Quote:
Originally Posted by Republikin
My first suggestion would be to utilize Paypal as they provide low fees and several great API's depending on the level of integration you want to achieve. I use Paypal for all my credit card processing so I can't say much about others.
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I agree that PayPal is a good starting point. However, it's simply not true that they provide low fees - not unless you shift significant money in which case you can get even better rates from a proper merchant account anyway!
The first thing you need for eCommerce is an SSL certificate + a server that supports secure TLS connections. Neither of these should be an issue - but in case you're unsure, SSL certificates typically cost £40+ and tend to be valid for 12 months (then require renewal in a similar manner to a domain name).
SSL certificates vary in terms of user trust and browser compatability (i.e. whether the SSL root is pre-installed and pre-trusted by each particular browser). Also watch out for root chained certificates - single root certificates are more stable, have better compatability, and are more likely to be properly trusted by your visitor's browser.
In terms of credit card payment processing, you have two options:
- Use a payment gateway such as PayPal, WorldPay, 2CheckOut, Authorize.net etc.
- Get a full merchant bank account and interface with that bank's gateway, or use a third party gateway such as Protx
The latter option is recommended, but depends on the scale and stability of your project - you will get better rates this way, but requires more form filling and is generally more complicated to set up (in terms of administration - not necessarily technically).
The first option basically uses someone else's merchant bank account (e.g. PayPal's) in order to accept the payment, and then they will pass it on to you. They obviously need to make a profit, so charge more than they get charged...
In terms of the actual technical implementation. I wouldn't worry about this a great deal. I would advise taking a look at the PayPal API and any others you may come across from the various providers - but they tend to be quite similar in
how they do it, just the specifics may be different (e.g. different parameters etc.).
For example, WorldPay's basic processing package just requires sending your customers to an appropriate URL on their server - including details that you pass in the query string, or via POST.
More sophisticated systems where you collect the credit card data yourself will probably require you to send that encryted via SOAP.
Overall, these systems/API's tend to be very well documented with plenty of examples, as it's in their interests to make it easy for people to interface with them and therefore give them money/customers
Have a look around, and feel free to ask if you have any specific questions about anything mentioned above. There are a few providers thrown around for you to research
