Why Aren’t PayPal and Google Checkout Regulated To Provide Access?
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PayPal and Google Checkout are promoted to businesses, both online and offline as financial products, at minimum as a payment service, payment pass-through service or even a virtual credit card gateway to accept payment for products or services yet PayPal and Google Checkout are able to deny access on a whim without notice of any kind.
It usually goes something like this: One day, out of the blue you find that an anticipated deposit transfer, transferring funds out of one of these services into your own account at your bank doesn’t come through. You wait, thinking there must be a small delay.
After a few days of no deposit you login to your Google Checkout or PayPal account to find it locked, you quickly contact customer service only to wait a day or two for a response telling you that they thank you for your inquiry but regret to inform you that your account has been closed.
No reason or at least nothing PayPal or Google Checkout, according to their terms of service can disseminate without violating privacy. Exactly whos’ privacy are they protecting, and aren’t PayPal and Google Checkout at a minimum obligated to provide access to a formal dispute process with clearly disclosed steps a merchant can take to cure any supposed violation?
Russ Bishop of Blue Bayou, a local web hosting developer stressed that “As a merchant you should never rely on one web payment service or gateway for your customers. At some point in the future, you may find your business unable to accept or process credit cards if your only gateway decides to terminate its relationship without advance notice”.
If the above scenario were to happen during your busiest time of the year this could significantly impact your bottom line if not bankrupt your business entirely. Don’t think it can’t happen to you and your business, there are hundreds of stories of that and worse from affected merchants.
At a minimum you should contact your merchant processor once each year to go over your upcoming year’s transaction estimates. If you’re opening additional store locations or anticipate above average increases in your transaction volume you may inadvertently trigger your account being frozen without knowing it until the damage is done.
