Page 1 of 1
Best/easiest way to accept credit cards from my site. Please
Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 3:06 pm
by lady bugg
I am looking to start accepting credit cards from my site ASAP! But, I want to find the perfect place to handle my online payments first. Here are my guidelines:
-I hate paypal! I have used them in the past and had nothing but problems, and I will never use them again.
-I do not have a business license or account set up yet. I haven't really made any $ off my site yet, and I need to before I get the license and open a business account.
-I need this set up quickly. I have already missed $250 of sales today because I do not have a way to accept credit cards, and I will lose at least $120 tomorrow too.
-I will need to withdraw the funds every ~2 weeks. I know some services won't let you withdraw as often.
-A place that will accept e-checks is great too.
-My php skills aren't the best, so the easier it is to set up, the better. I was using radio buttons, but am open to anything.
So does anyone know of a quick, easy service that I can set up to start accepting credit cards quickly, without a business?
Any help or guidance is greatly appreciated! Please feel free to give me any advice.

Re: Best/easiest way to accept credit cards from my site. Please
Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 3:21 pm
by onion2k
I use ProtX ... they're very good, and we've put at least $1,000,000 through them (between a couple of different sites) without any major hassles. However, the set up process takes some time. You shouldn't expect to be up and running with them for at least a month. If you need something fast then Paypal really is your best option.
Re: Best/easiest way to accept credit cards from my site. Please
Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2008 11:04 pm
by jack_indigo
lady bugg wrote:I hate paypal!
You hate PayPal. Join the club. I think we all hate the lack of options in this industry. Nobody seems to be taking the risks like PayPal is, and doing this affordably for us. So, we stick with PayPal. Here's something I dug up for you...
http://phpviews.blogspot.com/2008/10/pa ... ss-if.html
Re: Best/easiest way to accept credit cards from my site. Please
Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 3:41 am
by JayBird
+1 Protx
Re: Best/easiest way to accept credit cards from my site. Please
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 7:16 am
by malcolmboston
+1 Secpay (now Paypoint).
I have vast experience with secpay, google checkout and paypal, all with full integration (callback etc), i also have a little experience with Protx although i was'nt a big fan of it.
I've worked with half a dozen eCommerce sites with the 3 above and they are all fine, google's insistance on using SSL for the callback page is annoying however.
Re: Best/easiest way to accept credit cards from my site. Please
Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2008 2:21 pm
by jack_indigo
malcolmboston wrote: google's insistance on using SSL for the callback page is annoying however.
Wow. Didn't know that. I wish more people would speak up on the web in blogs about that. First I heard of this. That would sway most of my clients right there.
For now, most of my clients are sticking with PayPal.
Re: Best/easiest way to accept credit cards from my site. Please
Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 2:01 am
by lady bugg
Thanks for the insight!
I do appreciate all advice, but after what I have been through, I will never use Paypal again. It is hands down the easiest to set up, use, oversee, and apply, but at a cost. I also have personally been involved in inaccuracies and false-charges, and I know for a fact it is not fair or smooth. (They are very domineering in deciding what funds go where)
I am considering using Google checkout, but I am confused. In the TOC, Google states that the user(payer/buyer) must have a Google account to utilize credit card payments! I do not want to make each customer go through that process, as it is obvious that will detour from my sales dramatically.
I have since acquired a business license, but would prefer a smooth running "virtual terminal" opposed to processing myself through the business!
Re: Best/easiest way to accept credit cards from my site. Please
Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:48 pm
by jack_indigo
lady bugg wrote:...but would prefer a smooth running "virtual terminal" opposed to...
You'll want to compare rates on handheld units vs. virtual units on the web. When I looked at this 10 years ago, it was cheaper to get the handheld. But I don't know now.
So, if you get a virtual or handheld unit, you'll have to:
- Build your own product catalog, or find a sitescript (Google that), or find a F/OSS product like OSCommerce, ZenCart, etc., or hire someone to do it custom.
- Build your own shopping cart or find someone or some product or some free tool to do that for you.
- Purchase a Verisign SSL certificate for your website and have your web hosting provider hook it up. Then, all links to a page where you collect credit card information need to have https:// in them, and all links from that area into any other area of your website need to have http:// in them. Nobody likes typing in credit card info on a page that has http:// in the URL and doens't have that lock icon appear (either in the address bar or status bar, depending on browser).
- Have your orders file into a table on your website, and make certain that this table is super secure, including requiring you to login to it, that no one can just cut and paste that bookmark and access the main page if they haven't logged in, and that you use https:// to interact with that page.
- Have a system on your site that handles checking off order statuses including payment pending, shipping pending, refund pending, and so on, and that it automatically informs the customer or gives them some page on your site where they can see this status. If it needs to automatically interact with you or the end user by email, then you'll need to hook that up.
///
And when you look at all that versus, say, purchasing a Yahoo Stores account and selling through that -- you might do better just to get a Yahoo Stores account.
Re: Best/easiest way to accept credit cards from my site. Please
Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 9:01 am
by kaycee725
i would go for ProtX.. paypal id only good for small transactions not so good for business purposes i think.