Forum Moderators: buckworks
The one page checkout at volusion.com is something I would really like but signing up with them comes with a lot of 'perks' (shopping cart, customer management, reporting tools, web hosting) which I really don't need as I already have a custom-built cart, order management, and paying for a dedicated server)
Hence my question, which payment gateway or processor (what is the difference anyway) do I need so I can achieve a one-page-checkout?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
An electronic payment gateway (Payflow, LinkPoint, Quantum, Authorize.net, etc) will offer a way for your website to connect to the transaction processor (First Data, Elavon, etc). The transaction processor might be able to approve / deny the transaction, otherwise it is sent over to the card association (Visa / MasterCard / Discover / American Express).
Most of the gateways will provide you some type of API to process the transaction on your secure website or they will provide you with a secure website on the gateway's servers. Some will allow some simple editing to maybe add your logo (but the logo will need to be called securely).
At the end of the day, the gateway batches the transactions to let the merchant account provider get the money. The money is then received from the issuing bank, transferred to the acquiring bank, then to the merchant account provider and then finally into your bank account.
You might have heard of third party processors, maybe (some versions of) Paypal. You basically use their merchant account to accept credit cards. And Paypal offers many "flavors" for you to choose from.
Thanks for your reply.
I have a business account with PayPal and have been using the standard method (i.e. customers are directed to PayPal hosted 'enter payment details' page). I would like to change that 'buying experience' such that customers 'stay on my site'. I am wondering if Payflow Pro from PayPal is the thing I need. Do you think that is it?
...which payment gateway or processor (what is the difference anyway) do I need so I can achieve a one-page-checkout?
All of the above are perfect solutions, just wanted to clarify the logistics of this. Since your site is custom programmed, it should be no problem.
1. You have a valid cert on your page - most gateways require this for what I'm about to describe.
2. Most of these API's require some sort of validation installed on your server. Sometimes it's a module that generates a key hash in a certain way, sometimes it's like installing a second cert. Get these in place and tested.
3. Once those are in place, you do what's called a silent post to the gateway. Customer submits the form, your programming compiles a string that is posted to the gateway. The gateway returns a response. Depending on the response, your programming continues on to do what it normally does (adds order to database, emails you, etc.) then outputs a success or error message.
The user experience is they have never left your site.
Do you know of any payment gateway that accepts clients outside of the US?
Re: Gateways outside the US.
Check the Ecommerce 101 [webmasterworld.com] thread for a list of previous threads about gateways.
Most of the time, the (US) merchant account provider that accepts merchants from overseas will have a couple of gateways that will be supported. And Paypal might support you depending on the country - they keep adding more countries to support the transaction on the merchant's website.
