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Urbancolo E-Commerence Account FAQ's
- What is a merchant account? Why do I need one?
- How does it work?
- How do I get a merchant account?
- Would it be easier to go to my local bank to get
a merchant account?
- How long does it take to get a merchant account?
- Which credit cards can I accept?
- What kind of equipment do I need to process credit
cards?
- How do I know that I'm getting a "good deal"?
- Can I use my merchant account to accept credit
card payment in my online store? Is it safe to process credit
cards over the Internet?
- The fraud protection features sound great, but
what about other features?
- What kind of payment solutions is available through
American Express?
- Will the American Express Secure Payment Gateway
work with my shopping cart?
- Since Internet technology changes so fast, can
I be sure that my merchant account will still work with my Internet
store in the future?
1. What is a merchant account? Why do I need one?
A merchant account gives a business the ability to accept credit cards as payment for the company's goods and services. It provides your customers with an extremely popular payment option, beyond cash and checks.
2. How does it work?
The merchant account provider authorizes the credit card transfer from your customer and deposits the funds for their purchases directly into your business checking account, typically within two business days.
3. How do I get a merchant account?
Merchant accounts are available from some banks and other independent providers such as American Express. American Express is a leading transaction service provider. Last year the company serviced millions merchants and processed over $50 billion in bankcard volume.
American Express offers small-to-medium-sized business merchants a variety of services including credit card services, electronic checking, Internet transaction services, and more. Urbancolo offers an exceptional merchant account program through American Express. Click on the link above for more information.
4. Would it be easier to go to my local bank to get a merchant account?
Companies such as American Express actually handle the merchant account business of many local banks. In addition to offering outstanding programs, American Express works with the kinds of businesses that most banks consider risky, such as new enterprises, Internet businesses, and phone and mail order businesses.
5. How long does it take to get a merchant account?
Application approval and set up can be completed in as little as 24 hours through the special American Express online program.
6. Which credit cards can I accept?
You can accept the most popular credit cards: MasterCard, Visa, and American Express. American Express can also support all other major credit cards, including Discover and Diners Club.
7. What kind of equipment do I need to process credit cards?
A computer terminal or PC with Internet access can be used for Internet, mail, and telephone orders. In the retail environment, a specialized terminal/printer designed to read the magnetic strip on the back of the customer's credit card is used. This device provides the customer with a paper receipt at the time of purchase. An imprinter, who takes a physical copy of the customer's credit card, may also be used.
8. How do I know that I'm getting a "good deal"?
The American Express program offers an outstanding value across the board: functionality, security, reporting, initial set-up and low residual costs.
9. Can I use my merchant account to accept credit card payments in my online store? Is it safe to process credit cards over the Internet?
Yes, Verisign Secure Socket Layer Application Programming Interface (SSL API) offers an encrypted connection to its Secure Payment Engine. By using the Verisign Payflow Pro Secure Payment Gateway technology, all American Express merchants receive fraud screening on each transaction and real-time reporting via their Web browser. For the merchant who wants to get online fast with a limited start-up budget, American Express is the best choice.
Using Verisign SSL API, all orders and payment information sent from the merchant's web site will be encrypted using industry standard RC4 1024-bit encryption with SSL Version 3. This secure data is routed to Verisign, where it is decrypted and processed. All processed information (Approved/Declined transactions) is then re-encrypted and sent securely back to the Web site, where it is decrypted and displayed to the consumer. Order confirmation e-mails are sent to the consumer and to the merchant. The Verisign SSL API guarantees that the orders and payment information generated by the merchant's Web site remains totally secure.
10. The fraud protection features sound great, but what about other features?
The American Express merchant account includes e-commerce modules that allow Web customers to order products, pay for them, and make shipping arrangements in real-time. These modules include:
- Fraud Protection
- Shipping
- Tax Calculation
- Business Reports
11. What kind of payment solutions is available through Verisign?
Three unique and user-friendly payment solutions are available:
- Payflow Pro™
This seamless payment processing solution gives you back-end connectivity to all leading payment processing networks and allows your Web site to support multiple payment types. Payflow Pro can be customized to integrate with your existing Web site.
- Payflow ProSM plus Premium Support
This upgrade to Payflow Pro provides you with all of the benefits of Payflow Pro back-end connectivity plus 24x7 toll free customer support, and access to the ACH processing network.
- Payflow LinkSM
Includes a Verisign-hosted order form that allows you to simply add a link to your site to accept online payments. Payflow Link is the ideal choice if you process low-to-moderate levels of orders and prefer a solution that requires no additional site development.
- PayflowSM Fraud Screen
This add-on feature for Payflow Pro is designed to enable merchants to distinguish between legitimate shoppers and fraudulent users in real time.
12. Will the American ExpressLinkPoint
Secure Payment Gateway work with my shopping cart?
The American ExpressLinkPoint Secure Payment Gateway works with
a wide variety of shopping carts. In fact, Urbancolo offers a ready-to-use
shopping cart that has already been integrated with the American
ExpressLinkPoint Secure Payment Gateway.
13. Since Internet technology changes so fast, will I be able to
use my merchant account with my Internet store in the future?
Yes, absolutely. As Verisign upgrades its products in the future,
you will receive free upgrades to keep you on the cutting edge.
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