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Getting set up to accept credit cards in your ShopSite store is an easy four-step process that should only take a few days. You need to open a few accounts in the name of your business, and then configure your ShopSite store.
- Open a Local Checking Account - Open a business checking account at a local bank to receive the money for orders placed in your store. This account should be in the name of your business. You can use an existing business checking account if you already have one; you don't need to open another account.
- Open a Merchant Account - You must open a merchant account to be able to accept credit cards. A merchant account is not just a bank account (even though a bank may issue it). Rather, it is an account that is designed to 1) process credit card payments and 2) deposit the funds into your local checking account (minus transaction fees). You can apply for a merchant account from a variety of online Merchants and you will usually learn if you are approved within a couple of business days. You will have to provide information about your business, as well as the account number and bank routing number of your local checking account.
- Open a Payment Gateway Account - Payment gateways are the connections between the Internet and the secure banking and credit card networks. Your store must have an account with a payment gateway so that transactions in your store can be processed. ShopSite works with several different payment gateways.
- Configure your ShopSite Store - Once your merchant account and payment gateway account are set up, you must configure your ShopSite store to work with them. In the Commerce Setup > Payment screen of ShopSite, select the payment gateway that you are using, then click the Configure button and enter your gateway account information.
Note: We have partnered with e-onlinedata to offer a combined merchant/gateway account in one step at very competitive prices.
Once you've completed these steps, your ShopSite store is ready to accept credit card payments in real time!
 (You can also configure your store to accept payments through PayPal, and you only need a local checking account. Learn more about using PayPal with ShopSite.)
Credit Card processing requires quite a few steps, and several different companies are involved, such as your store, your payment gateway, your merchant account provider, and the bank that issued the customer's credit card. These drawings and explanations provide a simplified version of credit card processing from a merchant's point of view. If you want more information, you can read the detailed version.
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Authorizing a Purchase
Authorizing is the process of getting approval for a credit card purchase. Although the sale is finalized, no money changes hands at this point.
- The customer types their credit card information into the ShopSite order form.
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ShopSite sends the transaction information to the merchant's payment gateway for authorization.
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The payment gateway sends the transaction information to the banking network and receives back either an authorization code or a "transaction declined" message.
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The payment gateway passes the authorization code (or declined message) back to ShopSite.
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ShopSite displays a receipt to the customer, or a "problem" message if the transaction was declined.
Capturing and Settling
A "capture" is a request by a merchant for funds that were previously authorized. Settling is when the bank that issued the credit card transfers the funds to the merchant's account. The funds are usually available in the merchant's local bank account within a few business days.
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The merchant logs into the ShopSite back office, selects one or more orders that have shipped, and clicks the Bill Orders button.
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ShopSite sends the capture request to the payment gateway.
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The payment gateway sends the capture request to the banking network.
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The banks that issued the credit cards transfer funds to the merchant's account at the acquiring bank or ISO.
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The acquiring bank or ISO transfers the funds to the merchant's local bank account.
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The merchant can access the funds at the local bank.
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You must have both a merchant account and a payment gateway account, and the costs for each vary by provider. Generally speaking, there is a one-time setup fee for each account, a discount rate applied to each transaction, and a minimal per-transaction fee. The discount rate is a percentage of each sale, usually between 2% and 3%. We have partnered with e-onlinedata to offer our customers a combined Merchant/Authorize.net at highly competitive rates. Below is e-onlinedata's fees as of April/2006:
e-onlinedata fees:
- NO Application Fees
- NO Annual Fees
- NO Address Verification (AVS) Fees
- NO Leasing
- NO Termination Penalties
- No Batch Header Fees
- 2.29% VISA/MasterCard Qualified Discount Rate
- $0.30 per Transaction
- $10.00 Monthly Service Fee (includes Monthly Statement)
- $25.00 Monthly Processing Minimum (explanation)
- Toll Free 24/7 customer Support with Free Tech Support
- $0 Authorize.net setup fee
- $10.00/mo Authorize.net access fee
- $0.00 Authorize.net per transaction fee up to 250 transactions
- $0.05 Authorize.net per transaction fee over 250 transactions
Click Here for more information on e-onlinedata Merchant Account and Authorize.net gateway combined account.
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- If you need both a merchant account and a payment gateway account and are a U.S. merchant, e-onlinedata makes it easy and fast to sign up.
- If you already have a merchant account for accepting credit cards, check with your merchant account provider (they may or may not allow transactions in which the credit card is not present). You will need an account with a payment gateway. Ask them if they can setup internet capability with a payment gateway.
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internet capability, to your current merchant account, you will need to get a new merchant account and a payment gateway account from another provider in order to accept credit cards online.
- If your current Merchant provider does support online transactions, the merchant provider may price and setup the gateway account. If not, Click on one of the preferred payment gateway provider links to apply for a compatible payment gateway account. Work with your bank to ensure they enable this on their end.
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What Merchant Account Providers can I use?
You can use any Merchant provider that allows one of the compatible Payment Gateways that ShopSite supports. We have partnered with e-onlinedata to provide a combined Merchant / Gateway account at a competitive price if you need to open a Merchant and Payment Gateway account.
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Are you a merchant based outside the United States? Click Here for information about ShopSite's integrated payment processing solutions for international merchants.
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