 If
you are considering implementing e-Commerce into your business there are a number of important
elements to evaluate. The diagram on the right displays the basic
information flow occurring in most ePayment situations.
Firstly,
as a merchant selling goods over the Internet you will need to have
approval from your bank to trade online. The bank will issue an 'online
merchant number' for you to use. This process may take from a few days to
a few weeks, depending upon the financial institution involved. You
will also need to choose a method of processing credit card transactions
on your web site. When
it comes to accepting credit card payments online there are a few
options. 
Shopping Cart programs are typically incorporated directly into your web
site. These are connected to the banking system via a payment gateway. Web
designers often have preferred Shopping Cart programs and payment gateways
they recommend. Your site will usually need to have a security certificate to handle the
encryption required for the safe transfer of credit card data over the
Internet.
Other e-Commerce options include
Internet-based credit card processing systems that can provide greater
flexibility in payment methods than shopping cart software. These systems
can be easily added on to an existing web site, often without the need for any
security certificate to be held by the site. However, in some cases there
may be limitations when integrating these systems with an extensive
database of products.
If you wish to accept multi-currency credit card payments for currencies other than
Australian dollars there are important factors to be considered. Many e-Commerce
solutions promoted as multi-currency still rely on conversion to
Australian dollars for settlement, leaving room for uncertainty with rapid
exchange rate fluctuations. To
achieve the best results your e-Commerce solution should be easy to manage
and be integrated into your business activities and accounting procedures. For independent advice on
the e-Commerce options available contact me. |
