REAL-TIME CREDIT CARD PROCESSING
In order to use real-time credit card processing with QstorePlus!, you must first have both an "Internet Merchant Account" and a compatible "Payment Gateway Account" (see the list below).
These two pieces are required in order for QstorePlus! to collect customer credit card information during checkout from your store, perform secure real-time processing through the Internet, and have the funds automatically deposited into your company's checking account.
WHAT IS AN INTERNET MERCHANT ACCOUNT?
Internet Merchant Accounts are separate bank accounts that are capable of receiving "Internet" credit card payments. Internet Merchant Accounts typically deposit funds from the credit card transactions into your company's checking account on a daily basis.
"Internet" Merchant Accounts are NOT the same as "Retail" Merchant Accounts since you never see the customer's credit card and can't verify their signature. As a result, most banks charge higher fees for Internet Merchant Accounts since the fraud and charge back risk is much higher.
NOTE: Most banks will NOT let you use your Retail Merchant Account for Internet orders. Therefore, you will most likely need to have a separate Internet Merchant Account for your online store.
WHAT IS A PAYMENT GATEWAY?
A Payment Gateway is a "bridge" over the Internet that ties your QstorePlus! store to your Internet Merchant Account.
The Payment Gateway (such as Authornize.net) is an online account that handles the transaction processing from the customer's credit card to your Merchant Account. The Gateway handles the entire transaction: credit card acceptance, verification, authorization, and funds transfer.
WHAT IS A VIRTUAL TERMINAL?
Normally, a Payment Gateway comes with an online account that allows you to log-in to see your transactions. Most Virtual Terminals also allow you to process credit card transactions "manually" as well as print reports and set preferences.
DO I NEED REAL-TIME CREDIT CARD PROCESSING?
If you are NOT planning on using the real-time credit card processing feature (during customer checkout), then you can use ANY Merchant Account and ANY Gateway Account you prefer.
With this scenario, the store simply collects and saves the customer's credit card information for "manual" processing at some future time. The customer's credit card is not automatically charged in "real-time" (while they are checking out from your store).
HIGH VOLUME STORES
Normally, real-time credit card processing is only needed for stores that have over 50 orders each week. A high volume of transactions means the convenience of automated real-time processing becomes an important feature of your store.
If you only have a few orders a week, you really don't "need" real-time credit card processing. If that is true, ANY Merchant Account and ANY Gateway will work since QstorePlus! is simply collecting and storing customer credit card information for manual processing at some point in the future. Since QstorePlus! is not communicating with the Payment Gateway, it does not matter which Gateway you are using.
NOTE: Most banks will NOT let you use your Retail Merchant Account for Internet orders. Therefore, you will most likely need to have a separate Internet Merchant Account for your online store.
COMPATIBLE PAYMENT GATEWAYS
In order for QstorePlus! to communicate with your bank and process credit card transactions during customer checkout (in real-time), a "compatible" Internet Payment Gateway is required. This allows the store to send transactions to your bank for processing and deposit funds into your checking account.
QstorePlus! is compatible with the following Payment Gateways:
WHICH PAYMENT GATEWAY DO YOUR RECOMMEND?
Our company has been using Authorize.net for many years, and we have been very satisfied with its security and features. Authorize.net is certainly not the cheapest, but we believe it is the best.
However, there are several other excellent Gateways to choose from. The list of Gateways above is shown in our order of preference. The Gateways with the best features are listed first.
WHERE CAN I GET A MERCHANT ACCOUNT AND PAYMENT GATEWAY?
If you need a low cost Internet Merchant Account and Payment Gateway then you have come to the right place!
We have negotiated nice discounts with Charge.com for all our customers. Charge.com makes it very simple to apply for your very own Merchant Account and Payment Gateway.
