'Net Features : payments

WorldPay Integration Extends Intershop's Payment Processing Options

Michael Garrity — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 19:00:00 GMT

Payment processing solution provider WorldPay and e-commerce solution provider Intershop have joined forces to offer a robust e-commerce platform with more extensive payment processing capabilities, global customer reach and greater risk functionality. In other words, they may have just found the solution that many online merchants have been looking for.

Both WorldPay’s payment gateway and its RiskGuardian risk management service are now going to be integrated into the Intershop 7 e-commerce platform, meaning they’ll be available for all Intershop customers. This integration is supposed to help merchants maximize their transaction success and implement “cross-border strategies” that give their customers access to locally preferred payment methods through WorldPay’s over 200 alternative payment types.

According to the Global Online Shopper Report from WorldPay, 61 percent of online shoppers have “greater confidence” in a website if it offers a choice of payment methods.

“Following WorldPay’s integration with Intershop’s platform, merchants can now benefit from a comprehensive e-commerce solution that delivers unrivalled payment processing, risk and alternative payment capabilities,” said the Chief Commercial Officer of WorldPay’s E-Commerce Division, Shane Happach. “This integration places emphasis on the importance of the availability of preferred payment types to enable merchants to operate e-commerce globally through a single interface.”

In addition to adding a wide array of payment processing options and risk management services to the Intershop platform, this partnership also allows Intershop merchants to optimize their revenue streams by capturing payments from various touch points, such as online, mobile and MOTO channels.

Guidelines for Secure Payments

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 18:35:00 GMT

The PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) has released new guidelines to help e-commerce merchants keep their customers' data safe.

The digital security landscape is a complicated one where the roles, risks and responsibilities of involved parties can quickly become muddled. That confusion of course, can lead to stagnation when it comes to finding (and implementing) fixes - on both an individual site and industry level.

“Take SQL injections as an example. This is not a new attack, and something we’ve known about in the industry for years. Yet it continues to be one of the most common methods by which e-commerce websites are compromised, said Bob Russo, general manager, PCI Security Standards Council.

Over 60 organizations representing banks, merchants, security assessors and technology vendors collaborated to produce guidance that will help organizations better understand their responsibilities when it comes to PCI DSS; the risks they need to evaluate when considering ecommerce solutions; and how to determine their PCI DSS scope.

The guide, which comes at a time when ecommerce fraud is rising, includes an overview of ecommerce and PCI DSS. and outlines common vulnerabilities in ecommerce that merchants should consider when developing or choosing ecommerce software and services.

The guidelines also include best practice recommendations on securing ecommerce environments and a checklist of responsibilities that outlines, when payments are outsourced, which elements of security the merchant and the payments company are responsible for.

“This can be addressed through simple, prudent coding practices, but merchants often don’t know where to start. These guidelines will help them better understand their responsibilities and the kinds of questions they need to ask of their service providers. In the case of SQL injections, one of the most important items to request of an e-commerce service provider is a description of the security controls and methods it has in place to protect websites against these vulnerabilities.”

Hip to be Square with $200 Million

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 15:30:00 GMT

Payment technology and service provider Square has raised $200 million as part of a Series D round (bringing its total to an estimated $325 million) that included $25 million from Starbucks.

While backed by some big names including Visa and Chase, it will need much of that $200 million to quell the inevitable grand marketing push made by its equally well-funded competitors - we're looking at you Ebay and Google.

The funding, according to insiders, comes from Citi Ventures, Rizvi Traverse Management and the previously mentioned Starbucks. Square has seen incredibly rapid growth - 300 new employees - and accelerated use in the past year, powering over 8 billion in transactions.

Square is most certainly a disruptive force in the payments market. The company offers a reasonable 2.75% swipe fee, no additional fees, next-day deposits and the best part, a free card reader.

Global Payments and Fraud Prevention

Administrator — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 17:30:00 GMT

Ralf Gladis, CEO, Computop

With the economy still in flux in the US, many online retailers may be looking at possibilities overseas for growing their business. It requires much more than a localized Web site, though. An e-tailer must know the payment expectations, regulations and requirements of the local markets and prospective customers.

For example, a consumer in Germany expects to see a retailer with prices posted in Euros. In the UK, people assume an online shop will have prices in British Pounds. Any divergence from these expectations will make a prospect hesitate, and that increases the chance of the consumer leaving the website and going elsewhere for his or her purchase.

This also applies to the payment methods that customers expect to see atthe checkout, because with the sensitive issue of payment, consumer trust will help influence the conversion rate. While credit cards and PayPal are accepted and used around much of the world, only offering these methods to international consumers will limit conversions. There are important payment methods specific to different countries which will be key to success.

Domestic Payment Methods

The German consumer, for example, expects options that include credit card, debit card and PayPal, as well as payment methods not used in the US, like Giropay or Elektronisches Lastschrift Verfahren (ELV) -- Direct Debit. Also a key success factor in Germany is payment on invoice which comes with high default risks that need to be addressed correctly.

For business in Austria, the e-payment standard (EPS) has been utilized as a popular payment method for several years now. Another regular payment option used is the Maestro SecureCode. In the UK, the Maestro card is used by many consumers.

The French predominantly use one card, the Carte Bancaire or Carte Bleue, and that option needs to be available if an online retailer wants to sell successfully in France. If you want to do business in The Netherlands, the Dutch often use iDEAL online Internet payment method, with the remaining purchases made by credit cards and PayPal, and a small number by Lastschrift.

For business in Poland, consumers expect to see Prezelewy24 as a payment option. And when selling into Russia, the Qiwie-wallet is a popular payment method, as only five percent of the population has a bank account, and less have credit cards, doubting their security online. Qiwi enables accountholders to pay in cash by loading their accounts at terminals, participating ATMs or activated telephone contracts.

If you want to be successful in the wide and varied market of China, consumers expect to see Alipay, which is an online payment platform with the biggest market share in China -- currently more than 650 million registered users. Alipay accounts for more than 47 percent of all online transactions in the country.

Fraud Prevention

Across the board, preventing payment-related fraud is key, regardless of geography and payment method – and is obviously important for a company conducting business from potentially the other side of the globe. The good news is that some payment methods have come a long way in preventing fraud and guaranteeing payments.

With PayPal, the global PayPal Seller Protection has been in place since 2010. It extends to international payments, making the method safe for use outside of the US. When the customer submits the payment, and the shipping address is verified by PayPal, PayPal’s guarantee becomes unlimited for all payments worldwide. However, seller protection does not cover products such as intangible goods, tickets or services.

Credit card companies have also made great strides in this area– but only up to a point. Options like Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode are widely used and accepted. However, Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode only cover fraud if the unauthorized user misuses the credit card authorization within 7-14 days.

There are other ways to help minimize fraud and guarantee payments. One of those is to explore options with a Payment Service Provider (PSP). For example, there are some PSPs that can extend Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode payment guarantees past 14 days.

If you are exploring options with PSPs, ask if they can incorporate credit card origin checks, GEO IP origin checks, device identification and velocity checks. These will help to prevent fraud in the payment process. Also, ensure you will be able to block specific credit cards and account numbers. In addition, some PSPs have integrated various credit bureaus into their solutions and can access international credit agencies for further details that can protect retailers from fraud.

While opening your business to overseas prospects raises the potential for more sales, it also increases the possibility for fraudulent behavior during the checkout process. Ensuring you have the right payment solutions in place will help to minimize your risk and enable you to transact effortlessly, and with confidence.

ControlScan Merchants Can Rest Easier on PCI Issues

Michael Garrity — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:00:00 GMT

ControlScan, a provider of Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance and security services for small and medium-sized online businesses, has announced its purchase of cloud-based secure payments solution CRE Secure.

The acquisition will allow ControlScan to considerably reduce the "scope" of PCI.

CRE Secure was already a level-one PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) certified service provider. It gives users a hosted payment page powered by patent-pending HTML cloning technology for a consistent consumer experience, and a secure e-commerce solution for merchants that is PCI-compliant.

By combining an already PCI-compliant object, such as a credit card form, with a merchant’s site template, merchant’s can simplify the compliance process by outsourcing consumer payment data to CRE Secure, putting their website out of the scope of PCI regulations, since it will not actually store, process or transmit cardholder information. This allows them to host their site wherever they want and save a lot of money on those annual PCI scans.

CRE Secure is based on a unified technology that utilizes a single cloud-based system to support a merchant’s payment channels, which includes everything from online, mobile and even mail/telephone orders. E-commerce sites can even take advantage of plug-ins that allow them to connect with their favorite payment processors and existing solutions, to create a seamless, secure customer experience that is light on the merchant’s wallet, too.

All of this is good news for ControlScan and the merchants who use their services, as CRE Secure technology and existing partnerships will now complement ControlScan solutions, opening up new opportunities in the card-not-present (CNP) space. ControlScan also hopes to build upon the current CRE Secure product.

Visa, MasterCard Change Policies; Amex Balks

Linc Wonham — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 02:30:00 GMT

The two largest credit card companies in the world almost immediately settled a dispute filed in federal court Tuesday by agreeing to allow retailers to offer discounts to shoppers using less expensive payment methods – debit cards or credit cards without rewards, for instance, as opposed to more costly (for merchants) credit cards that do offer rewards.

Visa and MasterCard were two of three defendants named in the lawsuit, and the third company – American Express – has refused to settle and will contest the suit.

Regardless of AmEx’s decision, the settlement will almost certainly have a significant positive impact on e-commerce retailers, and it will expedite even more change in the already chaotic payments field. With the emergence of mobile commerce, the credit card companies, major financial institutions and dozens of startup companies are racing to provide merchants (and consumers) with the most advantageous payments solutions, and Tuesday’s decision provides retailers with more options and greater leverage.

It is more costly for e-commerce merchants to accept payments from cards that offer substantial rewards, such as Visa’s Signature Preferred card, than it is to accept debit cards and no-reward credit cards. By having the ability to offer rebates to consumers using the lower-cost cards, retailers can incentivize the online payment process for the first time.

Tuesday’s settlement came about from a law that was signed over the summer allowing retailers to offer rebates for cash, checks and debit cards, but the distinction between rewards and non-rewards credit cards was not addressed at that time.

TrialPay; Genuine Alternative Payment Option

Administrator — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 13:35:00 GMT

Online payment platform TrialPay has surpassed 10 million users. More than 5,000 merchants have have been at least curious enough to test the waters. What's so special about TrialPay? The solution increases a "customer's willingness to pay" by giving a 2-for-1 deal with every purchase. In just its second year, TrialPay counts 18 million visitors each month and 40,000 new users every day from around the globe to rival that of other top-tier online payment companies.

TrialPay's unique model creates new revenue from its merchants' current traffic by ensuring that every customer can find an offer that compels him to purchase. Using TrialPay, merchants like McAfee, Skype and Match.com give away their product or service for free when shoppers complete one offer from blue-chip advertisers (e.g. send flowers from FTD, sign up for Blockbuster or buy clothes from Gap). TrialPay pays the merchant the full value of the free product--and often even more--using revenue from the advertiser.