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According to the National Clearing House Association (NACHA), almost 18.2 billion
ACH debit payments were made online in 2008.
More and more businesses and consumers are utilizing this method which is Faster,
Hassle-Free, and Cheaper. This method of processing has (a) Increased the Volume
of Online Transactions, and (b) reduced the risk of fraud.
We handle around half of all card transactions, so you know you can be confident
of a first class, reliable service.
Online Payment Processing Demystified
There is a great deal of confusion regarding acceptance of payments online. Our
simple guide below aims to clarify the differences between the two main approaches
commonly adopted.
Merchant Bureau Service
This means you are not directly able to accept cards payments as a business, rather
the provider is allowing you to make use of their merchant account and then passing
the payments on at a later date. This is suitable for customers who may not be
able to obtain their own merchant accounts, however this option has many negatives.
For one, the provider will hold onto your money for as long as 4 weeks (which
helps them to cover themselves against chargebacks) and also the service and transaction
fees are typically very high. All bureau services use a hosted payment page model
which means that at the point of payment your customer is re-directed away to
their site for payment. A much slicker approach is to use an "inline"
payment approach which means your customer never has to leave your website. If
you are looking to create a professional impression online these services do not
provide the best solution and may deter customers from ordering.
Merchant Account and Payment Gateway
The most professional and flexible approach to online payments. You will need
a merchant account from an acquiring bank and then you have the option to process
payments through a range of available gateways. The acquiring bank will agree
a percentage charge on all credit card transactions and typically a fixed cost
on any debit card transactions. You will then need to pay a monthly fee for a
payment gateway to process the online authorisation service and either a flat
rate for each transaction (better option) or a percentage of the amount. Having
a separate merchant account means you have more flexibility in how you process
your internet payments as you are not restricted to using the banks own services
or any specific gateway. Most gateways offer an "inline" payment model
that means your customer is kept on you website rather than being redirected away
to a hosted payment page; this provides a better shopping experience for your
customer. Card details are not stored on your site, merely passed through to the
gateway for processing, and then the response is captured and handled accordingly.
Your payment page needs to be secure so therefore an SSL certificate is also required
which we will arrange for you.
Payment Service Provider Integration
If you are going to accept credit cards online for your business you need a payment
gateway. This article will explain what you need for payment gateway integration,
how to find a payment gateway programmer, and popular payment gateway providers.
One of the things you will need if you plan to engage in ecommerce is a payment
gateway. A payment gateway is an application that allows you to process transactions
over the Internet. If you want to sell products and services from a Web site,
you need a payment gateway to help facilitate communication between you, your
customer and the financial institutions you both belong to. The payment gateway
acts as a liaison between your business Web site and the broader Internet.
If you already have a Web site, but you haven't been using it to automatically
process payments from customers, you will need to integrate a payment gateway
if you are planning to take your Web site to the next level and reach more customers.
If you have an ecommerce Web host, you might already have access to a payment
gateway. Otherwise, you may need to take to your Web host about payment gateways,
or find some other way of integrating a payment gateway into your Web site.
What you need for a Payment Gateway Integration
Payment gateway integration requires a little bit of work. It is a software application
that needs to be stored on your server. This means that you may need a little
more bandwidth and/or disk space. Check the requirements of the payment gateway
to make sure that your current hosting package will be able to handle the increase
in technical requirements.
Another thing you will need to do is make sure that the payment gateway is compatible
with the programming language used on your ecommerce Web site. Check to find out
whether you are using one of the following:
- ASP or ASP.NET
- Perl/CGI
- PHP (rather popular)
- Visual Basic .NET
Make sure that your payment gateway uses the same language as the rest of your
Web site, so that they fit together well. Additionally, you will need to find
out what sort of fees and costs are associated with payment gateway integration
and service.
Finding a programmer to help with your Payment Gateway Integration
It is usually a good idea – if you are not particularly savvy
yourself – to have help integrating a payment gateway. There
are many payment gateway services that can help you set things up and get started,
but if you want something that is a little more customizable, it is a good idea
to get professional programming help. When looking for a programmer, here are
some things to look for:
Professionalism: Make sure that the programmer does professional work,
and that he or she takes you through the process and clearly explains what is
needed.
Honesty: Get a price quote in writing, and ask for a list of what is needed.
Shop around and compare different offers.
Price: You want to shop around, but be wary of lowball offers. Make sure
you are getting quality. Sometimes, you get what you pay for and that can be a
bad thing if you haven't paid very much.
Quality: Ask for references and ask for Web addresses of sites the programmer
has worked for. You can also Google the programmer or check with the Better Business
Bureau to see if there have been any serious complaints. You want to make sure
you are getting the best quality you can afford.
Service: Find out what sort of service is offered. Do you get upgrades
with a monthly services and maintenance fee? Also, note whether or not the programmer
is helpful and timely in answering questions.
In many cases, it can be easiest to have your payment gateway integrated by your
ecommerce Web host. This way, you know that the gateway is compatible with your
site, and your payment gateway costs can be rolled into your hosting service fee.
Just make sure you understand whether or not a service upgrade is required when
you add a payment gateway to your ecommerce Web site.
Supported Third Party Payment Gateways
If you wish to use a third party payment gateway with your ecommerce solution
please see a list of supported gateways below:
- Google Checkout Integration
- WorldPay Integration
- Barclays ePDQ Integration
- HSBC Secure ePayments Integration
- Paypoint Payments Integration
- SecureTrading Integration
- MetaCharge Integration
- Sagepay Integration
- NoChex Integration
- PayPal Integration
- Realex Integration
- Moneybookers Integration
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