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Providing company growth with a payment service provider

Although receiving online payments can be exposed to a higher risk of fraud, the benefits they give to merchants can far outweigh the risk factor. By having the ability to receive online payments, businesses are able to significantly increase their customer base and reduce running costs and overheads.

A company, who can provide online payment systems to both new and existing website owners, is known as a Payment Service Provider (PSP). This complete integrated service will include a merchant account and an online payment interface.

The process begins when a customer purchases goods or services online from the merchant’s website. Their credit card details are then collected or ‘acquired’ by the Payment Service Provider and the details of the transaction, including the account number, the amount of the purchase and the type of currency, will be transferred to the PSP server.

The server then reads the information and sets the basic parameters for the transaction. It then presents the customer with a new page that requests the card type and number, the expiry date, verification number and billing address. Some of the information now provided by the customer is encrypted, to ensure it is transmitted securely to the PSP.

When the customer hits the submit button on their PC, the PSP will perform a number of background checks to ensure that the card is valid and that there are sufficient funds available to process the transaction. Some PSPs will also perform basic fraud checks before confirmation is given.

Once the PSP has completed the transaction, the server will send the resulting information back to the merchant’s website. This will include the customer’s card details, as well as the time of the transaction and the results of the Address Verification System (AVS) check. Most e-commerce websites will then log this information on their own database, so it can be viewed by the website’s back office functions.

The cost of processing an online payment using a PSP can vary in terms of the amount and how it is calculated and billed. Every processed transaction will incur a small charge, which is usually a percentage of the transaction amount for credit cards, and a fixed fee for debit cards.

Article Source: http://blisspublisher.com

John Davies is a Senior Copywriter for E-Clear (UK) PLC Company. For further information please click on: Payment Service Provider or call us now on: +44 (0) 20 7887 6216 where our friendly team will be more than happy to assist you with your enquiry.

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