How can I accept Amex from another business?

[montecristo]

I've been asked by a Fortune 500 company in the US if I can accept payment via corporate Amex for a project that will be some tens of thousands of dollars (on the grounds that it takes months to set up a vendor on their normal invoicing process).

Has anyone here done that? Any recommendations for an intermediary/payment processor that I can use to receive this money into our regular bank account?

[The Moose]

Do you accept card payments at all at the moment? If not, you could sign up with Shopify and use their buy button? Don't forget the additional cost to you guys!

[MrSparks]

Stripe.

Quick and easy to set up and they accept AMEX.

We use Stripe as our main gateway now and have had no real problems to be honest. We get quite a few customers using AMEX too.

[montecristo]

I will look into those, thank you. It's a B2B service sale, and cardholdern not present, since he is in the US.

[Mr Overheads]

Paypal for Business too. Can issue an invoice with payment link and they can use their Amex. Hefty fees though.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

Isn't is pants though that large corporations' systems are so crap that staff have to find workarounds?

[anonymous-user]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

Isn't is pants though that large corporations' systems are so crap that staff have to find workarounds?

It's ridiculous.

I'm working with one now that "can't" pay invoices until 60 days, end of month payment run.

I gave up trying to argue so sent them 3 invoices in one go which they paid.

it's just idiotic.

[Bristol spark]

desolate said:

It's ridiculous.

I'm working with one now that "can't" pay invoices until 60 days, end of month payment run.

This seems to have become the norm for large businesses now!

I now charge them extra, because i know i won't see payment for best part of 3 months!
And that is if they don't loose the invoice in their system, at which point they seem to want to start the 60 days all over again.....

[lost in espace]

Look at Costco's offering https://www.netpay.co.uk/costco/ you have to ring them for rates though on Amex.

I use Stripe.

[surveyor]

My only concern would be how Stripe would react to tens of thousands from one card to one new client. Maybe not a problem - but worth investigating.

[RM]

surveyor said:

My only concern would be how Stripe would react to tens of thousands from one card to one new client. Maybe not a problem - but worth investigating.

This. Make sure you tell Stripe upfront what is going to be happening. If you just open an account normally then hit it with nothing but a few 5 figure payments for services they will freeze the money sharpish. Aside from it being flagged as fraud, the payment company also shares the chargeback risk. The paying company could easily issue a chargeback for the full amount in 11 months time, and Stripe could be on the hook for all of it. That's risky in their eyes.

Any payment provider is going to have the same attitude. I would jump through the hoops required for a normal merchant account for this, WorldPay etc. It's better that they turn you down beforehand than you open an account and lose the money afterward.