Payment Processors

The most common way of receiving payment for purchases made online is via credit card.
There are two ways that credit card payments can be processed.

Third Party Checkout - where the customer leaves your website during the checkout process and goes to the payment processor's website. Once the order is complete, they return to your website. PayPal is probably the best known system of this type.

Direct Integration - where our software communicates with the payment processor in the background and your customer remains on your website during the entire checkout process.

Let's consider each of these in turn.

1. Third Party Payment Processors
A third party payment processor is an independent organization which can process your credit card payments without a Merchant Account and Payment Gateway. They eliminate the need for you to sign up with a Payment Gateway provider and set up a Merchant Account with your bank. The best known examples of third party payment processors are PayPal and WorldPay.

PayPal is completely integrated into HandyTix as a payment option. You have the option of using either PayPal Standard, PayPal Express or PayPal Website Payments Pro (Pro is only available for US based organizations at this time).

2.Direct Integration with Payment Gateway and Merchant Account
With this method you need to sign up with a Payment Gateway provider and apply for an Internet enabled Merchant Account with your bank.

What is a Merchant Account?
In order to receive credit card payments from the Payment Gateway, you need to apply for a Merchant Account with your bank. A Merchant Account lets you receive credit card payments and deposits the funds directly into your bank account. Your bank probably offers a number of different types of Merchant Accounts, but you need to apply for a Merchant Account which lets you accept Internet payments from their list of accredited Gateway Providers.

What is a Payment Gateway?
A Payment Gateway validates and authorizes credit card payments while the customer is still online. Gateways provide a pathway from your checkout page to validate and authorize the credit card status in real-time... a very complicated process if you were to do it on your own.

Payment Gateways compatible with the HandyTix system (but not necessarily integrated into the system just yet) include: