Online auction payment service BidPay now offers direct-to-bank deposits for U.S.-based sellers.
When a seller signs up for a secure BidPay account and a buyer makes a payment through the BidPay Web site, the payment is deposited directly into the seller’s checking account. Previously, BidPay only provided money orders as a payment method, which take much longer to arrive and often are the result of delayed shipping on the seller’s part.
While they still offer money orders, the service is now fairly similar to eBay-owned online payment service PayPal. However, while PayPal charges a fee for their users to receive money, BidPay charges the fee to the person sending the money.
“Under our model, we have it set up so the payment is made by the sender of the funds, rather than the receiver of the funds, because that person is actually the one conducting the transaction with BidPay and we view them as the client,” said Sherry Johnson, spokeswoman for BidPay parent company First Data Corp.
Sellers that register for the option will have auction payments deposited in approximately three business days. Buyers can use their credit or debit cards to pay for the transaction, plus service fees, which start at $1.95 per transaction.
“As online auction sites continue to increase in popularity, consumers are looking for quick and easy ways to make their purchases,” said David Hansen, vice president, strategy and global expansion, BidPay. “By providing U.S. sellers with the direct-to-bank option, we are increasing the speed of BidPay transactions and offering additional convenience to the seller.”
BidPay only allows payments for online auctions and not for other services.
Using the BidPay service, formerly known as Western Union Auction Payments, sellers can register to have BidPay payment buttons automatically inserted in their auction listings to inform the buyer that the seller accepts payments through the BidPay service. Buyers and sellers are notified via e-mail when the transaction is processed and approved. In addition, sellers have access to account information and viewable order information.
