Payment and order processing

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There are a number of catalogue Web sites being run by UK companies, varying from large sophisticated book retailers to small ‘mom and pop’ operations. The most popular payment mechanism is payment by credit card, and clearly such payments must be secure. However in a review of a number of such sites, we found that only a minority offered credit card payment over a secure link.
Other options are:
• Credit cards over an insecure link
• Purchase orders only
• Purchaser contacted later by phone or post
• Purchaser prints form and faxes it
The few sites that accept credit card information over an insecure link are almost certainly in violation of their agreement with the bank that is accepting their payments. They are also taking on the business risk of fraud. The risk does not stop at the bank but gets passed on to the merchant. .
Issues for these sites are:
• Perceived non-availability of secure payment methods. We discuss payment methods and security issues below.
• Inability of the design shop that developed the Web site to implement a complex catalogue or secure payment system.
• Difficulty in finding a commercial Web site hosting operation that will offer a suitable secure environment.
• Perceived cost of setting up a merchant server.
Most of these issues are perception rather than reality. There is no reason why a merchant should not be able to offer a fully functional catalogue site with a proper secure payment mechanism. This can be done very cost-effectively

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Most of the merchants and online ecommerce websites should be concerned about the credit cards processing as this is the most used form of online payment method by customers . The online buyer should also ensure that the credit card processor of the online business he or she intends to buy from is a reliable one on a secured server. The popular processing companies are usually the best.Always reconcile your credit card account every month, the same way you would your bank account. Go over bills settled with your credit card and receipts, and query any charges for which you don't have a receipt or don't recognize.