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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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| The New Color of Money |
| By: Steve Mayes |
With time, our money and monetary system has evolved with the most dramatic change about to take place. The future of money will never look the same again.
Of course, no one uses gold any more as payment for goods and services. Printed bills and coins have been on the decline for some time now. Checks (the most popular modern alternative to cash) have risen in use to 24% of all retail sales. For the first time in 2001 checks took a down-turn in number issued. The primary reason is the introduction of the check card by banks hoping to decrease the use of checks to save money. As much as 20% of the checks still being written are now electronically deposited into the merchant’s bank account just like a credit card transaction. This saves business owners valuable time and hassle especially when the checks are guaranteed, and banks save time in processing.
Credit cards / debit cards / check cards will be undergoing one of the most drastic changes in the evolution of money since their introduction in the 50’s. The new credit/debit cards being introduced will have a microchip embedded in the card instead of the old style magnetic strip. You may have heard them called smart cards. They have been used for years in Europe and the UK . American Express Blue has them. Phone cards and pay phones in the western part of the U.S. now use them too. Magnetic strip technology is over 25 years old. Think about it. Cassette tapes (magnetic strip) were outdated by cd’s (digital). VHS (magnetic strip) outdated by dvd’s (digital) and now our credit cards are going digital.
The difference is that the information is stored on the card (Stored Value) instead of somewhere else (Remote Access). The benefits to credit card companies in fraud prevention savings alone is worth billions of dollars per year. In the near future each computer will be fitted with a smart card reader. E-commerce will then require the card to be present at purchase instead of just the numbers. Personal identification numbers (PIN) will be required to use the smart card, which will also have the capability to store your health info, public record info, etc. With about 264k of memory it is equal to one of the early computers.
Merchants will be required to have credit card terminals that have smart card readers on them. Companies are already marketing terminals that read both the magnetic strip and the micro-chip. My suggestion is to get equipment that is smart card ready now before the prices go up with the demand. The new color of money is digital. If you are not on the superhighway then you are out of business.
About the Author
Steve Mayes is Vice President of Sales & Marketing for USA Card Services in Dallas, TX. He has extensive experience consulting small businesses and has been interview by Success Magazine for outstanding achievements in his field. He can be reached at steve@usacardservices.com |
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| Keywords: credit, processing credit cards, smart card, credit cards, card, credit card transaction, credit cards /, credit card processing, credit card, cards |
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