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| Credit Card Processing on the Internet |
| By: Jay B Stockman |
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So you have finally finished your e-commerce web site, hired the best web publisher, added all the bells and whistles, outstanding graphics, and great merchandise. Now, how does your prospective customer pay you for your products? Clearly, it is necessary for your site to accept, and process credit card payments, in real time. Failure to do so, would result in a failing enterprise.
Before you can begin the application process, there are several standards that all credit card processors have set. Follow this checklist and you will save yourself a significant amount of time, and aggravation.
1) The checkout, and transaction pages must be secure. This protects the customer from credit card, or identity fraud, which has become epidemic. You achieve this "security" by installing a secure socket layer certificate, or SSL. SSL encrypts information being entered on your site as it is sent across the Internet, so hackers are unable to steal the transmitted information. This Certificate has become very common, and any web host would be able to assist you.
2) A robust Shopping Cart software that utilizes the highest degree of security, and is compatible with the credit card processor. This program must be able to receive, and process orders. Collect personal data, and securely transmit the credit card data from software to the credit card processor. Most importantly, the software should provide the building blocks for a complete, successful customer experience.
3) Your server must have a firewall, especially if you plan on storing the credit card information on your server. Basically, a firewall is a combination of software, and hardware, that inspects incoming data, and filters unwanted, or potentially destructive packets of information. This firewall will not allow hackers to enter your server, and steal sensitive information.
When all these conditions have been met, you are ready to contact your bank to open a credit card merchantÂ’s account. Once your account is opened, your bank will suggest a credit card Gateway. A credit card Gateway receives the customerÂ’s credit card information from your web site, approves or declines the charge, and ultimately transmits money to your bank.
Although the process appears to be very complicated, it is quite straightforward when you know what you are doing. Plan ahead, avoid frustration, and provide your customers with an easy, secure experience that will make them come back for more.
Copyright @2005, Jay B Stockman
About The Author
Jay B Stockman is a contributing editor of Internet Credit Card Processing Resource
For more details on Internet merchant accounts and Credit Card processors go to: http://myinternet-credit-card-processing.com/
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| Prepaid, Debit Cards Now Allow U.k Citizens To Shop Online |
| By: Scott Johnson |
With the advent of the Internet came a new economy that has allowed people from all walks of life to shop and purchase in new and different ways. For the most part Internet shopping has been limited to those primarily in the U.S. who have a major credit card or debit card. Those outside of the U.S., for instance in the U.K, have not had the luxury of using credit card options because they have been limited to those with higher incomes and those with good credit scores.
Products like debit cards are only now beginning to be made available to the United Kingdom. This of course opens up a huge opportunity for those living in the U.K. to shop online without past restraints. The prepaid card industry is now ready to explode across international lines.
What is a prepaid debit card?
There are many types of cards but most cannot be used for online purchases except those issued by Visa and MasterCard. The best way to explain what a Prepaid Visa or a Prepaid MasterCard is to think of it as a personal bank account. Just like a bank account, you are allowed to deposit funds onto the card and withdrawal funds at will. As long as you have sufficient money deposited in your account you can use the card up to that amount.
When you visit a website to make a purchase you are asked to use a major credit card. If you have a Prepaid Visa or a Prepaid MasterCard with money deposited on the card you can now purchase as well.
What has stopped prepaid cards like Visa and MasterCard from launching in most countries is the limited ability for merchants to process sales and transactions electronically. What this means is that when you go into a store and use your card to make a purchase, your transaction is not processed immediately. Instead your card is manually processed and turned into the bank for processing at a later time, usually when regular deposits are made. Using this method the store has no way of telling if that card has enough funds available for the purchase.
Because most online merchants now use electronic means of processing transactions, they can easily process purchases instantly without the problems related to manual processing. This of course does not limit you to only using a prepaid Visa or MasterCard online. There are many offline merchants who now have the capability of processing transactions immediately.
Companies like Visa International and MasterCard certainly understand the importance and potential of expanding its vision globally. They estimate that on a global basis US$3 trillion in payments can best be handled using prepaid payment products such as Visa and MasterCard products instead of through other methods used in the past.
· Did you know that more than 20 million Europeans visited business and finance sites from their homes in May of 2004, according to research released by Jupiter MMXI?
Countries like Sweden, France, Spain, UK, Germany and even Switzerland are on the list of people who would purchase a Prepaid VISA product if given the chance!
· Did you know that 94 million Chinese on the mainland became Internet users by the end of last year, a new survey shows. [AFP/file] Chinadaily.com.cn?
· Here is a sample of other total internet users in various countries of the world:
Australia -13.01 million, Brazil - 22.32 million, New Zealand - 2.34 million, South Africa - 4.78 million. AND MILLIONS MORE....
In the U.S. over the past decade, debit card has grown from accounting for 274 million transactions in 1990 to 8.15 billion transactions in 2002, to challenge the credit card as the preferred payment card in the United States.
In 2003 Americans used VISA- and Master Card - branded debit cards for more than $576 billion in purchases and cash advances, a 16% increase over the previous year. From 1998 to 2003, consumers have racked up more than $2 trillion in signature debit card transactions.
Where can you purchase a prepaid Visa / MasterCard?
Most websites that market a prepaid Visa or prepaid MasterCard are being issued through a U.S. bank. This creates a problem for those living outside of the U.S. because of U.S. laws and restrictions. Banks inside of the U.S. will not send a card to you if you do not live inside of the U.S. This limits your ability to locate a company or bank where you can get a prepaid card to just a handful of locations, including www.debit-master-card.com and www.edebitcard.net
About the Author: Scott Johnson is an author and speaker who has worked within the prepaid card industry for a number of years. He is the owner of Direct Pay International (www.DirectPayLine.com) a company who is a major prepaid card distributor to the international market.
Source: www.isnare.com |
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| Keywords: credit card processing, credit, card, prepaid card, mastercard, using credit card, major credit card, debit card, credit card, credit card options |
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