Warrior Forum recently announced the launch of their new affiliate network and payment platform, Warrior Payments, an all-in-one platform for payments,
analytics, affiliate marketing, and distribution. Supported by Warrior Forum, the internet marketing forum with more than 780K marketers in its network, Warrior Payments presents competition to similar platforms such as ClickBank, JVZoo and Warrior Plus.
Warrior Payments & Warrior Forum Together
In April of 2014, Freelancer.com acquired Warrior Forum for $3.2M. Warrior Forum had established itself as the “world’s leading internet marketing community and marketplace,” and it is ranked among the top 300 websites in the world.
Freelancer’s launch of Warrior Payments aims to offer marketers and entrepreneurs an all-in-one platform and alternative to other payment platforms out there, such as PayPal. Warrior Payments leverages the Warrior Forum online marketing network, providing online merchants the ability to tap into a large network of marketers, and an effective platform to launch and sell their products or services.
The CEO boasts it is “The Easiest Way to Make Money Online”
Warrior Payments’ Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Matt Barrie recently described 
the platform as an “innovation that turns Warrior Forum’s internet marketers into a sales force,” and “the easiest way to make money online.”
Warrior Payments expands the Warrior Forum brand in an effort to offer more than a platform for marketers to connect. Offering a low fee of 2% on all sales through the platform (the “lowest in the industry” says Mr Barrie), Warrior Payments integrates the following:
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- Payment Processing
- Online Product Delivery
- Detailed Analytics
- Affiliate Marketing
- Distribution
All products and services sold using the Warrior Payments platform are also listed in the Warrior Forum marketplace, making them accessible to their network of more than 780K internet marketers. By incorporating “Buy Now” buttons, marketers can sell digital products using Warrior Payments as long as they conform to their terms and conditions.
What’s the Catch? And does the pricing really work?
With such seemingly low fees and little risk involved, there must be a catch, right? Well, since Warrior Payments – and similar platforms like Clickbank and JVZoo – are aggregators and do not formally underwrite merchant accounts, they go to great lengths to make sure the refund process is very easy (Visa & Mastercard monitor these platforms heavily and make sure of it) It’s very common for these platforms to have refund rates for products/services in the 20,30,40% range. More refunds = less chargebacks – and Visa / Mastercard like that.
The difference between Warrior Payments and Clickbank or JVZoo, however; is that Warrior Payments is offering its services at the low fee of 2%, well under the rates of their competition (and also below the actual hard cost of credit card transactions!).
Another way that online marketplaces such as Warrior Payments/Forum, Clickbank and JVZoo help to decrease chargebacks is to be strict when it comes to their terms and conditions. The result of using these networks; some limited the control over selling your own products / services or marketing another company’s.
Warrior Plus, which also taps into the Warrior Forum network, charges a fee of 3.9% or $19 per product. JVZoo: 5% or $17 per product. Clickbank: $47 per month plus 7.5% and $1 per sale.
At a fee of only 2%, Warrior Payments is not even covering the cost associated with each Visa or Mastercard transaction. So how can they afford to operate with a rate that’s below cost?
The bottom line is that money needs to be made up somewhere… there’s’ no free lunch – Keep an eye out for that Fine Print…
It’s also possible that being new in the game, Warrior Payments does not recognize the risk involved with operating at such a low fee. Only time will tell.
Warrior Payments Clickbank, JVZoo & Merchant Accounts
Online sales and marketing networks such as Warrior Payments and its competitors can be 
very effective in launching a product/service and reaching potential consumers. Many internet marketers begin their foray into the industry by marketing other companies’ products/services, and these platforms serve them well.
For most of the big name internet marketers, beginning to develop and sell their own products is a big part of their growth. In order to do that, merchant accounts are necessary, which are not available with Warrior Payments, Clickbank, JVZoo and the like.
In addition, these online marketplaces such can also be strict when it comes to terms. Using these networks can limit the control you have over selling your own products / services or marketing another company’s.
Warrior Payments, the Competition & the Future
When compared to the competition, Warrior Payments certainly does have the lowest fees around. However, how the platform will fare in the market, utilize the Warrior Forum network, and whether or not it is “the easiest way to make money online” is yet to be seen.
Two years ago, Warrior Plus was the dominating affiliate network, and before that Clickbank controlled the majority of the market. Right now, JVZoo owns about 70% of the affiliate network market, but this could change with the launch of Warrior Payments.
Leveraging the Warrior Forum network could be a strong advantage for the new online sales marketplace, but its seemingly low fees could present a risk – and might be associated with certain hidden fees.
To see how Warrior Payments holds up against the competition and for up-to-date news articles on online marketplaces and the credit card processing industry, stay tuned to the Easy Pay Direct blog.
WORKS CITED:
Munch, Chris. “Warrior Payments: The End of WarriorPlus?” Muncheye. http://muncheye.com/warrior-payments-the-end-of-warriorplus. Accessed 7/24/14.
“Introducing Warrior Payments.” CNBC. http://www.cnbc.com/id/101858189. 7/22/14.
