E-commerce is for merchants selling on the Internet who want to have funds automatically processed into their bank account. Listed below are building blocks for an E-Commerce Website, your online connection to your prospects and customers.

Merchant Account

The merchant account gives you the ability to accept credit card information from your customers. Many banks will not give you a merchant account if you do business on the Internet because they may classify it as high risk. When looking for a merchant account provider, watch out for hidden fees and other unscrupulous business practices.

Credit Card Payment Processing Device, Payment Processing Software or Gateway

One of the most important tasks in a credit card processing transaction is processing customer order information, address, credit card number, etc. The data is sent to a credit card authorization network which verifies that the credit card is valid and verifies that the shipping address matches the billing address. You have 3 basic choices:

• A payment processing device in your office to enter the transaction over the phone lines. ( You can actually just use the phone on your desk. ) This device could also be similar to those you see in retail stores when you buy something using a credit card. There are many options with widely varying prices.



• Internet credit card processing software that enables you to 'deposit' your transaction over the Internet. Typically by filling out an online form. Here again you will find a rather wide variation - in most cases you will need to rent the software on a monthly basis. This option also includes Batch Processing software.



• Real Time Credit Card Processing. This takes place automatically while the customer is placing the order. Using this method, the customer and the seller are notified as to whether the credit card account has sufficient funds to enable the transaction.

Secure Server Connection For Your Online Merchant Account Website

This allows your customers to buy from you without worrying about fraud. If ordering information is not sent via a secure server it can be intercepted by computer hackers. Without a secure server, few people will buy from you. This is actually a link to a special computer which encrypts confidential ordering data for customer protection. You know you are on a secure server when the URL in your browser says "https://". The "s" stands for "secure."

Shopping Cart

This virtual "shopping cart" software allows you to accept product orders for multiple products from your website. This software automatically calculates and totals orders for your customers. The shopping cart is a vehicle that enables you to; get the ordering information from the customer; verify via e-mail to the customer that the order has been made; deliver the notification and ordering information to the seller.