On Line transection

[Swayhand]

Hello, there:

I posted this question some time ago, but got no reply. Hopefully this time I'll get some luck.

I am helping a professor setting up a website of a physics conference, most pages are just static HTML. But we need a page for the applicant to pay the registration fee on line. People need to input some personal info, most important, their credit card number. If you have experience buying books on line, you know what I am talking about.

I don't think we are authorized to do the on line transection. But there must have some "Agency" that can do it for us.

My question is that for a indivisual, how to implemtate it?

thanks a lot!

Sway

[AlexLowe]

The question comes down to how do you want this to work.

If you want to process the credit card live online take a look at Verisign and the PayFlow Pro package. You'll also need a merchant account (either use an existing one or you'll have to open one).

If you just want to collect the user data and then process the credit cards manually then you'll want to do it securely implementing SSL and encrypting the stored data.

With both solutions be sure to use SSL (Verisign also sells those certs).

If you alreay have the ability to process cards in a manual process then option 2 (collecting the user data) is the cheapest.

Credit card processing is a very complicated process, you have banks, processers, and gateways all over the place. I've worked with Verisign and they've been pretty good. They can provide you with the total package if that's what you require.

Actually, come to think of it, I think you can also use PayPal. I think PayPal offers something so that users can click a link on your page and then send you money via a credit card. That's a free, easy way of doing it. So actually, for you application maybe forget Verisign and traditional credit processing and use the easy, free service that PayPal offers. (It was free last I used it)

If you need any more help feel free to contact me.


-- Alex
alex@lowesoftware.com

[Waldo2k2]

Well, i think either verisign or paypal would work as alex said...but i would rather go with verisign if it were me. Not only is it safer...it's more professional, it makes the customer feel at ease and more willing to buy. So it almost comes down to marketing instead of security.