• January 21: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• February 18: President’s Day (Washington’s Birthday)
• May 26: Memorial Day
• July 4: Independence Day
• September 1: Labor Day
• October 13: Columbus Day
• November 11: Veteran’s Day
• November 27: Thanksgiving Day
• December 24: Christmas Eve (not a Federal Reserve Holiday, but early closures may effect when payments are received)
• December 25: Christmas Day
• December 31: New Year’s Eve (not a Federal Reserve Holiday, but early closures may effect when payments are received)

For those who really like to plan ahead, the Federal Reserve Bank provides a look ahead all the way to 2011.

This new site was created to foster communication between 2CO, our suppliers, customers and the public at-large. For the first time, we opened our forum up to the public. We also added this blog and the ability to comment on articles and search the entire site.

From providing our developers’ release notes to asking what you want from an integrated affiliate program, we’ve provided more information and requested more input than ever before.

Coming in 2008, you’ll soon see a redesigned 2CO community site that will allow for even greater communication. There are also going to be a number of new features and improvements to our supplier services. Keep your eyes on this blog for announcements as they become available.

We’d like to give a big “thank you” to our suppliers and customers for making 2007 such a great year and invite you to join us for an even better 2008.

Credit Card:

• Approved – The customers bank has approved the transaction
• Pending – The customers bank has begun the process to transfer the funds to 2Checkout
• Deposited – 2Checkout has received the funds from the customers bank and they are in your 2Checkout vendor account

PIN Debit:

• Pending – Customers bank has approved the transaction
• Deposited – 2Checkout has received the funds from the customers bank and they are in your 2Checkout vendor account

PayPal & PayLater:

• Pending – 2Checkout is waiting on funds from PayPal
• Deposited – 2Checkout has received the funds from PayPal and they are in your 2Checkout vendor account

UPDATE (12/20): Due to the New Year Holiday, payments issued on December 27, 2007 to Cyprus must be in Euro. Please make the necessary changes to your Bank Wizard to prevent delays in receiving future payments.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

More information about this change:

• Central Bank of Cyprus: Euro Introduction
• National Website for the euro

• Your Name
• Your Supplier ID
• A 160 pixel wide by 144 pixel high logo/graphic
• A 200 word maximum descriptive/promotional text
• The specific product you would like featured, if applicable

Good luck!

Originally Posted: October 2nd, 2007

PayPal Pay Later provides existing PayPal members with a line of credit that allows them to make no payments for 90 days. However, this line of credit has no impact on sale deposit timeline or amount.

Customers pay later, but suppliers still get paid on time, in full!

The Pay Later option will be displayed for all orders valued between $50 and $1,500 USD.

Live Person is the ultimate customer communication alternative. You will no longer have to wait or listen to voice prompts; Live Person will give you instant access through your computer for faster results.

When a Customer Care specialist has logged into Live Person, you will be able to see a live help icon in the upper left hand corner of the transaction pages. These have been placed strategically throughout our site and can also be found on the Contact page of this community site. Later this week, it will also appear on the right side navigation throughout the community site.

Currently, Live Person is being tested on third shift between the hours of 11pm and 8am EST.

We look forward to chatting with you and welcome any feedback you may have.

• A List Apart – “A List Apart explores the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards and best practices.”
• Boxes and Arrows – “Boxes and Arrows is devoted to the practice, innovation, and discussion of design; including graphic design, interaction design, information architecture and the design of business.”
• SEOmoz.org – “Read SEOmoz. Rank Better.” The article 17 New Rules for Successful E-Commerce Websites is a must-read.
• Smashing Magazine – “We smash you with the information that will make your life easier. Really.” Be sure to check out the article 30 Usability Issues To Be Aware Of while you’re there.
• Usability.gov – “Your guide for developing usable & useful Web sites” Be sure to check out Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines while you’re there.
• useit.com – “usable information technology” Jakob Nielsen has been synonymous with website usability since the mid-1990s.
• UX Magazine – “UX Magazine sets out to explore, promote & discuss the multiple facets of user experience one article at a time. It is built upon the foundations of ProjectNeo, a global interactive design community.”

Please add any other related resources you’d like to recommend in the comments below.

Related Articles:

• Resource Links (Part 1) – Site-building Tools and HTML/CSS
• Resource Links (Part 2) – PHP and Javascript
• Resource Links (Part 3) – Statistics and Graphics/Design
• Resource Links (Part 4) – Business/Financial

CHF or Swiss Franks
EURO
MXM or Mexican Peso
NZD or New Zealand Dollar

When you are entering your bank information into the Banking Wizard, you will be required to enter your IRC (International Routing Code). This can sometimes be confusing due to different countries referring to it by different names. The following information will help you determine what your IRC is.

AUD: If you are in Australia and you would like to receive an FCEFT (AEFT) in AUD, you will use your BSB (Bank, State, Branch) number for the IRC. The BSB is a six-digit number consisting of a two-digit bank number, a one-digit state number, and a three-digit branch number.

You can find this number at the bottom of your checks, it is the second set of numbers. You should also contact the banking institution where the account is held to obtain this information.

CAD: If you are in Canada and you would like to receive an FCEFT (DEFT) in CAD, your IRC will consist of 9 numeric numbers and include the following. A four-digit institution number and a five-digit branch transit number.

When you go to enter this number into the Banking Wizard, you will notice that the leading zero is built in for you, so you will drop the first zero and only enter the last eight numbers.

Example: Enter 00410202 consisting of eight-digits instead of 000410202 that consist of nine-digits.

You can find this number at the bottom of your checks; it is the second and third set of numbers. You should also contact the banking institution where the account is held to obtain this information.

GBP: If you are in Great Britain and you would like to receive an FCEFT (BACS) in GBP, you will use your sort code or branch number that will consist of 6 numeric numbers. This will be the second group of numbers located on the bottom of your checks. You should also contact the banking instituting where the account is held to obtain this information.

(Please be advised that your IBAN number will not be required, only your account number)

CHF: If you are in Switzerland and you would like to receive an FCEFT in CHF,you will have to contact the financial institution where the account is held to obtain the IRC. The IRC is a five-digit numeric number commonly referred to as the SIC. number

(Please be advised that your IBAN number will not be required, only your account number)

MXM: If you are in Mexico and you would like to receive an FCEFT in MXM, you will not have an IRC and so you will leave the field for the IRC blank .

NZD: If you are in New Zealand and you would like to receive an FCEFT in NZD, you will use the bank/branch code or BSB number for the IRC. You will locate this number at the bottom of your checks. It will be the second set of numbers and will consist of a numeric six-digit number. You should also contact the banking institution where the account is held to obtain this information.

Euro: Since the Euro is used in a number of counties, different numbers will be used for the IRC.

(Please be advised that your IBAN number will not be required, only your account number)

The Netherlands: If you are in the Netherlands and you would like to receive an FCEFT in Euros, you will not have to enter an IRC number because the IRC is contained in the account number. You should contact the banking institution where the account is held to obtain this information.

Ireland: If you are in Ireland and you would like to receive a FCEFT in Euros, you will use the six-digit numeric sort code for the IRC number. You will have to contact the financial institution where the account is held to obtain this information.

Spain: If you are in Spain and you would like to receive an FCEFT in Euros, your IRC will consist of a nine-digit numeric number consisting of bank and branch codes. You will have to contact the financial institution where the account is held to obtain this information.

Austria: If you are in Austria and you would like to receive an FCEFT in Euros, your IRC will consist of a five-digit numeric number consisting of the bank and branch codes. To obtain your IRC, you will have to contact the financial institution where the account is held.

Belgium: If you are in Belgium and you would like to receive an FCEFT in Euros, you will leave the IRC field blank because the IRC is contained in the account number. To obtain your account number, you will have to contact the financial institution where the account is held.

France: If you are in France and you would like to receive an FCEFT in Euros, you will use your RIB number for your IRC. The RIB number is a ten-digit numeric number that consists of your bank and branch codes. Your RIB number is located at the bottom of your checks. It is the first two groups of numbers. You should also contact your banking institution to obtain this information.

Germany: If you are in Germany and you would like to receive an FCEFT in Euros, you will have to contact your banking institution to obtain your BLZ. The BLZ will be numeric and eight characters in length.

The new Payment methods are currently available to all vendors through the new Vendor Admin area. You will need to log into your account via the new vendor area here and Click the Account tab and then the Bank Account tab to access the account details and run the banking wizard.

Updated Feb. 20, 2008.
Updated Dec. 13, 2007.
Updated Nov. 15, 2007.
Originally posted Nov. 9, 2007.

From an e-commerce perspective, the low dollar presents an unprecedented opportunity for online merchants to venture into the international marketplace. US based sellers can offer a significant price advantage – often totaling more than 40% – over the local choices available to shoppers in Canada, the UK and most of Europe. This price advantage is maintained even when taking into account any extra shipping costs, taxes, duties, etc. a cross border sale may entail.

Why is the dollar falling relative to these currencies? The answer is simple supply and demand.

Demand for US dollars has been decreasing steadily for the past few years, primarily due to low interest rates in the US. As US rates fell, investors chose to put their money in higher yielding securities in other countries. This had the effect of decreasing demand for US dollars while simultaneously increasing demand for other currencies.

While there is disagreement among economists as to other factors that may be driving the dollar lower (inflation fears, uncertainty about the US economy, the Iraq war), most agree there is no reason to suspect this trend will reverse itself anytime within the next few years.

The impact on the US consumer has been subtle. Certain imports (e.g. European cars and luxury goods) have clearly gone up in price. The lower dollar is one of the reasons for the recent run up in the price of imported oil. However many of the day to day items we use come in from countries that have pegged the value of their currency to the US dollar (e.g. China, Latin America) thus mitigating many of the inflationary effects we would expect from higher import prices.

While there are some challenges to expanding internationally, gaining access to more than 500 million highly qualified shoppers makes it well worth the effort. Several organizations (including 2Checkout and E4X) offer a range of services to make the process easier, more cost effective, and much faster to deploy. The key to success is to focus on making international shoppers feel welcome and making it easy for them to buy your products.

While the relative value of currencies may vary over time, the size and breadth of the US market offers a huge range of products and services of substantial interest to international consumers. The weak dollar makes this an excellent time to consider extending your sales and marketing efforts beyond the US borders. At some point in the future the dollar probably will strengthen again, but by that time you’ll have built a base of loyal and valuable international customers.

Michael DeSimone is the Chief Executive Officer of E4X, Inc.