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Payment Processing FAQs

• What services does Payment Processing, Inc provide?
• Why should I choose Payment Processing, Inc?
• What do I need to accept Internet payments?
• Are Payment Processing, Inc products and payment gateway secure?
• What is online payment processing?
• What is a Payment Gateway?
• What is a Processor?
• What is Real-Time Processing?
• What is an Issuer?
• What is an Acquirer?
• What is an Interchange Fee?

What services does Payment Processing, Inc provide?

PPI offers easy-to-use Internet payment products and payment gateway services. Our payment products range from e-commerce applications to web-based virtual terminals for credit card-present, card-not-present and e-check transaction processing. Our payment platform supports the most popular off-the-shelf shopping carts and is also easily integrated into custom developed e-commerce applications.

Read more about PPI payment products.

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Why should I choose Payment Processing, Inc?

Whether you need to process credit card or e-check payments for phone and mail orders, require a payment gateway for your website shopping cart, or require a complete e-commerce package to get you started selling on the Internet, PPI has a secure Internet payment product to meet your requirements and exceed your expectations. Our Internet payment products improve efficiency and reduce the cost per transaction, resulting in increased profitability for your business.

Our award winning products are backed by support that is unmatched in the payments industry.

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What do I need to accept Internet payments?

To accept Internet payments you need an Internet merchant account and a PPI payment product. Read Getting Started or call Payment Processing, Inc Sales toll-free at 1-800-604-DATA (3282). A PPI sales representative will be happy to help you.

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Are Payment Processing, Inc products and payment gateway secure?

In order to safeguard cardholder data, Visa and MasterCard have established a common industry security requirement, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. PPI is a PCI compliant service provider.

In addition to PCI compliance, PPI provides the best available security technology in the payment market, using the latest 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology. Read more about PPI security.

For additional fraud protection,Payment Processing, Inc offers PPI BuyerAuth, an optional buyer authentication product. PPI was the first payment service to fully integrate buyer authentication, the credit card industry initiative to reduce the incidence of online fraudulent transactions. PPI BuyerAuth is a basis for guaranteed payments to Internet merchants. Read more about BuyerAuth.

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What is online payment processing?

Online payment processing describes the secure transfer and verification of financial data (customer credit card information for example) from a merchant's e-commerce website or virtual terminal to a merchant's bank account. There are several stops along the way to the merchant's bank account. The payment gateway is just that: a gateway that securely passes and receives information from financial institutions that have a part in the transaction (Payment Processor, Acquiring Bank and Issuing Bank and for example).

View a payment transaction demonstration (link opens new window).

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What is a Payment Gateway?

Payment Gateway companies help other Processors conduct secure business on the internet using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology. They provide a system that passes credit card data, authorization requests, and authorization responses over the Internet using encryption technology.

The transaction information is sent by the Payment Gateway secure server via leased line to the credit card network where the validity of the card is checked and the availability of funds on that account is verified. An authorization code is returned via leased line to the Payment Gateway; the authorization is encrypted by the Payment Gateway and transmitted in encrypted form to the web server of the merchant, which triggers fulfillment of the order.

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What is a Processor?

A Processor is the company that actually routes an Authorization Request from a Point of Sale device (such as a Verfone credit card terminal) to Visa or Master Card, and then arranges for Fund Settlement to the merchant. Such processors are traditionally accessed via direct dial out modems connecting to their system.
Processors need to have a Sponsoring Bank in order to gain access to the Visa and Master Card networks. When a Processor or other entity has made such an arrangement with a Sponsoring Bank to resell their services, they are called an Agent of that bank.

Any entity that sells Visa or Master Card must disclose themselves as an Agent of their Sponsoring Bank. Such sales entities may be a Processor, or an ISO/Agent of the Processor or Processor/Bank alliance.
Many banks are also their own processors, while other banks will use a Third Party Processor to handle this processing for them (in their own brand name in some cases).

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What is Real-Time Processing?

Real-Time Processing means that when a web site's customer conducts an online purchase, that the check or credit card information is conveyed to the Processor at that exact time so that an authorization can be requested and received at that moment. Real-Time Processing always implies that a Secure Payment Gateway is being utilized, whether proprietary or third party.

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What is an Issuer?

The issuing financial institution extends credit to a cardholder through bankcard accounts. The financial institution issues a credit card and bills the cardholder for purchases against the bankcard account. Also referred to as the cardholder's financial institution.

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What is an Acquirer?

An Acquirer is a Visa / MasterCard Affiliated Bank or Bank/Processor alliance that is in the business of processing credit card transactions for businesses and is always Acquiring new merchants.

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What is an Interchange Fee?

The standardized electronic exchange of financial and non-financial data associated with sale and credit data between merchant acquirers and card issuers on various types of MasterCard and Visa transactions.

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