From my understanding I need to have
- a static IP (to BIND to the SSL cert)
- a ssl for the checkout page (gateway) - Yes and no. If you wish to enter the CC info
on your site, YES. Many just redirect to the AN payment page, which is not technical, but it's also not very graceful. (Just FYI, your mention of AIM means you'll be taking the "high road.")
- an authorize.net account
- An online merchant account Authorize.net is just that, a gateway. My description may be inaccurate, but think of it as a company that is bonded to actually make connections and queries to both your bank account and the merchant provider, which is where the actual auth's and debits occur.
The merchant provider you select is going to vary in cost in terms of monthly charges, per transaction charges, and most importantly, which cards you will accept. Not to confuse you, but some merchant accounts are
both a merchant account and gateway in one, which may (or may not) cost you less in the long run.
IMO, one bit of sound advice -
do not ask your bank for recommendations on setting up a merchant account. It's been my experience that bank personnel are completely clueless when it comes to online transactions. They are "trained" by seminars for the policies and procedures to follow, and while they are good at shuffling all that paperwork and following those procedures, they generally hand off the actual set up to an outside company - their list of "approved merchant providers."
Ask them a single technical question, and they'll send you on the phone tag merry-go-round, contact so-and-so, leave a message, they might get back to you . . . .
So the question is, why wouldn't you just talk to that merchant account provider directly? Good question, and the answer is, you should.
One bank claimed they only accepted accounts from "their list of providers." Turns out this was completely false, we selected an outside merchant account provider and they were able to make direct deposits to the bank without a problem.
Shopping for the merchant account provider that works for YOU is the most difficult part, I think.
