Secure Online Payment the Easy Way
If you are expecting your Web site customers to pay by credit or debit card and to enter these details online, you must make sure the transactions are secure.
To secure your Web site you will need to purchase and install an authenticated Digital Certificate from a trusted Certificate Signing Authority such as BT Verisign or Thawte. The alternative would be one of the services providing online payment clearance for credit card transactions. These provide secure transactions without the need to purchase your own site certificate, and they provide online payment clearance.
Online Payment Clearance Systems
There are a number of services that offer online payment clearance for credit card transactions. But first, you should consider the following:
- Do you already have a merchant credit card account?
- If yes, is it an account that permits Internet transactions? Standard PDQ accounts generally do not.
- If you do not have a merchant credit card account, do you want to use one provided by the online payment clearance provider? If you are a new company starting out on the Internet, you may be forced to take this route.
- Do you have a need to support transactions in more than one currency?
- Do you need to reserve taking payment until the goods ship? This is a common requirement where goods are not held in stock.
- Do you wish to conduct the payment in the name of your own company or will it be OK to allow a 3rd party payment provider to take the payment and reimburse you?
It is also important to ensure the service operates effective anti-fraud measures as it is almost always the case that the merchant bears the risk!
We use and recommend the following services:
- WorldPay
- DataCash
- NetBanx
- Secure Trading
- ClickBank (3rd party payment provider - operates in US$)
WorldPay provides all the services listed above except acting as a 3rd party payment provider. The cost is £95 setup, £160 per year plus 4.5% of sales service charge, including the bank credit card service charge.
Above all, make sure you tell your customers that your site is secure - include a page describing the security and payment system you have in place. Build trust.
Establish a good level of trust and your customers will feel much more comfortable buying from you.