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Merchants 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, protection against hackers,
consumer fraud, 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. The payment system you use should also incorporate
triple DES encryption, 768-bit RSA public key technology, and/or 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.
For 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 key Internet payment features that make managing
a business easier, include:
Real-time payments: Why wait? Real-time authorization (financial
institution approval of the sale) and capture (depositing and settling a
payment) enable the merchant to complete the transaction immediately, without
compromising security, and to guarantee funds before shipping their goods and
services.
Scalability: merchants want an Internet payment service that can
smoothly manage and support the growth of their transaction volume and their
needs for additional payment features. A payment service that fails to scale
with increased transactions will hold back the merchant's revenue growth.
Installation, Upgrades and Additional Payment Features: This is a
huge ease-of-use factor. Merchants need to be aware of the level of integration
and maintenance work that the Internet payment service's technology will require.
Multiple payment methods: Currently, credit cards are the primary
choice of payment in the United States. Yet globally, other Internet payment
methods, including electronic checks and cash, have become common forms of
payment. Thus, merchants across the world are likely to begin using multiple
payment methods to expand their business model, the types of products and
services they can offer, and the number of customers to which they can sell.
Merchants should not let their payment options limit their sales
options.
Administrative services: In addition to needing a simply way to
accept Internet payments, merchants need the flexibility to perform
administrative tasks after the payment is complete. Merchants gain more
effective management with functions like:
- Queries of transaction records
- Reviewing the status of orders, voids, and returns
- Direct input of credit card numbers
Merchants have several factors to consider in assessing the price
performance of an Internet payment service:
Service Features and Quality: An Internet payment service can save
merchants money and time with a solution that provides security, reliability,
and built-in, easy-to-use features.
Integration with Storefront Technology: The less technical
integration needed between the storefront software application and the
Internet payment service, the less effort and resources are required to enable
the merchant to take Internet payments, and the more investment can be made in
actually taking the sales.
Relationship with Merchant's Financial Institution: It is important that
the Internet payment service and the merchant's financial institution work closely
together so that they can be responsive to the merchant's business and support
needs.
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