CC Processing for my own cart

Need a few clarifications on credit card processing

[jfc_surge]

OK, so I am trying to move my site away from PayPal IPN because I want the shopping cart to be completely integrated into my site with payment processing, etc. In other words, I don't want my users to leave my site at any time. Now, maybe I am just a complete idiot, but I am not sure which services I need. I made a custom shopping cart for my site. Is it possible to accept a CC number, send it encrypted to a processor, then have them tell me whether it passed/failed? I don't want shopping cart software, because I already have a shopping cart. Do I need a gateway or a merchant account, or credit card processor. Its just a little confusing because all the companies seem to overlap and what not. Any recommendations. Can I just use LinkPoint or Authorize.net by themeselves? Thanks in advance!

-D

[lorax]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld jfc_surge,
Authorize.net, et al, offer CC processing services. They'll do the verification and charge the card for you. All you need to do is have an account with them and then use their API to speak with their servers. Since it's your own cart you'll need to write the code yourself. Shouldn't be too bad though. Just make sure the transaction is secure.

[Corey Bryant]

You need an SSL cert on your website if you want to capture & process the credit card data on your site.

LinkPoint, Authorizenet.com are both electronic payment gateways. They will help to verify the transaction.

The merchant account provider (MAP) will actually help you to accept credit cards on your site, giving you your own MID.

In essence, you need the three things above. Of course, you can always use LinkPoint's or Authorizenet.com own secure webpage to capture the data but that takes the user off of your website. And it seems you want to maintain consistency. They all offer an API to be integrated into your cart to help capture the data.

-Corey

[jfc_surge]

so can will authorize.net or linkpoint allow put money in my bank account or is that what a MAP is? Also, where do I sign-up on the Authorize.net or LinkPoint site, I can't find a form or sign-up page to get an account with them. If I need an MAP, can anyone recommend one to me. All of these CC's sites look very unprofessional and I am very reluctant to have something so unprofessional handel the financial aspects of my site. Just a thought. Maybe unfounded. Thanks a ton for all your help!

[Corey Bryant]

That is what the MAP is for.

The gateways mainly go thru resellers actually to sell their services

-Corey