Effective e-commerce

By Michael Baxter on 22 December 2009 with tags E-commerce, Tech

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As Christmas approaches many organisations operating traditional websites want to capitalise on the surge in Christmas sales – online. Shopping carts and online retail are not new but many businesses find it extremely challenging when it comes to implementing a robust and efficient working solution. Utopia can help by providing e-commerce expertise as and when needed, or a complete integrated work solution. This can include:

• Taking bookings for a event
• Taking orders and payment for a small range of products
• Taking orders and payment through a complete online shopping platform.

Understanding payment processing options for these situations is quite a mine field. There are as many different types of providers as there are solutions. Some have higher operating costs and some have excellent multi-currency functions – there are pros and cons to each type of service. Below is a summary of options for accepting credit card payments through your website:

• Direct to your bank - Your bank will provide the complete backend solution (e.g. the BNZ offer this service). Utopia can assist in set-up and integration with your website.
• Via an aggregator - Payments go into the aggregator's merchant account, fees are deducted and the final payment is made to your bank account. Visitors to your site are usually redirected to the aggregator's website which means you cannot control how the payment screen looks. Utopia can advise on selecting a suitable provider and ensuring the solution works. Typical aggregators include eWays and Paymate. You do not need any merchant facilities from your bank with this solution.
• Via a gateway - A 3rd party gateway is used between your website and your bank. The payments go directly into your bank account and you pay [merchant] fees to your bank and a transaction fee to the gateway provider. Visitors can remain within your site, which means you have more control over how the payment is taken. Using this method also results in a more professional looking site. New Zealand's leading gateway provider is DPS. You will need to get merchant facilities approved through your bank in order to interface with DPS. Utopia can then implement the system, providing you with a complete working payment solution.

Read more about Utopia's e-commerce solutions online. Every organisation’s requirements differ so please contact us so we can discuss the best solution for your business.