The Winnlink MerchantCommerce system

The Internet represents a tremendous opportunity for your business -- whether you're a small business looking to reach new markets, a large corporation searching for new ways to increase sales or budding entrepreneur looking to sell your great new idea. But selling goods and services on the Internet presents its own set of challenges -- like how to set up and maintain a secure, reliable, cost-effective system for authorizing payment and managing transactions. If you don't know what you're doing - and even if you do - that can be difficult, complicated, and expensive.

Winnlink's MerchantCommerce system removes the barriers that might prevent you from doing business on the Net. Our advanced transaction processing system takes care of the complex issues for you, so all you need to process and manage transactions over the Internet is our payment system, a credit card merchant account, and a computer with an Internet connection and a Web browser.
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What is MerchantCommerce?

The MerchantCommerce system is a real-time transaction processing system that functions as a payment service using a secure transaction server on the Internet. Merchants with a valid merchant account can use the system to submit, authorize, capture, and settle credit card or eCheck transactions without the need for a separate transaction terminal or processing software.


There are three main methods of processing transactions:

Virtual Terminal

Virtual Terminal is hosted completely on our transaction servers, where merchants simply login using their web browser and perform live transactions using their merchant account. A merchant can enter a transaction using their PC and Virtual Terminal will process the transaction in real-time just like a physical card terminal would.

WebLink

WebLink allows a merchant to link their web site to the system in order to accept credit card payments from customers in real-time with complete automation.

ADC (Automated Direct Connect)

ADC (Automated Direct Connect) provides a simple and straight forward mechanism to link more complex web sites with the transaction gateway server, including support for the merchant's own custom programming.

Complete technical details of these methods are available upon request

Merchant account basics - How credit card processing works

This section is provided for information purposes only. The system is separate from your merchant account. The terms and conditions of your merchant account are between you and your bank or merchant provider, and should be consulted for specific information related to your merchant agreement with your bank or merchant provider.

A merchant account is required to accept credit cards using the system. A merchant account is a special account with a bank that is a member of the Visa and MasterCard associations. Such a bank has been certified by Visa and MasterCard associations and can provide you, the merchant, with all of the services related to your merchant account. Once your merchant account is setup and "live" on the credit card system, you can accept credit cards from customers generally as follows:

1. A customer presents their credit card for payment
   
   
2. Using their credit card number, you submit an electronic request to the processing network for "authorization to capture funds" from the cardholder's credit card account in the amount of the purchase. Traditionally, one would submit this request by swiping a credit card through a terminal provided by the bank. With our system, this request is provided electronically to our payment gateway servers, which then route the request along the processing network.
   
   
3. The processing network immediately receives your electronic request and determines if the cardholder's account is valid and if the funds are available. If they are, the processing network returns an electronic response to your terminal or computer. This response is called an "authorization code", and is your guaranteed authorization to capture the funds. Typically, this code is a six-digit number. The transaction and its associated authorization are stored in a "batch", where other transactions for that day reside.
   
   
4. You print a receipt for the customer using the electronic terminal or your computer and the customer signs the receipt. As far as the customer is concerned, the transaction is complete. As far as you the merchant are concerned, there is one more step to complete the transaction.
   
   
5. At the end of your business day (usually), a final request is submitted to the processing network to go ahead and "capture the funds" that you obtained authorizations for during the course of business that day. This is called "settlement" or "settling your batch". With a traditional physical credit card swipe terminal, this settlement process must be initiated manually. One of the key advantages of our system is that this settlement process is initiated automatically every day on our end.
   
   
6. At settlement time, the processing network immediately receives your response electronically and determines if the capture amounts contained in your request match the authorizations for each item. If so, the request is granted and an "Accepted" response is returned to your electronic terminal or computer. A settlement report can be printed showing the grand totals by card type (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, etc) for the settled batch. Note: any corrections to your batch, such as voiding a transaction, must be made prior to settlement.
   
   
7. Within 48 to 72 hours (usually), the funds associated with the batch you settled are deposited electronically into your business bank account. Typically, the discount rate you pay to your merchant account provider are deducted from the deposit before it transferred to your bank account, resulting in a "net deposit" of funds.
   
   
8. At the end of the month, your merchant account provider will mail a statement to you, detailing the credit card activity for the month and the associated fees you have been charged for such.
   
   

Now that you understand the basics of how a credit card merchant account works, you can see the role that the system has in the processing of your credit card transactions.

Understanding your merchant provider's rates and fees

All banks and merchant providers require "transaction fees" from you for accepting credit cards. Typically, these fees are broken down into 3 categories: a discount rate, a transaction fee, and monthly fees. For the bank's purposes, a transaction is usually defined as any communication between you and the processing network. A "credit" transaction is treated the same as a regular transaction. Settling a batch is usually considered a transaction as well, as it involves communication with the processing network.

Discount Rate

This is the percentage of the total transaction amount that the bank will usually deduct prior to transferring your deposit into your bank account. Typical discount rates range from 2.5% to 5%, depending on your type of business and other factors. A higher rate may be charged on individual transactions if the transaction doesn't conform to certain qualifications, as described by your bank or merchant provider. For instance, accepting a "Visa Business Card" credit card may cost you 1% more than regular transactions. The reasons for these non-qualified transaction surcharges and complete details on all transaction qualifications should be discussed with your bank or merchant provider. Address Verification (AVS) may also fall into this category when not used properly. Address Verification (AVS) is described in the Developer's Guide.

Transaction Fees

This is a flat amount that you pay for each transaction. Typical transaction fees range from 30 cents to 50 cents per transaction.

Monthly Fees

These are fees charged for other account related services, such as customer service, your monthly statement, network access fees, and minimum monthly fees.

All the fees and charges are required to be disclosed to you prior to your commitment to the merchant agreement between you and your bank or merchant provider, and are usually enumerated carefully to you in the merchant agreement itself.

Worldwide Interactive has formed a strategic partnership with First Commerce one of the countries largest Internet Banks providing credit card services tailored to meet the needs of e-commerce.