Integrating the payment gateway with your site
The information below is only a brief summary of the integration process, for complete Integration Guides, visit our Resources & Documentation section >>
At its simplest level, a payment page from a payment services provider (such as Lite from PayPoint.net) works using HTML forms submitted over SSL. A secure server at your end is not necessary but can be used if you wish. The lifecycle of a typical transaction processed through Lite consists of four steps:
- A POST request containing Mandatory Parameters is made from your server to the PayPoint.net server. (this calls down the payment page information from our server to your server).
- The card payment page hosted on the PayPoint.net server is then displayed to the cardholder.
- The cardholder enters their details and security verification details in the encrypted page.
- Card details are sent to PayPoint.net.
- PayPoint.net gain authorisation details from acquiring and issuing banking partners.
- PayPoint.net provide notification of transaction status (Authorised, Referred or Declined) and then process the transaction through the banking systems
- 48-72hours (average) later your merchant account is credited with the value of the transaction, less the acquiring banks commission and /or fees
- PayPoint.net collects the charges for the transaction and monthly service charges via Direct Debit
In-Process
Authorisation* - Merchants must obtain authorisation in order to charge the credit or debit card for the goods ordered. In most cases, authorisation, is simply a check to see if the card has been reported stolen and that there are sufficient funds available. This is done seamlessly within the transaction handling done by PayPoint.net. Currently there are two ways in which an authorisation can be sought:
Manually: The merchant enters the card details into the virtual terminal in the PayPoint.net Gateway extranet. The merchants then requests authorisation using the confirmation of transaction button.
Automatically: The PayPoint.net server communicates directly with the credit card processing company server and authorisation is arranged automatically. This is the preferred method for most online traders.
*It is worth highlighting that Authorisation and processing is performed by the acquiring bank and is not a guarantee of payment.
Capture
Once authorisation is achieved, the credit card or debit card is debited. This tends to happen automatically at the same time as authorisation, providing that the merchant guarantees that the order will be delivered within an agreed time period. If this is not the case, capture should take place when the order is ready for delivery, and will require a manual transaction completion process
Address Verification
The Address Verification System (AVS) AVS decreases the incidence of accepting fraudulent transactions by verifying the cardholder's billing address with the card issuer. Implementing AVS on your transactions may also benefit you by resulting in lower transactional fees charged by your Merchant Bank.
Fraud Prevention
Online Fraud is a reality, and whilst it is a very small percentage of overall transaction conducted over the internet (less than 1%), it is nevertheless a key business risk and one that you should take seriously. PayPoint.net provide a range of fraud detection and prevention tools, and is rapidly expanding these to ensure that we remain amongst the best in our field in identifying possible fraud and helping our merchants make informed choices about which transactions to reject.
Who carries the risk
Unfortunately, in most instances the retailer (merchant) carries a good proportion of the risks associated with potential Fraud. The primary risks are associated with lost and stolen cards, should you accept one without having verified the cardholder and sought authorisation from the acquiring bank, then you will receive a re-charge from the bank which will be for the full amount of the transaction, as well as an administration charge - these are referred to as chargebacks. This is, of course, in addition to the cost of the goods you’ve provided to the thief.
The first step in preventing fraud is to identify potentially fraudulent transactions. PayPoint.net allows you to set the parameters of transaction acceptance. In broad terms when a cardholder name and UK billing address matches the UK delivery address, and the CV2 code is verified by the bank, and the bank authorises the transaction, then this is known as positive match transaction which carries a very low profile of risk. If however the billing address and delivery addresses are different, then this can increase the risk exposure. If the delivery address is overseas in countries which have a high incidence of fraudulent use of credit cards, then it’s a good idea to place these transactions into a holding area for you to manually verify. It is this principle that is behind the Fraud management systems offered by PayPoint.net. We allow our merchants to make decisions on the risks that are unique to their business. If you are a mail-order hamper supplier offering specialist hampers for Ex-Pat Britons living abroad, then a high percentage of your orders will have overseas delivery addresses (and potentially UK Billing Addresses), and may be perfectly legitimate transactions.
The important thing is to take informed decisions on transactions that have a higher risk profile than you are prepared to accept as the norm. When choosing a Payment Service Provider you should pay close attention to the breadth of their Fraud prevention and management tools as poor tools will result in two impacts: firstly you will carry higher fraud losses than you need to, and secondly if the tool doesn’t work with the latest development and fraud management data you’ll end up rejecting transactions that are perfectly legitimate. For details on PayPoint.net Fraud Solutions click here.
Integration Options
PayPoint.net offer an extensive range of integration options, including;
Lite The security and privacy of all card details are maintained by our high levels of encryption, and the transaction is authorised within seconds. All transactions are cleared through to your acquiring bank at the end of each day.
XMLRPC - This refers to the API (interface) used to connect your website to our servers. In this instance it is written in extensible mark-up language (XML) and is a simplified cross platform toolset enabling connectivity between the different systems.
SOAP - Simple Object Access Protocol is a lightweight XML-based communications protocol designed for the exchange of information in a platform-independent, distributed environment.
In addition to the interfaces by PayPoint.net we also offer additional connectivity in the form of a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection, but this is ostensibly for larger merchants and accounts.
The actual integration of our payment service within your website is undertaken by developers, if you would like the full technical specification for this click here.
Test Accounts
PayPoint.net offer the facility of a test account: it is available before you set-up your PayPoint.net account. The test account enables you to better understand how the PayPoint.net system works. To access the test account click on this link
Testing your payment facility
Once you have integrated your website with the PayPoint.net payment processing service (using one of the interfaces mentioned previously) you will be able to conduct test transactions using legitimate credit card details (which won’t be processed, as your account isn’t set-live). You can perform as many test transactions as you wish, using a mixture of both valid and invalid card data. This will help you understand how the authorisation process works, and how to start managing the potential risks for your business.
Gateway Extranet - The merchant extranet from PayPoint.net.
Once you have set-up your account with PayPoint.net, you will be able to access PayPoint.net Gateway Extranet. Within this information rich area, you will find additional information and support for all PayPoint.net services. Most importantly, the Extranet contains the virtual terminal for your account.
Virtual Terminal
In order to process phone or mail orders or from other locations, all you need is a PC connected to the internet with a web browser, and you will be able to use the PayPoint.net Virtual Terminal which provides all the processing functions of a physical POS terminal, but with added convenience.
Reporting
Within PayPoint.net Gateway Extranet is the online reporting toolset from PayPoint.net. The reporting toolset enables you to check on authorised, cleared and refused transactions.
Fraud Solutions
PayPoint.net Gateway contains an active fraud solution that enables you to make informed choices on which transactions to accept automatically, those which to reject automatically and those that you wish to manually assess before either rejecting or accepting. This multiple level of Fraud management systems puts some of the most sophisticated anti-fraud systems and information in the hands of PayPoint.net merchants, through an intuitive and easy to use interface.
Setting your Account Live
Once you have completed the previous steps and are satisfied with the outcomes of your test transactions, all you need to do is e-mail us at for your account to go live. In order to set your account live we will need to arrange with your merchant account provider that your account becomes live within the banking system. Most merchant account providers will set your account live within a couple of days. At our end, once we receive notification from your merchant account provider that they have set it live at their end we will set you account live within our system within a few minutes. From that point you will be able to take online transactions automatically and conveniently at the lowest possible cost.
5 EASY STEPS GUIDE
If you want a quick overview of the key steps you need to take to enable you to accept debit and credit payments over the internet then this is the place to start. If you want more detailed information you can click through to our simple guide to taking payments online Alternatively you can always call us in the UK on 0870 190 4126 and we'll answer any of your questions directly.
- Step 1: Set up a merchant account
- Step 2: Set up your PayPoint.net account
- Step 3: Integrate the PayPoint.net payment page into your website
- Step 4: Test transactions and virtual terminal
- Step 5: Set account live
Step 1: Set up a merchant account
Online Merchant Account- Before you can start accepting Credit and Debit cards online you’ll need to get an online merchant account. A merchant account will allow you to accept and hold payments from credit card transactions. An online merchant account is very similar to the merchant accounts used for mail order and telephone orders, because the cardholder is not present in both cases, these are referred to as CNP (card not present) transactions. Most high street banks in the UK offer online merchant accounts but can be quite selective, sometimes preferring business and store owners to have a proven track record of at least two years trading. There are also specialist companies offering merchant accounts. Click here for more information and links.
Step 2: Set up your PayPoint.net Gateway account
Setting-up a PayPoint.net account. All you have to do is complete the registration form and pay the set-up fee of £50 plus VAT (£58.75) online using your credit or debit card. Your account will be set up within a few hours and you will receive an e-mail providing your PayPoint.net ID and password along with links to the PayPoint.net merchant extranet area.
Step 3: Integrate the Lite payment page into your website
PayPoint.net offer the broadest range of connectivity options. You can use a simple payment page incorporated into your website, right the way through to a SOAP or XMLRPC interface using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection. If all that’s a bit too technical don’t worry, your web developers will not only understand but be pleased you picked PayPoint.net due to the integration support and options that we offer.
Simple overview of how it works
With a typical transaction, the page into which cardholders enter their credit card details is stored on the PayPoint.net servers and “linked to” from your website. You have the ability to customise this template so that its look and feel blends in with the rest of your site. Unlike many other Payment Service Providers, it is possible for you to have several different websites sending transactions through one PayPoint.net account (which has associated with it one Internet Merchant Account). You are therefore free to have several different templates, each of which fits in with your various websites.
Step 4: Test transactions and virtual terminal
Having incorporated PayPoint.net’s payment capability into your website it is critical for you to test that everything works properly, and that you are able to provide refunds. The payment processing element should be automated if the integration has been successfully completed. The refunding process is a manual operation, completed in the PayPoint.net secure merchant extranet area using the Virtual Terminal.
Step 5: Set account live
Once you’ve tested the payment facilities and are happy that you’re ready to take payments online, all you need to do is email us at and request that we set your account live. Within a day or two (it’s dependent on the banks clearing the connections to your merchant account) you’ll be live, and able to take payments online.
Download our complete Integration Guides in the Resources & Documentation section >>
