Ecommerce credit card processing question

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JPlush76
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Ecommerce credit card processing question

Post by JPlush76 »

I'm looking into setting up a new ecom site... who would you guys recommend to do the authorizations and settlements?

I've looked at authorize.net but they seem kinda pricey and setup seems like a bitch.

thanks!
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Post by evilcoder »

iBill is very well known, and fairly easy to set up.
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Post by jason »

Do you already have a Merchant account from your bank? Do you need a merchant account? Do you simply want to link to someone else's site to do the processing for you? Their are many different options here.
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phice
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Post by phice »

My bank, Wells Fargo, has merchent accounts. And for off-your-site payments, I only use PayPal. I've tried others, but PayPal is simply the best in all aspects.
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m3mn0n
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Post by m3mn0n »

I agree. PayPal rules.

Whatever you do don't go near VeriSign! :wink:
JPlush76
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Post by JPlush76 »

jason wrote:Do you already have a Merchant account from your bank? Do you need a merchant account? Do you simply want to link to someone else's site to do the processing for you? Their are many different options here.
looking for an all incorportating solution, does the payment processing and deposits the money in my account.

Can pay pal be integrated into your shopping cart? Every pay pay system I see gives a dumb pop up and now you're in their system.
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Post by jason »

No, you have to send the user to PayPal.

If you want to incorporate this into your system seemlessly, you will 1) have to have your own SSL certificate, 2) get a merchant account, and 3) get a processor.

You can go to a company like 2CheckOut.com and have them process for you. But again, you are sending the users off your website, like PayPal.

1) SSL Cert
Verisign, Thawte, or someone. Verisign is the big on, and as much of a pain in the ass as they can be, people not in the industry actually feel a Verisign seal on your site means alot.

2) Merchant Account
You either need to get one from your bank, or purchase one through an online company. When you get one from an online company, it WILL be more expensive. You also have to look at which bank you are getting the merchant account with. What cards can you process. Most people can only process Visa or MC. Amex is more difficult. I suggest working with your bank to get a merchant account. They might also provide an online e-commerce solution.

3) Processor
Processors look for one thing: volume. They want a lot of transactions per month. The reason? They get paid on the number of transactions, not so much on the size of the transactions. Most processors won't look at you if you don't have a certain amount already, or a squared away business plan. You do have a Business Plan, right?

A processor's setup fee's can start at $200 and go up to $15,000, including security deposits. Processors rarely pay right away, expect if you are dealing with your bank. And even then, they will probably charge extra for immediate disbursement of cash.

Something else you should consider is Fraud Prevention. Who is going to handle it for you? Fraud Prevention is very important. Some processors will help you with this, other's will expect you to do all of it. Their is a lot to Fraud Prevention. Determining if a card is stolen merely by the information of the purchase, and being able to credit back the amount before a chargeback goes through (of which you will lose the money, and get charged $25 on top of that). So find out about who will do the Fraud Prevention. You can also hire out for Fraud Prevention. I know someone who will do it on a hourly basis, and she is very good at it. Their are other services as well they help you with this.

Hope this helps some.
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Post by Coco »

do you know of any uk based processors? not all the world trades in $$$ :P

i looked at the ones mentioned.... and ibill doesnt do GBP, authorise.net doesnt say anywhere what currencies it does (does it do all?) and i dont like paypal (used it before, its AWFUL)
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Post by jason »

If your site is only geared towards local users, then go with GBP. However, if you are geared towards a more international market, using USD shouldn't be a problem. When it comes to e-commerce, it doesn't matter what your processor uses, just if they can accept credit cards or not.
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Bill H
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Post by Bill H »

You might check out Cardservice Internationational.
http://www.cardservice.com/
I've been using them for several years.
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Post by Coco »

i did what jason suggested
spoke to my bank, they charge £25/month +1-2% depending on deal, and do balance transfers daily/weekly/monthly charged according to your business banking deal (i bank with them already)

Only problem is they require perl or asp :?
But they do all the fraud checking themselves (address checks and card id checks too) which really makes me think that they will be the option for me :) (especially since i have 18 months free banking with them too :P )
They act as a processor (ie users are directed to their site) but thats fine by me

(just thought i would post this for any brits who might be reading :) )
So, mr plush, from my short experience, your bank is prolly the best bet ;)

My bank is barclays... Not the best reputation in the world but they have treated me just fine for the last 15 years

http://www.epdq.co.uk
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twigletmac
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Post by twigletmac »

Although Barclays only give you ASP and Perl scripts for connecting to their server it is entirely possible with PHP.

Mac
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Post by jason »

Twig is right. Take a look at the Perl code (or the ASP, whichever is easier for you to read from), and you can probably rewrite it in PHP. Then, after you have written your module, send it to them so other people can use it. :D
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Post by Coco »

yeah if i could do any perl or asp.....
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