ePayments: The Electronic Payments Association

The Electronic Payments Association makes things more cost effective for international money transfers for businesses and individuals. There are membership fees, but there is no limit of the number of transactions and money can easily be loaded on to a prepaid credit card. People find that it is a more cost effective way to manage their money than other payment processors or methods of payment.

Membership is aimed towards affiliate marketing businesses and individuals using their systems. Freelancers, online publishers, advertisers, webmasters, content providers and affiliates all use the system effectively. Anyone who is involved in online marketing, hosting, domain management or web development can become a member for free, whether they are a business or an individual. It allows multiple payments to be made very easily and at reduced costs, which can help out people who are making lots of payments. It is easy to use meaning that it is very efficient to do transactions using the system. There is an ePayments Prepaid Mastercard which is available to site members only that they can use to spend their money paid in to their account. The card can be used to pay for things online and to draw cash at ATMs. It can also be attached to a paypal account to pay for items that way if you wish. It is also economical and therefore cheaper to use so commission payments do not ending up losing a lot of money due to charges. In fact this is one of the lowest payment processors because there are no shareholders and so profits can be ploughed back in to the company and keep costs down.

The EPA is based in London and managed by professionals in on-line payments. Partnered with Wave Crest they have an expert prepaid card issuer available. Swiftcom Networks are also used for the software application management. Therefore they are working together with expert companies with the right knowledge to make sure everything goes smoothly. Being governed by UK law it means that the company is safe and secure and therefore trusted by many people. The prepayment Mastercard is internationally recognised and so can be used almost all over the world, with most countries recognising it as an acceptable form of payment. The company was set up by Dentons, which were formerly known as Salans, a well-known international law firm.

It is possible to make safer, cheaper and more efficient money transactions using the EPA membership. There is no need to have a UK bank account but all funds are held in UK banks with good reputations, which mean that it is secure. The bank charges are not that expensive and it is possible to use it for multiple payment processing. There is telephone support available 24/7 as well as online access to your account being available all of the time.

Joining

It is very easy to join. You have to complete the online application form and then your membership number will be issued when the support team have verified the details. You will need to supply a phone number that will be checked, but this is easy to do. If you are applying as a business then you will need to supply selected business paperwork. Money coming in to your e-wallet with either be held in USD or EUROs and then it can be exchanged when you need to make purchases with it.

Most people are eligible to join, although there are a few countries which cannot use the prepaid card. It is worth checking before you apply if you have any concerns. The countries excluded are ones with UN trading embargoes and OFAC sanctions which are Cuba, Iraq, N. Korea, Liberia, Rwanda, Syria, Zimbabwe, Yemen, Sudan, Pakistan, Burma, Libya and Iran.

Fees and Charges

There are membership fees and charges that apply to being a member. The annual membership is $34.95 and with a higher level which has express delivery of payments costing $124.95. There are some fees associated with the Mastercard including a $20 card issue fee that is included in the membership fee. There is a $1.50 fee per ATM transaction and a $10 charge for accounts that are not used for 6 months if there are funds in there. It costs $5 to close an account and $35 to replace a lost or stolen card. Initially you have to load at least $10 on to the card. You can draw up to $3,000 cash per day from bank tellers or ATMs and can only load $10,000 on each time. You can hold up to $20,000 on the card.

Conclusions

Many people prefer using a payment processor for online transactions, they feel that it provides an extra barrier of protection for their money as they do not have to enter bank details for all transactions. It can also provide a quicker and cheaper way to conduct money transactions in different currencies. It can sometimes be difficult to find an effective way to exchange money using different currencies and so this can provide the answer.

Having a prepaid credit card means that you have an easy way to get hold of the money. The Mastercard is recognised all over the world as an acceptable means of payment and because you have to load the card with money, there are no risks of you getting in to debt.

This is why epayments association is used by so many people who exchange money online. It is suitable for businesses and individuals as it is not overly expensive. There is a membership fee but the transaction fees are low, meaning that there are savings to be made compared with payment processors that charge for each transaction that is made.

Being based in London it is a company that many people will trust, especially as it works together with other trustworthy companies.