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SEE RATES & FEES: Author's Recommendation.
Look to the author's own recommendation of a Merchant Credit Card
Service, ecommerce e-commerce. It is offered in direct response to the ever-increasing e-mail
received requesting such a recommendation. You can be sure that this author's
recommendation for a Merchant Credit Card Service, ecommerce e-commerce, has been determined only
after a thorough review of the industry which included personal interviews
with responsible upper management individuals from all the major merchant
credit card service companies.
RATES
& FEES: Author's Recommendation
One must dig deep beneath the surface, removing layer upon layer,
to ultimately reveal its true structure. Let me attempt an explanation
by listing the number of players involved in the Merchant Credit Card Account, ecommerce e-commerce,
arrangement.
You would guess that only two players exist: the Merchant and the Bank. Well, that would be a close guess but you could be off by at least an additional two players bringing the actual playing field to four. Of course, your typical Merchant Game will sport a field of as many as six players. So, how did we catapult from the expected two players (the Merchant and the Bank) all the way up to a six count? O.K. Here we go. Let me tell you a little story. Now, you take the role of the Merchant in this story.
You're boppin' along one day on the Net and the thought comes to you "Hey, I really should look into accepting credit cards from customers." O.K. So, maybe you figure you gotta go to your local bank and they'll set it all up for you. That would be pretty good figuring on your part. It makes sense, right? You want to accept credit cards. That means money. Banks deal in money.
Well, even though it seemed like a good idea and all, what you just might have managed to do in that one quick trip or phone call it took to talk to your bank was yank in players number two and three into the Merchant Credit Card Game. And hey, you haven't even come close yet to lining up the real Bank that can process your credit card sales.
So, in contacting your local bank, you might have allowed your bank in turn to contact a broker, the second broker to join your team of players. That's right. Don't forget now that it was you who initiated contact with the first broker, your bank.
O.K. Now, just who is this second broker that your local bank brought out onto the field? This player is called an ISO. Sounds pretty impressive, eh? Well, in fact, ISO is just a fancy name for broker...(I)ndependent (S)ervice (O)rganization. There's a two-dollar name for ya.
O.K. Let me try to pick up the pace here. Up till now you haven't done all that well in setting up your credit card account. But, take heart you could have done worse. That's right. Your local bank could have referred you to that ISO alright, but not quite directly to the ISO. Yep, you could have been referred to an agent of that ISO, and then you'd be up to a four-man game. And, still no sight of the real Bank.
Boy, four players and at least one more, possibly two more players before you've completed the circuit and can actually begin the process of obtaining your Merchant Credit Card Account, ecommerce e-commerce. You know that this little family of brokers that you've put together represents a whole lot of hungry mouths to feed.
But, of course, your local bank didn't refer you to an agent of the ISO. So, your player count is only at three with one to two more yet to join. However, for the sake of portraying just how badly you could have done in setting up your merchant account, let's go ahead and say that you were referred by your local bank to the agent of the ISO.
O.K. now this agent of the ISO takes your application, and if you're real lucky, this agent isn't a ripoff link in the chain leading to your real Bank. Ah, but odds are you're being pretty much overcharged on app fees, setup fees, transaction rates, and especially on any terminal software (IC Verify, PCAuthorize, or MacAuthorize) or hardware.
So, what's done is done. Too late to take back your application and start anew. Right about now though, you might be wondering just what's up with the ISO and where's my real Bank.
The ISO has turned your application over to the real Bank. This means the ISO's job of getting customers (merchants) for the real Bank is done. The ISO is pretty much out of the picture now unless of course he managed to persuade you to lease terminal software or hardware at an outrageous monthly fee. This would give the ISO reason enough to stick around....collecting the rents.
Of course had you known that you can outright purchase and own IC Verify (PCAuthorize, or MacAuthorize) Software right here at ... reco.html...you could have avoided any such terminal software or hardware leases.
Anyway, your application is in. You figure you're done. No more players to add to the team now. Oh, but there is still another player to acknowledge. That's right. It's the Bank Card Processor. That's the outfit that pushes all the pencils and paper. It's the data processor. Hey, in this overcrowded playing field of six, count 'em six, someone's gotta do the actual work of credit card processing.
And, there you have it. The loop is closed. The circle's complete. And, to think, it took six players including yourself. What do you figure the cost of operating this oversized six-man team will be? Ahh, you don't wanna know.
And, that's the end of the story of the merchant and the credit card account. Need I bother to say whether or not the merchant lived happily ever after?
Summary:...............................
The major players in the Merchant Credit Card ecommerce e-commerce Game are most commonly:
The Merchant, the ISO (Independent Service Organization), the Card
Processor, and the Bank.
The real Bank which can handle your credit card transactions is rarely if ever your local bank. Nonetheless, your local bank will happily accept your Merchant Credit Card Application, ecommerce e-commerce. However, your application is most likely simply being brokered out to an ISO, or worse to an agent of the ISO. This is because the ISO, itself, can have agents acting as brokers within its own organization. Classic examples of the counterproductive Bank/ISO/ISO Agent arrangement abound on the Internet.
The ISO, in most cases, is the closest you will be able to get to the credit card Bank. Most Bank's attitude on the matter goes something like this:
"Bring me the head of Joe Vallaci!"
Oh no, sorry, that's wrong. I'm obviously getting two very similar business organizations mixed up. The quote I was looking for describing the Bank's position in the Merchant Credit Card, ecommerce e-commerce, Game goes more like this:
"Let the ISOs do the selling. Let them bring the merchants to me".
----------------------------------------------------
Although the ISO, the Card Processor, and the Bank are usually three
separate entities, various combinations or alignments involving these major
players can occur.
The alignment of choice for any merchant seeking a credit card account would be that in which the real Bank deals directly with applicants thereby eliminating the usually costly ISO. After months of research I am proud to announce that such an ideal situation does exist. See author's recommendation for details.
It is my belief that with the passage of time we shall see the Banks
and their associated ISOs if any, assuming a fairer much more competitive
role within the Internet.
----------------------------------------------------
Hardware devices such as credit card swiping machines requiring
dedicated phone lines, have essentially been bumped into obsolescence by
the introduction of IC Verify (DOS winpopup), PCAuthorize (windows),
or MacAuthorize (Mac) Software which now permits credit cards to be
processed by computer modem thereby totally eliminating, in most merchant
applications, the need for any of the hardware swiping devices of the past.
And, for those merchants with customers at their site, remarkably inexpensive
Computer Keyboard Add-On Card Swiping Devices are available.
SEE Software & Add-On
Cardreaders
The IC Verify (DOS winpopup), PCAuthorize (windows), or MacAuthorize (Mac) Software system allows cards to be processed in the following ways:
So, in answer to the question whether you need hardware or
software for your terminal, it is likely all you will ever need is the
IC
Verify (DOS winpopup), PCAuthorize (windows), or MacAuthorize (Mac) Software.
However, some merchant applications might still justify the use of a cardswiping
hardware device. For instance, the processing of cards might be required
at a site away from a computer. However, one finds it difficult to imagine
such a computerless site existing anywhere anymore.
Continue with the list of questions at the top
of this document.
....the days of old when telephones had to be leased....
No contest as to the issue of Buy or Lease especially when one considers the distressing fact that the Merchant Service industry is littered with used car salesmen. Stay away from the Lease pitch. And, stay away from the Buy pitch. In fact, when it comes to deciding on Terminal products it would probably be wise to stay away from your Merchant Credit Card Application, ecommerce e-commerce, source entirely. I am reminded of the days of old when telephones had to be leased from good old AT&T. Same scenario applies. Would you, today, even consider leasing a telephone?
Whether it be hardware or software that you desire, both are products wholly independent from where you apply for your Merchant Credit Card Account ecommerce e-commerce. And, although your Merchant Application source might offer these Terminal items for sale or lease, you would be much better served to SHOP elsewhere for any such Terminal Hardware or Software.
Remember, it is imperative you choose a sound financial institution. There are far too many risks involved in the credit card industry for you to be gambling with the security of your hard earned sales revenue. Consider the following:
The possibility of credit card service mismanagement might seem,
at first, somewhat of an unrelated concern for the individual merchant
or applicant. However, this type of mismanagement, generating a zero or
negative return, can seriously impact the economic stability of all parties
concerned: the Bank, the Card Processor, the ISO, and ultimately the Merchant
who runs the risk of losing and having to replace his credit card service
company.
In fact, the merchant credit card, ecommerce e-commerce, service industry is more likely to see an increase in the probability of such mismanagement in the near future rather than a decrease. This is attributed to the current phenomenon of highly competitive and potentially self-destructive price and rate cutting practices observed among some of the major players in the industry. Continue with the list of questions at the top of this document.
Any serious discussion of Secured Credit Card Transactions must
address two major periods during which credit card information is at risk.
The first period of concern, the processing of credit card
sales with the bank, is quite effectively and securely managed by way of
secured modem dial-up communications as provided by IC Verify, PCAuthorize,
or MacAuthorize Software terminal programs. In fact, the process is a totally
secured transaction independent of the Internet "Online" environment. This
is because the link between merchant and Bank is established by a non-Internet
modem line direct dial-up connection.
The second period of concern, Online Transactions, is best addressed through the implementation of a secured site commerce server such as provided by Netscape Commerce Server and Internet Factory's Commerce Builder. These two IP site options allow for the encrypted collection and storage of vital credit card information.
As a merchant, you should address possible customer concerns about online credit card transaction security. The issue is not difficult to address and can be dealt with in any one of the following ways:
OR,
SEE
Our Secure Automated Order Taking and Processing to Bank Services: SecureForm
and SecurePay
Continue with the list of questions at the top
of this document.
S.E.T. is simply an encrytion standard which can be wrapped within
a vehicle, a software program such as IC Verify, PCAuthorize, or MacAuthorize.
The transaction software makers will probably, in time, add S.E.T. as a
software upgrade but I would think they see no real need to do so because
Internet online processing functionality is already a feature of their
software.
Continue with the list of questions at the top
of this document.
| CyberCash | PCAuthorize,
MacAuthorize, or ICVerify Software |
SecureForm B
or SecurePay |
|
| Real-Time Internet (Online) Transactions |
programming req'd |
programming req'd |
|
| Server Side requires complicated programming |
|
|
|
| Internet Orders can be processed Offline | No |
|
|
| Real-Time Telephone/Fax/Mail
and In-Person Trans. |
must redirect to internet |
|
must redirect to internet |
| Merchant Access to Customer CC Data |
|
|
|
IC Verify (DOS winpopup), PCAuthorize (windows), or MacAuthorize
(Mac) is a software program which provides Credit Card Authorization, ATM
Access, Check Guarantee, and Deposit Capture capabilities. IC Verify (DOS
winpopup), PCAuthorize (windows), or MacAuthorize (Mac) can turn your computer
into a bankcard authorization terminal, replacing your Verifone ZON / TRANZ330
type terminal.
Revolutionary Software Re-shapes the Credit Card Industry!.......Press Release
Oakland, California: IC Verify, Inc. recently announced sales exceeding 30,000 units of its credit card authorization software, IC Verify. This revolutionary software package is the only system of its kind in the world. Designed primarily for small to mid-sized businesses, IC Verify provides the capability to transform a PC compatible, or multi-user system into a bank card authorization/capture terminal. IC Verify performs all the functions of a bank terminal - but at approximately 1/3 the cost and with 10 times the functionality.
IC Verify can easily handle all major credit cards, ATM and debit cards, check acceptance, and up to six private label store credit cards. IC Verify is the first and only program to be certified with both American Express and Discover for both authorization and deposit capture. This can provide substantial merchant savings by eliminating T&E transaction fees.
With IC Verify's complete split dial capabilities, the merchant has total flexibility to use any processor they want. IC Verify is certified by 85 major Processing Networks, which covers over 99% of all processing banks nationwide including South America, Canada and Mexico.
IC Verify includes exclusive features and functionality which are not available with stand alone terminals. Along with being the nation's premiere provider of PC credit card processing, IC Verify is a "software-only" solution; it can be used to compliment the merchant's current POS (Point of Sale) hardware, saving them the huge expense of constantly replacing outdated hardware.
There are significant advantages to having one integrated authorization system versus the register and separate Verifone. Many errors are made by clerks entering incorrect totals into Verifone units. A forgotten zero in a transaction can read $100.00 rather than $1000.00. The merchant loses $900.00, and the mistake may be difficult or impossible to find. Errors like these, in addition to fraud, can be minimized by incorporating IC Verify software into existing POS (Point of Sale) and ECR's (electronic cash registers).
A typical multi-register store can save significant time and expense using IC Verify's software. IC Verify allows up to eight users for a fraction of the cost of a Verifone set-up. For an eight-user network of PC cash registers, a Verifone set-up requires eight Verifone terminals and eight telephones. With IC Verify, the merchant only needs one copy of the software, one modem employed on one workstation, and one telephone line. No other additional hardware or software is required.
An average business telephone line costs $60 a month. Using the example above, eliminating the seven lines and employing IC Verify software would mean a savings of $420 a month. It would also save the cost of renting or purchasing the Verifone terminals and printers, which costs about $320 dollars a month.
In a multi-user situation, IC Verify is significantly faster than using individual terminals. The first transaction typically takes ten to fifteen seconds to dial, connect, log-in, and receive a response. This is approximately the same time as a Verifone. However, IC Verify can keep the line open indefinitely, as long as there are transactions in the queue. The net average transaction time can be as little as 6.5 seconds. This provides the functionality of leased line speed at dial up prices.
Other IC Verify features include: A pop-up mode which enables IC Verify to be used in conjunction with any PC software, "Screen Grab" - allowing data to be entered only once, optional batch mode with extensive back office and mail order functions, multiple transaction queuing with a single toll-free call, batch/recurring processing, and restaurant tip capture. With management reporting, the user can print reports, view them on-screen, or export them to spreadsheet or ASCII files. The program allows up to 999 individual merchant numbers to run using the same software package in offices which share services.
The IC Verify package has a list price of only: $349 ($349 including
sameday delivery if ordered at this website) for the single-user PC version,
$499 ($449 including 2-day UPS delivery if ordered at this website) for
the PC multi-user version. The SCO Unix multi-user version lists for $995
($799 including 2-day UPS delivery if ordered at this website).
Optional items include Credit Card/Driver's License Stripe Readers
with Signature Capture compatibility, and Debit Card Readers.
"The reality of today's competitive market clearly demands the use of more efficient tools for the processing of credit cards, check acceptance, and ATM debit cards by merchants and entrepreneurs," says Steve Elefant, President of IC Verify, Inc.. "IC Verify is designed to give a merchant a highly productive interface to card, check, and debit processing, through an interactive system which is far easier to implement and use than traditional card authorization terminals. Businesses can expect to see an increase in their point-of-sale efficiency, as well as a significant savings in card processing costs by using IC Verify."
IC Verify, Inc., founded in 1983, is a fully integrated hardware and software resource. They can assist businesses in acquiring a complete point-of-sale/accounting hardware and software system fully compatible with the IC Verify software.
Re: Win95 and ICVerify - Add "/n" to the Win95 shortcut icon command
line statement and ICVerify will readily appear as a popup window when
the shortcut icon is clicked.
The command line statement should look as follows:
Path...\icverify\icverify.exe /n.
AFFN DPI MERCANTILE ALERT ECHO MOST AMERICAN EXPRESS EFS MPACT ARJAY ENVOY NABANCO BANKMATE EXPLORE NDC (National Data) BT NO. AMERICA (MCI) FCS NOVA BUYPASS FDR NPC CCA FDR-AVS NYCE CERIDIAN (CDC) FHB POSTECH/HONOR CES FNBO PREFERRED CHECK CHECK AMERICA FTB PULSE CHECK CONNECTION GECC REDBOOK CHECK FREE Generic VISA-1 & 2 SELECT CHECK CHECK RITE GULFNET SHOPPERS CHECKS, INC. HONOR SPS (SEARS) CHECK TECH ICCA STAR CHECKTRONIC INSTA-CHECK TDSI CNET INTERLINK TELECHECK COMMLINK JBS TELECREDI (Equifax) CORE DATA LITLE TRANSNET CROSS CHECK LYNK URUGUAY VISA CSA MAC VALICHEK CSI MAGCARD VISANET CVE MAPP (BANK NET) WELLS FARGO DISCOVER MDI (Modular Data) YANKEE 24
PCAuthorize, because it is a 100% windows "dde" (direct data
exchange) and "dll" integration-capable program, will integrate with existing
windows Point of Sale software even easier than ICVerify. No need for any
ascii or unix type program writing.
MacAuthorize, being a MAC based application, can be directly compared to PCAuthorize in ease of integration with Point of Sale software programs.
ICVerify, because it is currently a DOS based program with limited windows popup capability, does require a certain knowledge of basic ascii text programming to achieve full automation. However, it should be pointed out that ICVerify is the software of choice in integrating cgi based order forms.
Therefore, it should be understood that in reading the remainder of
this answer segment #22, any descriptions of ascii text programming procedures
is intended to refer only to and specifically to the more complicated Dos-based
ICVerify software and not to the windows-based PCAuthorize or the Mac-based
MacAuthorize programs. Now, back to the topic of automated processing.
Let me pose the following question to you. "Are you sure fully automated
processing is what you really want?" An understanding of the two basic
categories of processing will help.
Manual Card Processing - Not fully automated card processing. (Stay with me on this). This type of processing, in fact, would be better defined as Semi-Automatic Card Processing.
Take a look at the following three examples of Manual Card Processing:
e.g.#1) Manual processing can be as basic as in.... manually taking a customer order by phone, then manually inputting the credit card info by keyboard, and finally manually using your keyboard or mouse to engage the modem/dialup/connect/authorize/ settle/disconnect process which takes all of from 5 to 10 seconds.
e.g.#2) Manual Processing can also be a bit automated as in.... automatically taking a customer order online, automatically sending copies of that order to both the merchant and the customer's e-mail addresses, and then automatically sending the customer to another web page, perhaps a "Thanks for your order!" page. Of course, proper measures to ensure credit card transaction security should be in place.
All that's left for the merchant to do with this manual order is connect to his online Internet service provider, go to his e-mail, retrieve the credit card sales information, and submit that info to his Processing Bank by keyboard entry. (as described in e.g.#1 above). Of course, the merchant could let sales accumulate at his e-mail address to be retrieved once or twice daily and then submitted for final processing as a group or in the batch mode available with IC Verify (PCAuthorize and MacAuthorize) Software.
e.g.#3) Manual Processing can be further more automated as in.... automatically taking a customer order online, automatically sending a copy of that order to the customer's e-mail address, and (instead of also sending a copy of the order to the merchant's e-mail address as in e.g.#2 above), automatically creating an ASCII text "request" file (for PCAuthorize and MacAuthorize, this is achieved via simple data import/export program functions), and then automatically sending the customer to another web page, perhaps a "Thanks for your order!" page.
In this third and last Manual Processing example the merchant still must connect to his online Internet service provider to retrieve the credit card sales information but not from his e-mail (as he did in e.g.#2). Instead, once the merchant is online, he will activate IC Verify (DOS winpopup), PCAuthorize (windows), or MacAuthorize (Mac) Software which will then automatically find the request file, automatically retrieve the required information, and finally automatically engage the modem/dialup/connect/authorize/settle/disconnect process which takes all of from 5 to 10 seconds. All this will be accomplished without any need to manually input the data by keyboard (as in e.g. #1 and #2 above). The Dos-based "Request File Polling" feature is described in detail in the IC Verify Software user's manual.
This brings us to:
Fully Automated Card Processing - The idea here is to have the online orders processed fully and immediately without any need for any human intervention other than the original order-placing customers who may or may not be human.
To achieve Fully Automated Card Processing, All the software products described above can be interfaced with other Point of Sale software or it can be interfaced with custom programs such as CGI-scripted order forms.
However, should be noted that Fully Automated Card Processing is an ONLINE process which requires online simultaneous access to a modem at the Internet provider's site. The online modem, of course, is needed to dialup the Processor Bank and submit credit card information.
It should also be noted that in the case of a merchant with an IP TCP modem dialup SLIP or PPP type account, special arrangements would have to made to obtain the necessary access to the Internet Provider's online modem. MasterCard and Visa are expected to offer a protocol named S.E.T. by the end of 1996. When this service does comes online and is fully available, you can expect it to be incorporated within the ICVerify (PCAuthorize and MacAuthorize) Software applications. Then it will be a fairly simple process to enable online credit card authorizations and complete sales transactions. All that would be required is that ICVerify (PCAuthorize and MacAuthorize) be running online in the background while you're logged off the server site.
DEVELOPER DIRECT INTEGRATION INFORMATION
REQUEST FILE FORMAT FOR BATCH PROCESSING:
(ASCII Comma/Quote Delimited format)
This is an example of the format of the ICVERnnn.REQ file and batch input file created by the user with manual input of the credit card number, expiration date, and dollar amount:
"C1","comment 1","comment 2","400 3010123426780","9912","100.00"
* If a file contains more than one (1) transaction record, the transaction records should be separated by Carriage Return and Line Feed.
However, Del West, through its never-ending search for solutions,
can offer...
Three Options for Non-U.S. Merchants wanting
to Accept Credit Cards:
Option One: For U.S. and Non U.S. Merchants
"20M-Plus Risk Mgr" Program
This U.S. based merchant bankcard program requires Non-U.S. applicants
to:
Jump To "20M-Plus
Risk Mgr" Program
----------------------------------------------------------
Option Two: For Canadian Merchants Only
This option is likely to be a bit expensive.
----------------------------------------------------------
Option Three: For U.S. and Non-U.S. Merchants
"International" Program
This is a Canadian based merchant bankcard program in which
applicants are not required to incorporate in Canada or the U.S.
Jump To
"International" Program
Continue with the list of questions at the top
of this document.
Additional options exist for Canadian merchants
wanting to accept credit cards. Please Scroll Up to the preceding Answer
Number 26 directly above.
Yes. Multiple merchants can have their funds deposited into
their own separate bank accounts. This is ideal for busy professional offices,
fulfillment houses, multiple locations on a Wide Area Network, etc..
Yes. Recurring transactions can be billed automatically to
credit cards, or the recurring transaction amounts can be withdrawn from
checking accounts via Electronic ACH.
10/3/96: ActiveX is the new name given by Microsoft for OLE - Object
Linking and Embedding. It allows the direct exchange of data among independent
applications. ActiveX is comparable to DDE - Direct Data Exchange which
has wider support, and is more conducive to transaction processing. Microsoft
is coming out with an ActiveX control (who knows when?) which will allow
you to send transactions accross the Internet. The maker of the popular
transaction software PCAuthorize/MacAuthorize (sold here at this site)
intends to include (and offer as an upgrade) the ActiveX feature (along
with S.E.T.) after it has been properly beta tested.
Yes, it is possible for both U.S. merchants and Non-U.S.merchants
to accept credit cards for such business ventures. However, be aware that
Visa has imposed a specific requirement which is a variation on the standard
merchant credit card, ecommerce e-commerce, acceptance account. The requirement is that the merchant
create a separate independent website in addition to the casino website.
Prospective casino customers would be instructed to link to this second website to use their credit cards for the purchase of Electronic Cash units or E-Cash credits to be used/redeemed (much like tokens or vouchers) at the merchant's casino gaming site.
So..., to get your casino business up and running, here's what you need to do:
Step 3 - Integrate our Fully Automated Credit Card Transaction Processing Service AuthorizeNet to your E-Cash site to achieve realtime online credit card processing.
To which merchant credit card, ecommerce e-commerce, acceptance program shall I apply?