate structure is very reasonable.
Cons: Not an all-in-one solution; no way to link transaction services with back-end databases or accounting tools.
