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eCommerce Basics

In order to accept credit cards, debit cards and electronic checks through your web site, you should be aware of the following eCommerce Basics.

Typically, what you need to set up eCommerce on your website is a Shopping Cart Program, a Payment Gateway Account and an
Internet Merchant Account.

A Shopping Cart Program is the code your website uses to keep track of what your shopper wants to buy and then sends the sales totals to your Payment Gateway. A sample of a shopping cart program can be found at Shop Factory. (Page opens in new window.)

A Payment Gateway Account is the credit card processor that provides you with a secure bridge between your e-commerce website and your Merchant Account. Authorize.net is an example. (Page opens in new window.)

An Internet Merchant Account is a type of bank account that allows a business to accept credit cards as a form of payment for online transactions. These accounts manage the flow of money from your customer's individual credit card accounts into your business account. Your current bank may offer this service. Wells Fargo even has an online application. (Page opens in new window.)

What should YOUR company use to process payments?

• Do you already have a bank account through which you process credit cards? They may have programs in place to make the transition to the internet easy for existing clients. Try calling them first, but be aware, some bank fees are rather high.
• Are you a very small company or are you just starting and need to keep your expenses to a minimum but still want to work with a reliable and well-know credit card processing company? Learn more about PayPal's Merchant Services.
• Are you a larger company or need more sophisticated payment processing programming but do not want to pay the higher bank fees? 2CheckOut offers credit card processing and allows you to then transfer payments to your bank account yourself.

Kestrel Designs often works with PayPal and/or 2CheckOut, but we have also helped clients get eCommerce up and running with other payment processing set-ups. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding your eCommerce needs.

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