Ashton Kutcher in DM...throwing some of his $$ at Dwolla

[capitalcityguy]

Des Moines based tech company Dwolla seems to keep getting headlines and now it looks like they have a famous investor...

Exclusive: Ashton Kutcher Talks To KCCI | Project Economy - KCCI Home

I have to admit, I have yet to try buying anything using Dwolla but my interest is definitely piqued.

(yes, we all know he's a big Hawkeye so I'll save you the keystrokes.)

 

[bos]

I dont care that hes a Hawk. Thats only a portion of his douchebaggery. Nice to see hes putting money into our economy I guess.

 

[ianoconnor]

I've used Dwolla. It's simple and pretty similar to paypal. Way lower fees (flat fee of $.25 per transaction w/ Dwolla). My church uses Dwolla for tithing.

 

[Clonefan32]

Anyone feel like explaining Dwolla to me?

 

[CLONECONES]

is Dwolla actually accepted anywhere?

 

[ianoconnor]

Anyone feel like explaining Dwolla to me?

https://www.dwolla.com/personal

 

[The_Architect]

https://www.dwolla.com/personal

It's pretty cool and I think it will take off but personally I like using my credit card to pay for everything so I can earn rewards.

 

[Broodwich]

is Dwolla actually accepted anywhere?

We accept it at my wife's business. Took about 5 minutes to setup.

 

[cytech]

It's pretty cool and I think it will take off but personally I like using my credit card to pay for everything so I can earn rewards.

And us business owners hate you for it :smile:

Just as a fyi to anyone that may care the place you purchase your goods at pays for your rewards when you make purchases. Not the credit card companies or the banks. We get charged a certain % for each transaction based on the rewards a card offers. If you have a american express with great rewards it will cost around 6-7% to process the payment. I currently pay 1% for a visa or mastercard debit transaction for comparison.

I have had customers ask me why I don't accept American Express because they have great rewards and this is the answer that I give them.

Just remember all costs of selling a product are figured in when determining pricing for that item.

Before we accepted cards I just assumed the rewards were a way for a bank to save money on processing checks, and maybe it was at one point. Now that I accept cards I see it as just a money making proposition for credit card companies.

 

[MeanDean]

Des Moines based tech company Dwolla seems to keep getting headlines and now it looks like they have a famous investor...

Exclusive: Ashton Kutcher Talks To KCCI | Project Economy - KCCI Home

I have to admit, I have yet to try buying anything using Dwolla but my interest is definitely peaked.

(yes, we all know he's a big Hawkeye so I'll save you the keystrokes.)

I think you mean piqued, which is from the French for ***** (such as poking with a needle) - which 50% of the readers of this post will decide I am one, for pointing this out.

That wasn't my intent, of course. Sometimes you CAN learn stuff by being on the internet. Even CF.

 

[Cyclone06]

Having had some experiences with the organizations Dwolla is attempting to make moot... I think Dwolla is the next big thing. As the Dwolla founder has stated, it has become too difficult and costly to transfer ones own money to another party. Dwolla makes it easier and much less costly. In a world were cost effectiveness and efficiency rule, Dwolla is about to take over.

 

[The_Architect]

And us business owners hate you for it :smile:

Just as a fyi to anyone that may care the place you purchase your goods at pays for your rewards when you make purchases. Not the credit card companies or the banks. We get charged a certain % for each transaction based on the rewards a card offers. If you have a american express with great rewards it will cost around 6-7% to process the payment. I currently pay 1% for a visa or mastercard debit transaction for comparison.

I have had customers ask me why I don't accept American Express because they have great rewards and this is the answer that I give them.

Just remember all costs of selling a product are figured in when determining pricing for that item.

Before we accepted cards I just assumed the rewards were a way for a bank to save money on processing checks, and maybe it was at one point. Now that I accept cards I see it as just a money making proposition for credit card companies.

Wow, I really had no idea that the business ate that cost.

I figured it was just an incentive for the CC companies to get you to overspend and not being able to pay your bill off every month, then eating you up with interest.

 

[LindenCy]

I've used Dwolla. It's simple and pretty similar to paypal. Way lower fees (flat fee of $.25 per transaction w/ Dwolla). My church uses Dwolla for tithing.

If it breaks up the Paypal monopoly, I'm all for it!

 

[LegendofRodA]

Wow, I really had no idea that the business ate that cost.

I figured it was just an incentive for the CC companies to get you to overspend and not being able to pay your bill off every more, then eating you up with interest.

I was the same way until recently and my buddy launched his web business and showed me the cost of CC transactions and I was like :shocked: whaaaaaat?

 

[brianhos]

is Dwolla actually accepted anywhere?

It is accepted almost nowhere.

 

[boone7247]

Wow, I really had no idea that the business ate that cost.

I figured it was just an incentive for the CC companies to get you to overspend and not being able to pay your bill off every more, then eating you up with interest.

Businesses don't eat costs, as he stated in his post, the costs are passed on to the consumer. So if the consumer is willing to pay the higher price then I don't see what the issue is. It is the people who pay in cash that get screwed in this instance. As the cost of the good as been marked up to include the CC fees and they don't receive any benefit.

In the Chicago area this is why a few gas stations post a cash price and a CC price for gas. But most business factor in the costs of CC into there prices and it isn't a big deal.

If CC went away and very few people used them, I can see why this would be a pain, but considering CCs are more popular than ever business should have made a change by now.

 

[capitalcityguy]

I think you mean piqued, which is from the French for ***** (such as poking with a needle) - which 50% of the readers of this post will decide I am one, for pointing this out.

That wasn't my intent, of course. Sometimes you CAN learn stuff by being on the internet. Even CF.

Yes...thanks for the assist. Went back and corrected.

 

[cytech]

Businesses don't eat costs, as he stated in his post, the costs are passed on to the consumer. So if the consumer is willing to pay the higher price then I don't see what the issue is. It is the people who pay in cash that get screwed in this instance. As the cost of the good as been marked up to include the CC fees and they don't receive any benefit.

In the Chicago area this is why a few gas stations post a cash price and a CC price for gas. But most business factor in the costs of CC into there prices and it isn't a big deal.

If CC went away and very few people used them, I can see why this would be a pain, but considering CCs are more popular than ever business should have made a change by now.

We took quite a while to make the change ourselves. We have only been accepting cards for 3 years now, while we have been open going on 16 years.

When I look at my statement each month a large majority of people are using bank debit master and visa cards which saves a ton on the processing fees. We don't do to many high rewards transactions.

If that trend were to change then it would affect cost to the end user.

In the end it is only a minor component in determining the price of a item. The recent Linn County Reappraisals that are wanting to raise our property taxes by 25 to 50% have a much larger effect. If those go into effect as scheduled (we will dispute and get them lowered somewhat) it would mean about a extra $40 per year I will need to charge for my rentals over last year. My tenants are not going to like the rental rate increase letter we will be sending out in the coming weeks.

 

[vmbplayer]

Question for those familiar. I'm looking at setting this up so my roommates can pay me their rent this way. How does the money get transferred from Dwolla to the bank? It is just like a direct deposit kind of set up? I'm concerned because I know my bank charges a decent sized fee to receive wire payments, but if it's like a direct deposit I don't think I'd have any issues.

 

[stateofmind]

Question for those familiar. I'm looking at setting this up so my roommates can pay me their rent this way. How does the money get transferred from Dwolla to the bank? It is just like a direct deposit kind of set up? I'm concerned because I know my bank charges a decent sized fee to receive wire payments, but if it's like a direct deposit I don't think I'd have any issues.

I'm looking at this as well and don't want to set up Instant, since there is a monthly fee. But when you run a March Madness pool or Fantasy Football League, this could make it great for payment for remote people or people I just don't see that often. Seems like a great idea, but until the stores offer a discount for using DWOLLA or cash, I doubt people will use it.