Tag Archives: authorize.net

Offsite Payment Processing

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Merchants that sell goods through an online store have many decisions to make when it comes to setting up and running their new ecommerce business. Just one of these is how will they process payments when customer are finished with their shopping and ready to pay for their transaction.

One option is to setup what is known as “offsite processing”. This form of online payment processing allows merchants with little or no technical knowledge have the same security and convenience advantages as those merchants that use payment gateways.

First, we should explain what exactly a payment gateway is. Also referred to as “onsite processing” payment gateways utilize a link to Authorize.net through an API. This means that it uses software to call out from the merchant’s website to the Authorize.net systems to complete the transaction. Using this method also requires the business’ website to have an SSL certificate, meaning it is a secure website.

The distinction between onsite and offsite processing comes down to one simple difference. Onsite payments are processed on the merchant’s website without ever leaving. Offsite payments are directed to, you guessed it, a page off the merchant’s site. Other than where the payment actually takes place the process is identical and there is no difference in security or information required.

Business owners with little or no technical or web savvy may have no idea what any of the last paragraph means. Even those merchants who may have more knowledge of web design, online payments, and API integrations may not have the time or desire to set this up for themselves.

That’s OK because Host Merchant Services has the capability to setup offsite processing for merchants that don’t have the technical knowledge or spare time to setup this extra piece of the puzzle. HMS can provide your online store with a branded payment page that eliminates the need for setting up your own SSL certificate or learning how to work with Authorize.net. When customers reach the payment stage of their transaction, they are simply directly over to your offsite payment page. The advantage this provides to customers of Host Merchant Services is that we can put our years of programming knowledge to work for your business.

We have setup and example page at processnow.hostmerchantservices.com and below is a screenshot.

To learn more about getting an offsite payment processing page setup for your online business or any other merchant services questions contact us now!

Alert: New Phishing Scam [2023 Update]

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The Official Merchant Services Blog wants to alert its readers to a new fraudulent phishing e-mail scam that is going around the internet. Authorize.net, one of the leading providers of payment gateway services, has received reports that an e-mail is being sent to merchants. The e-mail claims to be from Authorize.net, but is actually a phishing attempt by an unknown source. If you receive an e-mail with the subject line “Successful Credit Card Settlement Report,” and the e-mail does not include your Gateway ID or Reseller ID, please disregard this e-mail and do not click on any of the links provided. It is not from Authorize.net. It is fraud.

Here is a copy of what this fraudulent e-mail scam may look like in your inbox:

Remember, do NOT respond to this or click any links provided in this scam e-mail. You can visit Authorize.net’s fraud resources here. But if you or someone working for you may have inadvertently responded to, or clicked a link, in this fraudulent e-mail, please contact us at Host Merchant Services for guidance on how to secure your account.

About Authorize.net:

Authorize.net has been a leading provider of payment gateway services since 1996, managing the submission of billions of transactions to the processing networks on behalf of merchant customers. Authorize.net is a solution of CyberSource Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Visa. Authorize.net enables merchants to authorize, settle and manage credit card and electronic check transactions via Web sites, retail stores, MO/TO cell centers and mobile devices.

Industry Terms: Payment Gateway

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This is the latest installment in The Official Merchant Services Blog’s Knowledge Base effort. We want to make the payment processing industry’s terms and buzzwords clear. We will eliminate any and all confusion merchants might have about how the industry works. At Host Merchant Services, we promise to deliver personal service and clarity. So we’re going to take some time to explain how everything works. This ongoing series is where we define industry related terms and slowly build up a knowledge base and as we get more and more of these completed, we’ll collect them in the resource archive for quick and easy access.

Payment Gateway

Today we will focus on Payment Gateways and how they work, in order to wrap up our week of E-commerce driven content. A payment gateway allows E-commerce merchants to accept credit cards on their websites. Sensitive payment information is encrypted by the gateway to ensure that it passes securely between the customer and the merchant. We have defined a POS, or point of sale system already for the Knowledge Base. A payment gateway can be considered a virtual point of sale system. The gateway acts as a “middle man,” allowing communication between online shopping carts or virtual terminals and the banks processing the transaction.

The process can be broken down like this, it starts when a customer places an order on a website by pressing the “Submit Order” button in an online shopping cart. The payment gateway then forwards the transaction information to the payment processor used by the merchant’s acquiring bank. From there the payment processor forwards that information to the appropriate card association (ex Visa, MasterCard). The credit card issuing bank receives the request, or the Authorization and does the necessary credit or debit check and then sends a response back to the processor in the form of an approval code (ex approved, denied). Next the processor forwards the authorization response back to the payment gateway. After receiving the response, the gateway forwards it on to the website, which then evaluates it as a relevant response and relays the outcome to the merchant and cardholder. Finally, the merchant then fulfills the customers order, then after a batch the acquiring bank receives the funds, and deposits them into the merchants bank account.

Payment gateways can be stand-alone systems designed for integration with other 3rd party systems, or they can be bundled with their own shopping carts and virtual terminals. It’s worth noting that most merchants will not need to install additional software on their own servers to run a basic payment gateway. Some payment gateway providers are simple to implement, but do not offer much customization. Others are more complex but can be customized to your needs.

Host Merchant Services offers a variety of E-commerce solutions to fit your business, including Transaction Central, our own cutting edge in house payment gateway. HMS is able to interface with most of the major Payment Gateways out there, including Authorize.net. We also offer unparalleled protection for all of our merchants in the form of our PCI Compliance Initiative.

 

Payment Gateways: How They Help Your Business

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The Official Merchant Services Blog delves into Payment Gateways today. We’re going to examine the pros that exist for businesses in using Payment Gateways to establish an online business presence and accept online payments. We also detail some of the basic questions you want to ask yourself about e-commerce, why you want an e-commerce presence for your business, and how much the two Host Merchant Services Payment Gateway options cost.

Why Do I Want To Start Collecting Online Payments In the First Place?

The easiest answer is that it opens up a new market for you and improves your cash-flow.

Online payments give you the ability to accept credit cards through a Payment Gateway itself, or through a third-party add-on, without a lot of trouble or delay. Your clients can pay you quickly with a credit card transaction and the money is in your bank fast.

This increases your cash-flow. You no longer need to wait for a physical check to show up in the mail, then spend time depositing that check in the bank, and then waiting days for the check to clear before you can access the money.

Accepting online payments also opens your business up to a wider potential customer base. Beyond just the local draw your brick and mortar business can attract, the ability to set up an effective e-commerce business lets you reach out to customers far away. Online shopping, especially as we close in on the holiday shopping season, is booming. And virtual shopping options for your website (e-commerce solutions) all hinge on having a way to process payments through your website. In short, to cash in on the online shopping potential your business has, you need a payment gateway in place to process those transactions.

Also, accepting online payments allows you the ability to charge your client’s credit card on a recurring basis (for monthly, quarterly or annual services). This process can be automated, making recurring revenue streams a reliable and predictable source of income.

What are the Costs of Using Payment Gateways?

Most Payment Gateways charge a base monthly fee as well as a “discount rate” for each sale (usually 2-4% of the sale). Monthly fees are generally charged for premium options that can include added support, personal branding for your business and other miscellaneous functions.

Host Merchant Services offers two basic Payment Gateway options: Authorize.net, and HMSExpress. Authorize.net, which is one of the three largest Payment Gateways offered, costs HMS Merchants a base fee of $10.00 a month and 5 cents per transaction. HMSExpress, the new virtual terminal solution that HMS offers, costs its merchants $10 a month and has no added fees for individual transactions.

When analyzing your options, you want to balance the costs of the services against the additional value these services bring to you and your business. One basic way to evaluate the cost of even having a payment gateway is: What is it worth to you to get paid faster for online transactions than you do for check transactions? What is it worth to your business to be able to process more transactions during the holiday season because you can attract business from all over the country?

Questions like that are what you have to consider when you decide if you want your business to transition to an online one. In our next part of the series, we’re going to get into the details of how Payment Gateways work and see what other questions you have to consider when trying to decide which Payment Gateway to use.