Merchant account questions

[EvilHaider]

Hey everyone,

I just had a couple of questions regarding merchant accounts. I have a paypal business account right now. I'm building 1 site that will be completed soon and others that will follow in the next few weeks. I'm going to start off this site by using Paypal to accept payments until it becomes economically feasible for me to upgrade and get a merchant account. What I need to know is, can I use that same merchant account for multiple websites? If I'm selling different things on different websites, can one merchant account be used to handle all transactions?

Also, can the processing be done on the merchant account provider's secure server? I'm probably going to use osCommerce for my first site. It has a module that supports integration with Authorize.net which I believe is a gateway? So I guess I need to get a mechant account that works with Authorize.net? and I want the transactions to take place on their secure server.

I would go ahead and buy an SSL cert from geotrust for each of the sites but they will be on my reseller account which has 1 IP and I read somewhere that only 1 SSL cert can be installed on 1 IP (I already have one installed on this IP).

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

P.S. I'd especially like to hear from those who have used the osCommerce script before so I can pick your brain a little more

Also I've found Paysystems may be a good choice for me. Since like Paypal they don't charge monthly fees and only charge for the transactions (obviously the rates are higher per transaction). Has any1 integrated paysystems with osCommerce?

Thanks!

[ECS Commerce]

Originally posted by EvilHaider
What I need to know is, can I use that same merchant account for multiple websites? If I'm selling different things on different websites, can one merchant account be used to handle all transactions?

If all the products are similar in nature, then yes, one merchant account can cover them all. If however, you are selling completely different items (ex: shoes and software) then you will probably want to use seperate merchant accounts for that.

Also, can the processing be done on the merchant account provider's secure server? ?

yes and no, if your merchant account provider also works as your payment gateway then yes, all processing can and should be made on their secure server.
If however, you use one merchant account provider, then another service entirely for your payment gateway .. the gateway will handle all processing.

I'm probably going to use osCommerce for my first site. It has a module that supports integration with Authorize.net which I believe is a gateway? So I guess I need to get a mechant account that works with Authorize.net? and I want the transactions to take place on their secure server.

If authorize.net is your preferred gateway, yes. I would remind you however that there are other gateways (such as ours) that handle the entire process for you - from acquiring a merchant account to secure payment processing.
Authorize.net is not always the best option.


I would go ahead and buy an SSL cert from geotrust for each of the sites but they will be on my reseller account which has 1 IP and I read somewhere that only 1 SSL cert can be installed on 1 IP (I already have one installed on this IP)

If you use a secure payment gateway to handle your transactions, there is no need to pay the added cost of purchasing SSL certificates :)


P.S. I'd especially like to hear from those who have used the osCommerce script before so I can pick your brain a little more

Almost any payment gateway can integrate easily with OScommerce software.



Also I've found Paysystems may be a good choice for me. Since like Paypal they don't charge monthly fees and only charge for the transactions (obviously the rates are higher per transaction)

I'm not sure if you are aware but Paysystems has recently been involved in numerous lawsuits and fraudulent claims, their entire operation in certain countries has been shut down .. I would certainly not advise anyone to use them.



I hope this helps .. let me know if I can answer any other questions for you :)