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![*]()
Secure Merchant Payment
![*]() Secure Internet Transactions
are performed using "SSL" Secure Socket Layer encryption technology.
When a customer selects to purchase an item and they decide
to pay by credit card, their Web Browser is told to open up
a Secure Connection to the Web Site Host's Secure Server;
the URL will change so that the "http:" changes to "https:"
which indicates that the server is secure.
When a web browser is connected to a Secure Server, a small
Padlock will appear at the bottom right corner of the screen
to indicate the Secure Connection, meaning that all information
being passed is encrypted for transmission. The Secure Web
Site Host will upload the customer's credit card or check
information along with all other order information, and assemble
a transaction using the merchant's merchant account number
and PIN, and then send the transaction to the Processor or
Gateway's Secure Server.
There are several systems you can use to make your ordering
page secure, but the most popular is Secure Sockets Layer
(SSL), which is supported by all major browsers, and by most
ISPs. Using a secure Web protocol such as SSL has two main
goals.
The first is to encrypt the credit card data being transmitted,
so that it would be very difficult for a third party to decipher.
And the other one is to certify that the message is in fact
coming from where it claims to be coming from, so that it
would be very difficult for a third party to forge a transaction.
This is done by means of a digital certificate. Ensure all
transactions are sent using a Secured Virtual Network and
only transactions originated from merchant IP address are
validated, which is a very strong protection against hackers.
In order to conduct secure business on the web, the Secure
Gateway Provider runs a Secure Host System, and sells/licenses/gives
away software modules that allow Shopping Carts and other
applications to request and receive Credit Card Authorizations
via their system using encrypted communications. (This is
called Real-Time Authorization.) Some companies provide these
as free-license, open-source software modules.
The other features of this Secure Payment Gateway software
are the functions provided to merchants online when they connect
to the Secure Payment Gateway host; merchants can access their
own account information via Online Reporting, use a "Virtual
Terminal" to conduct transactions, handle administrative tasks,
etc. (These features all reside on the Secure Payment Gateway
Provider's Host computer system.)
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