Client want to be able to take deposits via website!

[optimalwebsite]

Hi there,

I have a client who is in the wedding industry and wants to be able to take credit card deposits online. Does anyone know what the best way to organise this is? Any help appreciated!

Warm Regards,


Joel

[crankydave]

Needs to establish a merchant account for a gateway if the don't have one. Needs a processing bank. Many times the merchants local bank is far too expensive compared to others. Needs a secure cart and host including SSL.

Dave

[advancedmerchant]

Crankydave has it right, you need a merchant account and gateway account. A shopping cart makes the coding easier (you can have "products" that represent different levels of deposit- Deposit for wedding type1, type 2, deluxe, etc) but is not necessary.

Most gateways have provisions where you can collect the data and send it via an HTTPS POST with hidden variables. Gateways also offer "hosted" payments, where you collect all the info EXCEPT the credit card data, and the gateway opens a window to take the credit card data. The former requires you to have an SSL cert, the latter does not. Popup blockers can make the latter method problematic.

[toolameforyou]

One easy way (pretty fast too) is to use PayPal's system. All you need for them is a checking account and your own secure cert... They do have a $30 per month fee for the full integration (gateway/processing).

[jawn_tech]

I was going to suggest PayPal as well. Just a few short years ago, people would have scoffed. But I'm seeing more and more "professional" websites using PayPal.

This is partly because PayPal no longer requires your customers to have a PayPal account just to make a credit card payment.

And they do have free shopping carts. Though the free version isn't fully integrated into your website / domain, it does have the feature to have your customers click a link to return back to your website (the URL that you designate) once the payment has been made.

But if PayPal isn't your thing, a Google search of "paypal alternative" can dig up other similar free systems, some of them charging a fee something comparable to PayPal's processing fees, which are currently 1.9% to 2.9% + $0.30 USD.

[hs4u]

If you can process the credit cards via phone then Mal's e-commerce with Mal's ecommerce might be the answer for you. You can make it so they submit their info including the CC number and the site will capture it. You log in to your account and retrieve it and process it at your business. No merchant accounts needed and it is free up to a certain point. I have a client who has used it for 7 years now without a hitch and she has some large companies that buy from her every month.

Good luck!

[villageloop]

Another vote for paypal here, especially if you just have one item and one amount.

Paypal has a simple button feature which is very easy to implement. It only works if your payment is very simple (lets say you are accepting a $500 deposit from anyone online).
You just create the button through paypals admin and then post the code on your website and you are done.

We have implemented these for clients in a few hours. However if you have to go a single step up, anything a tiny bit more complex, then you will need to use the gateway, merchant, shopping cart features listed above. This requires more knowledge, time and overhead regardless if you have 2 products or 20000. The initial setup involved for the payments is generally the same. Considerably more time is involved.

[dreras]

One other possibility is Google Checkout. It works a lot like Paypal and its very easy to setup and configure. Both Paypal and Google Checkout are great if you DO NOT have a bunch of products. If you do have a bunch of products than a shopping cart with a merchant account might be better.

[mjancosek]

I would agree with some on PayPal (on certain products, preferably low cost). However, with higher end products and depending on the price of the security deposit I would suggest a higher end solution. Yourpay.com and Authorize.net are usually the two I suggest.

Sure Paypal has become a little better in the past couple of years but I feel alot of people still feel negative towards them. Plus I am a little old fashioned and believe that if people see a high end gateway (authorize.net) they will feel a little better giving out credit card numbers. That is why I usually put their logo on the form page.

DO NOT forget the SSL!! I still see that alot as well....lol

[BadRad]

I agree PayPal would probably be a good choice, dependent on how many customers you have that wants to pay with credit card direct.