Merchants that sell goods through an online store have many decisions to make when it comes to setting up and running their new ecommerce business. Just one of these is how will they process payments when customer are finished with their shopping and ready to pay for their transaction.
One option is to setup what is known as “offsite processing”. This form of online payment processing allows merchants with little or no technical knowledge have the same security and convenience advantages as those merchants that use payment gateways.
First, we should explain what exactly a payment gateway is. Also referred to as “onsite processing” payment gateways utilize a link to Authorize.net through an API. This means that it uses software to call out from the merchant’s website to the Authorize.net systems to complete the transaction. Using this method also requires the business’ website to have an SSL certificate, meaning it is a secure website.
The distinction between onsite and offsite processing comes down to one simple difference. Onsite payments are processed on the merchant’s website without ever leaving. Offsite payments are directed to, you guessed it, a page off the merchant’s site. Other than where the payment actually takes place the process is identical and there is no difference in security or information required.
Business owners with little or no technical or web savvy may have no idea what any of the last paragraph means. Even those merchants who may have more knowledge of web design, online payments, and API integrations may not have the time or desire to set this up for themselves.
That’s OK because Host Merchant Services has the capability to setup offsite processing for merchants that don’t have the technical knowledge or spare time to setup this extra piece of the puzzle. HMS can provide your online store with a branded payment page that eliminates the need for setting up your own SSL certificate or learning how to work with Authorize.net. When customers reach the payment stage of their transaction, they are simply directly over to your offsite payment page. The advantage this provides to customers of Host Merchant Services is that we can put our years of programming knowledge to work for your business.
We have setup and example page at processnow.hostmerchantservices.com and below is a screenshot.
To learn more about getting an offsite payment processing page setup for your online business or any other merchant services questions contact us now!
