Topic: CyberCash -- Useful information for Internet merchants | ||
| ||
About Internet Payments and CyberCashAccepting Credit Card Payments over the InternetTo take advantage of the Internet with a complete E-Commerce solution, a merchant's website must be able to accept and process secure online payments. In order to take credit card payments online, merchants need to have an Internet Payment Service and a Merchant Credit Card Account. 1. The Internet Payment Service, such as CyberCash, enables the merchant to accept online payments from their customers and securely processes these payments from a Merchant's Web storefront through the existing system of financial institutions and credit card processors 2. The Merchant's financial institution provides the merchant with a bank account that enables them to accept, process, and deposit payments from their customers, and delivers regular reporting based on these transactions As these two services are critical to commerce enabling a website, don't wait until the last minute to get started! Useful Information for Internet Merchants
Internet Payment Services - The BasicsThe three key qualities merchants expect in an Internet payment service are security, ease-of-use, and price performance. With the right payment service, merchants can have all three. Here are some features to consider: SecurityMerchants want the guarantee that they will get paid for their goods and services and that their customers will feel confident and comfortable shopping at their website. Thus merchants need an Internet payment service that will provide them with the security to deal with credit card authentication, transaction confidentiality, server host integrity, and server virus protection. At a minimum, an Internet payment service should provide SSL (Secure Socket Layer) protocol security, which encrypts the customer's payment information while it moves over the Internet so that it cannot be deciphered. But SSL alone may not be strong enough for this entire transaction process. CyberCash, for example, offers powerful triple DES encryption, as well as SET (Secure Electronic Transaction) capable encryption and authentication. Though electronic commerce is continuing to grow at a rapid rate, shoppers are still skeptical about security, and have not been quick to trust that personal information, such as a credit card number or address, is safe to send over the Internet. However, an Internet payment service like CyberCash, with a reputation for using the strongest Internet security technology, improves consumer perceptions about security. Ease-of-UseFor Internet payments, ease-of-use means more than just simplicity. Merchants need a payment service that meets the short-term and long-term needs of their business with 24x7 reliability so they can focus on what they do best - selling. The primary Internet payment features that make managing a business easier, include:
Merchants have several factors to consider in assessing the price performance of an Internet payment service:
Merchant Credit Card Accounts - The BasicsEach Merchant Needs a Merchant Credit Card AccountJust as in the physical world, a merchant on the Internet needs to establish a merchant account with an acquiring financial institution in order to accept credit cards. Even if a merchant already has a merchant account, they may not have the type of account required for accepting transactions over the Internet. The merchant account setup process can take anywhere from 48 hours to 14 business days to complete. So move quickly on this task, as it is among the most critical to the success of the Web store. The following are guidelines and instructions to help merchants get started quickly: About Merchant AccountsThere are two types of merchant accounts for accepting credit cards:
If the merchant currently accepts credit cards but is not sure if they have a MOTO account, they should contact their merchant financial institution. If they already have a MOTO account, see the section below on "Setting up on Account to Accept Online Payments." Fees and RatesAs a merchant initiates the process of setting up a relationship with an acquiring financial institution, it is important to check more than one source to compare costs. Fees and rates will vary widely, based on the financial institution and the risks associated with the merchant, including the:
Regardless of these factors, a merchant should expect to pay the financial institution:
Understanding Credit Card Processing ModelsNot only are there many rules and regulations surrounding credit cards payments, there are many procedures and processing methods to a transaction. For example, there are two parts to a credit card transaction: the "authorization" and the "capture". And within these types, there are many processes that occur, including processing, billing, reporting, authorization, and settlement. For more detailed information on establishing an Internet merchant account, and becoming familiar with the several components of the credit card accepting process, contact a financial institution for an overview of credit card processing models. Before Getting StartedAsk for a merchant handbook that explains how to accept credit card payments, how to handle and resolve disputes, and how to process voids, returns and partial credits. Also understand the rights of consumers and the rights of merchants, and become familiar with address verification services (AVS) and other fraud detection mechanisms. How to Setup a Merchant AccountNew Account:If a merchant does not currently have a MOTO account, the merchant must set up a new account with an acquiring financial institution. There are a number of financial institutions that have designed an account process specifically for Internet merchants by partnering with Internet payment services, such as CyberCash. For a list of financial institutions that can quickly enable a merchant to accept payments on the Internet with CyberCash, go to http://www.cybercash.com/fi_display/home.html Existing Account: If a merchant already has a MOTO account, they should contact their financial institution or one of its agents to let them know they would like to use CyberCash to accept Internet transactions. There are more than 26,000 financial institutions in the United States. CyberCash works with over 95% of those financial institutions in the United States, allowing merchants to maintain their relationship with their existing financial institution . If the merchant's financial institution does not support CyberCash, direct them to http://www.cybercash.com/cybercash/financial/getstarted.html Setting up the Merchant Account to Accept Online PaymentsRegardless of whether a merchant needs a new MOTO account or would like to keep an existing MOTO account, a merchant should do the following to accept credit card payments over the Internet:
After the Merchant Account is ApprovedOnce the financial institution approves the merchant for online commerce, the financial institution will typically perform the following tasks:
To process a merchant's transactions, an Internet payment service typically requires specific information on the merchant's account, including their MID and TID. CyberCash, for example, only accepts merchant account information from credit card processors to ensure the protection of this sensitive data from one trusted source. The credit card processor in this case would communicate the MID and TID to CyberCash once the merchant's account has been approved. CyberCash will immediately add the merchant bank account information into the Internet Merchant Registration (IMR) system. If the merchant has already registered for service, CyberCash will send an email indicating that the service is ready to go live upon request from the merchant. If the merchant has not yet registered with CyberCash, when the merchant uses the IMR, the pending bank account information is automatically linked during the sign-up process to accelerate the merchant's ability to "go live". As the financial institution is processing the merchant's account and working on these tasks, the merchant can continue to integrate their storefront with the payment component(s) and register with their Internet payment service. About CyberCash's CashRegister ServiceCyberCash is a pioneer in the electronic commerce industry and the leading provider of Internet payment technologies and services. CyberCash enables merchants to accept secure payments on the Internet with more ease, flexibility, reliability and cost-savings than any other solution. Let's see what makes CyberCash better. Secure Internet payments made simple Easy to install, operate and manage Unlike other Internet payment solutions, CyberCash's software installation, integration and management eliminates the major hurdle to setting up a commerce enabled Web site. Using a small payment component [jt1]that integrates with the Web storefront, a merchant connects to the CashRegister Service quickly and doesn't require specialized or dedicated personnel to operate. Automatic upgrades and scalability Hard or soft goods Single platform for all payment services CashRegister 3 Service's unified architecture supports the Internet's widest range of secure payment options:
Merchants win by: selecting payment options that best support their business model, providing more convenient payment choices for their customers, and benefiting from more ways to "close the sale" - all on a single platform. Leading-edge flexibility To provide greater payment flexibility to merchants and their customers, the CashRegister 3 Service supports multiple consumer payment interfaces-including the light-weight CyberCash Agile Wallet,[jt3] the Microsoft Wallet, Secure Socket Layer (SSL) forms, store- and bank-branded wallets, and other custom payment applications. Merchants simply select the options and interfaces they want to offer, and easily add new choices at any time to expand their pool of potential customers. In addition to online transactions, the CashRegister 3 Service also supports 800#, fax and mail orders, so merchants can consolidate all "card-not-present" credit card transactions from a single interface. Industrial-strength encryption for maximum securityTo protect the integrity of transactions, the CashRegister 3 Service supports the Internet's strongest security technologies, including SSL (Secure Sockets Layer). CyberCash transactions are protected by the highest levels of encryption available to ensure security and privacy for anyone who wants to conduct business on the Internet. In CyberCash-based transactions, all financial information transmitted over the Internet is encrypted using CyberCash's industrial-strength triple DES encryption. CyberCash has also adopted the new Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) protocol and is incorporating it into its latest suite of Internet payment solutions. The transition to SET will authenticate cardholders, merchants and banks; assure confidentiality of payment information; ensure that messages have not been corrupted during transit; and provide for interoperability among different software and hardware platforms. Multi-platform support for maximum flexibilityCyberCash's service is compatible with Microsoft® Windows NT and leading versions of the Unix operating system, including Solaris (Sun Sparc & Intel), HP/UX, SGI IRIX, IBM AIX, Digital Unix, SCO, Linux, BSDI, and FreeBSD. Multiple Banking Relationships CyberCash offers connectivity to over 95% of the U.S. acquiring financial institutions and third party processors, so merchants can either maintain their existing banking relationships or enjoy a broad list of options if they need to create a merchant account. Leading international financial institutions also support CyberCash payment services. For a list of CyberCash financial institution partners go to: http://www.cybercash.com/fi_display/home.html Simple administrative functionality and powerful tools Along with enabling secure payments, the CashRegister 3 Service provides all the functions and tools necessary for managing payment transactions. Commercial Web sites can use Web-based CashRegister "control screens" for a flexible and easy user interface to access their administrative functions and to operate their payment services. Transaction logging and reporting To support non-repudiation, balancing, reporting and other back-office functions, the CashRegister 3 Service automatically logs every transaction - including sales, credits and voids - in a powerful database. A Web-based reporting feature provides password-protected visibility into this transaction-level information, allowing you to zero in on problems and drill down into any individual transaction for complete details. Notifications Today's Web storefronts need to interoperate with numerous entities-consumers, inventory systems, customer service, accounting, even outside partners. While the Web is a command and response environment, the CashRegister 3 Service can follow up the standard response with additional communications to other systems, both internal and external to your business. Proof-of-Purchase CashRegister 3 can also issue a digital receipt in the form of a Proof-of-Purchase, or POP, to verify that a consumer has paid. This way, a consumer can come to the merchant's site at any time to redeem a purchase, while bill payers have the Internet equivalent of a cancelled check to verify that payment has been accepted. This is a particularly valuable feature for both soft (electronically delivered) goods and for hard goods that may involve a fulfillment center that is physically separate from where the storefront is hosted. A POP can be redirected to any site on the Internet, taking the customer automatically from payment to fulfillment. Check out the CashRegister 3 Service TodayFor more information on how the CashRegister 3 Service is changing the face of electronic commerce, visit the CyberCash Web site at www.cybercash.com Anatomy of a "Real-Time" Credit Card TransactionSix Steps of a Secure Internet Credit Card Purchase1. Shopping on the Internet
|