According to evolt,credit card processing from website sales involves two distinct subjects: the merchant account and the processing mode.

Merchant Account: Merchant Accounts are not an account that you open at the bank. They are granted by a bank and usually involve at least two other entities, an ISO and the underwriter. An ISO is usually someone from the local debt collection service who certifies the risk involved in granting the MA. They look at the operation itself and the history and assets of the applicant. Frequently the ISO also is the Merchant Accounts administrator, the one who pulls the plug and liquidates the merchant's assets should things go wrong. The underwriter is usually a bank you will not deal with directly. Their responsibility is with the cardholders. They review the website, the operation, and the ISO's report. The underwriter is the entity which actually grants the account. Underwriters frequently request non-negotiable cosmetic and even structural changes to websites to protect the cardholder's interest. Merchant Accounts are specific not only to the merchant but to the activity where they are used. Conducting credit card sales in a manner not specified in the MA is illegal and constitutes willful fraud. All revenues from such sales are also illegal and will be refunded to the cardholders, regardless of the cardholder's satisfaction with the sale. As the merchant's expert in e-commerce the web designer/developer can be held liable for those losses to the merchant. Include a clause in your contract that states that the client has the responsibility to approve and accept a website that is not in violation of their MA, and that the MA is in compliance with all State and Federal banking regulations. Such a statement should protect you from civil liability.

Processing Mode: This mode includes two steps which are as follows

Offline Authorization: Most e-commerce sites use offline authorization. In this scenario the details of the orders are recorded on the web server, downloaded as a batch, authorized through offline software as a batch, and then later captured through the offline software in batches. Some banks and online ISO will attempt to require ICVerify as a condition of their MA since ICVerify has been a standard for many years. Offline authorization can be a source of added value for the CGI capable web designer.

Live-time Authorization: Live-time authorization should be used for instantly deliverable sales, such as software downloads or access to restricted areas on the website. Live-time authorization for hard goods sales is an expensive option that eliminates the need for offline processing software and accomplishes the authorization stage automatically. Live-time processing does not eliminate the need for a second capture phase after shipment. Most live-time processing goes through a third party. There are also dozens of independent parties that offer this service. Some of these third parties also offer full shopping carts services tied into the process.



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