Processing Payments Securely Online Involves a Few Key Players

If you are going to do business online, secure payment processing is a must. We just completed a three part series posted on the ERP Software Blog about payment gateways, obtaining PCI Compliance and encryption methods.

In part one, the key players of secure payment processing online are discussed. These include the merchant, the cardholder and payment gateways. Different merchant levels are also provided in details. Then in part two of the series, obtaining PCI Compliance is the focus. There are 12 steps in this process that are separated into six categories: build and maintain a secure network, protect cardholder data, maintain a vulnerability management program, implement strong access control measures, regularly monitor and test networks and maintain an information security policy. These were taken directly from the PCI DSS website. How to get started on these steps is also highlighted in part two of the series. And finally, part three details the two ways to handle sensitive data securely: tokenization and encryption. Encryption has been around for years and while tokenization is a newer technology, when it comes to secure payment processing, it is the clear winner.

To read these articles in more detail, visit our page on the ERP Software Blog.

Video: An Important Tool For Ecommerce Websites

According to ComScore, today in the United States, 89 million people will watch 1.2 billion videos on the Internet. These videos of course include those purely for entertainment purposes, but some will also be viewed on ecommerce websites. As online shopping evolves, consumers are demanding more and video is one resource available to marketers that can be used to fulfill this request.

In the past, images and text were used to paint a picture of a product for consumers. These were further enhanced with the use of color swatches, alternate views and zoom. Now ecommerce websites are increasingly incorporating video to provide consumers with a clearer picture of different product offerings. The use of video in this way has been proven to improve conversion rates and SEO. Video can also increase product visibility when shared in email newsletters and across social media sites in addition to web stores. Overall, the use of video in ecommerce is a more engaging way to showcase products.

How to Incorporate Video

Videos can be user-generated or created by a company. Companies might create videos to:

•         Offer product advice
•         Provide instructional videos
•         Assist with product selection
•         Inform about the product category
•         Showcase the product with real life views
•         Give deeper product details

Contrarily, a user-generated video would be a testimonial. The testimonial might show the product in action or offer a review after the consumer has used it.

One company that makes great use of video on their ecommerce website is Zappos.com. Zappos films employees wearing and talking about the different shoes sold on their website. By using employees rather than hired models, consumers can relate better to the people in the videos. And further, hearing in-depth product information and seeing the shoes being worn by these employees helps consumers not only make purchase decisions, but also have a greater level of confidence in what they are buying.

As more people begin shopping online and ecommerce sales continue to grow, make sure your website has what your customers want to assist in their purchase decision making process. To learn about what ecommerce and payment processing solutions Azox offers, visit our website.

Azox Webinars in June

Each month Azox hosts three webinars to showcase our solutions. Customers, prospects and partners are all invited to attend these free webinars to watch live demos of each of the three Azox solutions. This June, our webinars will be held the 18, 19 and 20. Read more about our products and signup to attend one of these webinars today. Follow the links below to register.

Advantages of Online Bill Pay

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

1:00 – 1:30 p.m. EST

Adding Online Bill Pay to your ecommerce website gives your customers a portal to log into and view, print and pay outstanding invoices. This self-service feature adds convenience and allows you to collect payments 24/7/365. Azox Online Bill Pay solution integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Dynamics GP. Attend this webinar to see a live demo of this product.

Secure Credit Card Processing in Microsoft Dynamics GP

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

1:00 – 1:30 p.m. EST

Accept ACH and credit card payments from your web store when you implement Azox Credit Card Extension (CCE). This solution is PA-DSS certified and uses tokenization to store sensitive data offsite. Pre-authorize, post-authorize, sale, void and credit when you add Azox CCE to your ecommerce website. Attend this webinar to see a live demo of this product.

Integrated E-Commerce for Microsoft DynamicsGP

Thursday, June 20, 2013

1:00 – 1:30 p.m. EST

Grow your business online with an ecommerce website built on Microsoft Dynamics GP. Provide your customers with a web store where they can browse products, see real-time pricing and inventory information and place orders. One page guest checkout and a shipping calculator are two other features in addition to many more. Attend this webinar to see a live demo of our ecommerce solution.

If these dates do not fit your schedule, visit our website to schedule a personal demo or look for next month's webinars.

Google Checkout Will No Longer Be an Option for Payment Processing This November

Google Checkout, an online payment processing service, will be discontinued November 20, 2013 Google announced at the end of May this year. This service, which acted as an alternative to PayPal, will be integrated with Google Wallet, a tool that allows shoppers to store credit and debit card information, loyalty cards and more using their Google account. This service additionally provides fraud protection as well as purchase history and status.

Merchants who currently use Google Checkout will be able to continue doing so until November 20, 2013. At that point, however, if the merchant does not have their own payment processing solution, a new option will need to be implemented. In an attempt to make this process easier for merchants, Google has partnered with several solutions, none of which are free. These options include Braintree, Freshbooks and Shopify. Google has described these as “discounted migration options.”

On the other hand, U.S. merchants that have other payment processing solutions will be able to take advantage of Google Wallet, which Google has been working to improve. Google added two new features to Google Wallet, which were also announced in May 2013. These new features are Wallet Objects API and Instant Buy API. Wallet Objects API is the feature that allows users to store their loyalty card information, take advantage of promos and more. The second addition, Instant Buy API, is a feature that makes the checkout process easier for customers. Those shopping with an Android device who also use Google Wallet will be able to make purchases with just a few clicks since the app saves their billing, shipping and card information. This feature can be offered to customers by merchants that sell a physical good or service.

If you are using Microsoft Dynamics GP accounting software and need a payment processing solution, explore Azox Credit Card Extension. This product allows you to process both ACH and credit card payments securely while integrating with Dynamics GP.