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Steps to establishing online real time credit card processing:
Establish a Merchant Account
1. Establish a merchant account that
can accept credit cards via online
transactions. An example of a company, which provides this type of service, is authorize.net and cybercash. The fees for processing real time transactions vary from service to service. Typically, the fee structure consists of the following:
- Account Setup fee: varies from $150 - $300.
- Monthly fee: varies from $20 - $50.
- Transaction fee: varies from $.20 - $.40 per transaction.
- Discount rate: The percentage of bank card sales amounts that the sponsoring
financial institution charges the merchant for the settlement of the transaction
Establish a Secure Server
2. Establish a Secure Server by obtaining a
digital certificate for your
company, which allows you to access SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). SSL assures the users of your site that their credit card information will be encrypted during the transaction phase of their purchase (checking out).
- Certificate fees vary from company to company and can range anywhere from $125 - $350 per year if you're obtaining a certificate for your own
server.
- Obtain a virtual secure web hosting account with an ISP, which would allow you to use your current site in a secure manner. Instead of
actually obtaining a certificate for your company, you'll use the certificate of the ISP. Fees vary from ISP to ISP, so be check with your current hosting provider for details.
Display a Privacy Statement
3. Display a Privacy Statement
explaining how your customer's data will be used by your company (marketing, credit card info, etc.).
Setup a Shopping Cart System
4. Setup your web site to allow your users to shop online. This includes the following:
- Examining your products or services to determine the best way to market your items online.
- Develop an online database to store your company's products, or, establish a
connection to your current database in such a fashion, which will allow display and purchase of your products in an efficient manner.
- Integrate a shopping cart system into your current web site in a secure and seamless fashion.
- Process the online order, capture payment, and display results of the order if successful, or the reason for denial if not accepted.
- Send a confirmation of transaction to user via e-mail, with credit card information not displayed for security reasons.
- Send a confirmation of transaction to the merchant so order fulfillment can begin.
Complete the Order
5. Complete the order by sending the user the products, which they had ordered.
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