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How do I Accept Payments?

One of the most complex parts of running an online store is payment collection. Unlike a brick-and-mortar store, your customers aren't physically present. This adds a layer of complexity not only because of how your customer provides information about payment, but also because the law in most places prohibits collecting payment until you have the order ready to ship. Fortunately, ShopSite includes a wide range of options to make it as easy as possible for you to accept payments from your customers. You can read more about this in the Guide to Accepting Credit Cards in ShopSite.

Online Payment Services

In addition to standard payment gateways that allow you to process credit card payments, ShopSite has integrated with some online payment services. Unlike a traditional payment gateway, payment information is collected directly by the payment service instead of on your server. This can make your customers feel more comfortable because they know their payment information is being handled by a trusted company, and makes security easier for you because you don't have to worry about safe handling of customer payment information.

• PayPal - You can collect payments from customers with PayPal accounts, or you can process credit card payments through PayPal. The PayPal Web site Payments Standard service directs your customers to PayPal's servers where they enter their PayPal account ID or a credit card number. If you prefer to keep your customers on your site, you can pay for the PayPal Web site Payments Pro service, which collects the customer's PayPal account ID or credit card number on your site, then submits the information to PayPal for processing. The payment will then be credited to your PayPal account.
• Google Checkout - ShopSite makes it easy to collect payments from customers with Google Checkout accounts. If a customer selects to pay using Google Checkout, ShopSite will send your customer's shopping cart information to Google Checkout, where the customer provides their Google Checkout account information. The funds are then transferred to your Google Checkout merchant account.
• WorldPay - International merchants can use WorldPay to collect payments from customers in a variety of different countries. When a customer selects to pay using WorldPay, their shopping cart information is forwarded to the WorldPay server, where the customer can view the cart contents and price in their native language and currency. Customer payments are deposited to your WorldPay merchant account.
• NetBanx - Merchants in the UK can use the NetBanx payment service to collect payments from online shoppers. If you use NetBanx to collect payments, your customers will be forwarded to the NetBanx site to enter their credit card payment information, then the payment is deposited to your NetBanx merchant account.

Online Payment Gateways

ShopSite includes support for a variety of online payment gateway services. An online gateway is similar to any other credit card processing system; you must have a merchant account that is compatible with the gateway service you wish to use. If you already have a merchant account, it may not allow online transaction processing. There are also some strict security guidelines to protect you and your customers from fraud and identity theft. Please read the Guide to Processing Credit Cards in ShopSite for details about how ShopSite handles online payment processing, as well as what merchant account providers and payment gateways are supported by ShopSite.

Security in Online Payments

One of the biggest concerns in online payment processing is focused on protecting the payment information your customers enter. Failure to implement adequate security measures can cost you considerably more than the cost of implementing the security. ShopSite v10 has been certified as a PABP/PCI-DSS Compliant Application. This means that a properly configured ShopSite store meets the security guidelines established by the major credit card companies. The exact requirements for meeting PCI security guidelines depends on how you process payments. For more details on how you can configure your ShopSite store to protect you and your customers, see the PCI Security Practices online help.

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