Accepting Payments Online

[Schmoopy]

Hey there,

I'm about to set up a small shop, which won't require a whole e-commerce system (zen-cart for example), I only need the ability to accept card payments. I have no knowledge in this area so was just wondering if anyone has any experience with this, or where I should start. I want something where you can choose Mastercard, Visa, Solo etc... and other types of payment such as PayPal.

If anyone has any information on this I would love to know,

Thanks,

Schmoopy.

[djr33]

The bottom line is that it's a bad idea to run this if you don't have a large infrastructure to support it. Externalized systems like Paypal are fine, but you never want to deal storing financial information yourself.
Sorry I don't have any better advice, but the simple rule I'd follow is: use Paypal, Google checkout, etc., until you do have the time/need to go to a full setup with support, and perhaps people who know what they're doing to run the security, etc.

[traq]

^seconded. and, security issues aside, you have to have a merchant account to process the payments (even if you bypass the "middleman" -paypal, etc.). the cost can be prohibitive.

[jscheuer1]

I'd start with a PayPal account. They have free ones where you don't have to pay anything for almost everything they offer. The catch is that you're limited to how much money you can transfer out per month, 500 US if memory serves. But it will get you started, if things take off, you can upgrade your account. There will then be fees per incoming transaction, but withdrawals will be unlimited.

In the meantime you can play around with the interface if you like, get an ssl* if you don't already have one so that you may receive transaction information back to your site when folks return to it from PayPal, and/or send more extensive (order/personal) info to PayPal from your site, rather than just having folks go there to process their payment to you. Without ssl the browser (rightly) only allows you to send PayPal, or other transaction partners at most item, cost, quantity, and a token identifying that it's to your account, perhaps a few other limited bits of info, without the user being given a security warning. The information you may receive without a warning to your users is even more limited.


*Secure Socket Layer - A certification offered by many firms that makes your address start with https, and encrypts POST/GET information sent to and from your pages. Many hosts will offer these for free if you are willing to use a shared ssl for that portion of your site that requires it (drawbacks here, among others are that when your users are there, they will have a different domain in the address bar, and your main site cannot send encrypted info back and forth to it). There are also free trials (generally 90 days) of private ssl's available. Ultimately, if things take off you will want your own. These typically (there may be some exceptions/bargains) cost anywhere from about 200 to 5000 US annually, depending upon the encryption level and other features.

[Schmoopy]

Thanks for the feedback guys, I can definitely see where you're coming from and after looking at PSPs it seems that the best bet is PayPal. Since it's only a small business atm I think it's the best solution.

Thanks again!

[BLiZZaRD]

With paypal you can put the buttons on your site and it takes them to their cart on PayPals site.

See here for example (my mom's cookie site).

The main problem as was touched on earlier, is that you need a liscense and need to prove to a bank you are a secure online business able to withstand hacking attempts to keep visitor info.

Using Your Own Merchant Account. To do this, you will need a bank that will allow you to open a merchant account. Requirements for this will vary from country to country, and you should check with your local banks for more information on this.

Believe me, its a lot faster, cheaper and easier to just use a 3rd part merchant account.