How the payment gateway works

This is a quick guide to explain how the payment gateway allows a merchant to receive credit card payments from your website.

1. 
   The customer logs on to the internet and visits the merchants website where they will select a variety of products to purchase. These items will be placed in a shopping cart using shopping cart software such as Actinic.
   
   
2. 
   When the customer has decided which items to purchase they will hit the "Buy" button on the merchant's website. This links seamlessly through to a secure page on the PSP server which asks for the customers full name, credit card number, expiry date etc.
   
   
3. 
   Before the customers details are submitted to the bank, the card details are checked to ensure the number is valid. If the number is valid an authorisation request is made via private line to the bank. All credit card details are encrypted using 128 bit SSL - at no point are the details visible to anybody else.
   
   
4. 
   The bank returns an authority code to our server. The payment is either authorised or denied.
   
   
5. 
   The customer is seamlessly returned to the merchant's website where they can continue to shop and buy more products securely online.
   
   
6. 
   An e-mail receipt is sent back to the cardholder confirming that their card has been authorised. At the same time, the merchant, is advised that the transaction has been authorised for payment and the cardholder's order can be processed.