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E-Commerce FAQ
- 1. What
should I look for in an E-Commerce Plan?
- 2. What
E-Commerce Plan is right for me?
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- 3. What
do I need for E-Commerce?
- 4. What
is E-Commerce?
- 5. Can
I get a Merchant Account with you if I reside in another country?
- 6. Can
I take orders with Miva Merchant and not use credit cards?
- 7. Do
I still need a Merchant Account with Miva Merchant?
- 8. What
security options do you offer?
- 9. What
are the advantages of Online/Electronic Transactions?
- 10. Can
I use Miva with my existing merchant account?
- 11. What
is the difference between a web site and an e-commerce web site?
- 12. I
already have an E-Commerce Store, I want to now change my Hosting
Provider, what do I do?
- 13. When
am I charged the setup fee and how long does the approval process
take?
- 14. I
have secure server access on my account, do I still have to pay
secure gateway fees?
- 15. Do
you include Merchant Accounts with your Web Hosting Services?
- 16. Do
you provide Shopping Cart software?
- 17. What
is an Electronic Shopping Cart?
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- 1.
What should I look for in an E-Commerce Plan?
- Top
- Examine the
following key parameters before deciding on any e-commerce plan:
- Functionality
- Scalability
- Reliability
- Customization
- Cost of implementation
(monthly fees plus additional costs for Merchant Accounts
etc.)
- Cost and ease
of maintenance
- Security Options
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- 2.
What E-Commerce Plan is right for me?
- Top
- It depends
on numerous factors like:
- Are you a beginner?
- Or do you have
a certain amount of experience with e-commerce?
- What are your
requirements? - Single category with limited products to sell
or multiple product categories with multi-user and multi-store
capabilities?
Once you have decided what your marketing strategy is, go ahead
and chose any plan from our wide array of options.
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- 3.
What do I need for E-Commerce? - Top
- 1. Chose
Payment Options:
- Off-line Credit
Card Processing
This is a good option if you currently have a Merchant Account
with a local bank. Your customers' credit card information
is captured and stored on our server for later authorization
and transaction processing through a traditional card swipe
terminal or through a computer. If you are clearing more than
100 transactions a month, you may want to consider the real-time
payment processing option.
- Real-Time Payment
Processing enabled by Merchant Accounts
To process credit cards transactions in real time through
your web site you need to:
- Open a merchant
account with a financial institution
- Sign up with a
payment gateway, for example, Card
Services
International
or CyberCash
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- Merchant
Accounts give you the ability to take Credit Card information
from your prospective customers over the Internet. Merchant Accounts
are issued through an Authorizing Bank. A Merchant Account is
like a Drivers License. Though you have a driver's license you
can't move around without a vehicle. Similarly for you to use
your Merchant Account you need a vehicle to move the information
around..
2. Online Shopping Cart - Online shopping cart software is another
example of a vehicle to move Credit Card and ordering information.
Your customers can efficiently order 24 hours a day. Shopping
carts eliminates some potential for error as there is only one
human involved in the process rather than two.
Shopping Carts allows you to:
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- Get the ordering
information from the customer
- Verify via e-mail
to the customer that his order has been placed
- Deliver the notification
and ordering information to the seller
The more information the shopping cart can collect, the wider
its application can be.
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- 4.
What is E-Commerce? - Top
- Electronic
Commerce (E-Commerce) is buying/selling of products and/or
services over the Internet.
To conduct business on the Internet you need an e-commerce web
site. An e-commerce web site can be as simple as a catalog with
an order form, or it can be a complex multimedia enabled web site
with real-time credit card processing capabilities. The Internet
has enabled merchants to offer their goods and services to potential
customers around the world 24 hrs a day, 365 days a year. E-Commerce
offers customers the opportunity to browse, select and pay for
goods in real time from the comfort of their own home or office.
E-Commerce supplements the traditional selling channels and attracts
customers that you never knew existed. The Internet revolution
is affecting every company, no matter its size. Business of all
sizes can equally share in the benefits of e-commerce, but they
are all equally vulnerable to being left behind if they do not
adopt the new business models.
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- 5.
Can I get a Merchant Account with you if I reside in another country?
- Top
- All U.S.
based Merchant Accounts require a US based bank account, Federal
Tax ID and postal address to process all transactions. If you
can provide these, then you don't actually need to reside in the
US
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- 6.
Can I take orders with Miva Merchant and not use credit cards?
- Top
- Yes. You
can have customers place orders through your web site and process
them only after receiving payment by any means you desire, either
by check or by wire transfer
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- 7.
Do I still need a Merchant Account with Miva Merchant?
- Top
- Don't confuse
the two, they are totally different. Miva Merchant gives you all
the tools to easily process online orders through a number of
third party vendors. If you plan on being able to accept Mastercard
and Visa you will still need to establish a Merchant Account.
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- 8.
What security options do you offer?
- Top
- One of the
biggest concerns today's consumers have is " how safe is it to
shop online?" It is our goal to ensure that as a business owner
we provide you with security options to make your customers feel
comfortable about shopping online at your web site. SSL (secure
socket layer) is the standard encryption used on the web today.
Users can see if a page is secure by looking at the bottom left
side of their browser. If there is a closed lock or a solid key
then the page is secure.
All our customers have FREE access to our shared Secure Server
Solution allowing them to run their web pages through a shared
SSL connection. This helps them save money as well as offer customers
a secure web site. The down side of using a shared SSL connection
is that if the end-user views the SSL certificate, the name displayed
will be our vender and not yours.
To give your web store a more professional appearance, you can
obtain your own Personal SSL Certificate. Now if end-users view
the certificate information, your company name will be displayed
and not ours. To obtain a personal SSL certificate, you will need
to sign up with an authorized certification company, such as VeriSign
or Thawte.
For a one-time $50 fee we will create the key which you will submit
to the certification agency and then complete the installation
for you. Once you receive the key from us, you need to submit
a request to the authorized Certification Company. The domain
name owner must be the one who is submitting the request. The
application process may also require legal documentation regarding
your business. Once your application has been processed you will
receive another encrypted key from the Certification Company,
we will use this key to complete the installation process.
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- 9.
What are the advantages of Online/Electronic Transactions?
- Top
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- Reduced Errors:
No need to enter transaction amounts at both the cash register
and processing terminals.
- Creates a Transaction
Database: Stores transaction information in your database for
as long as you want. You'll never have to search for lost transaction
information.
- Increases Accountability:
It is easy to confirm whether you have received the proper amount
of credit for each transaction.
- Minimizes Fraud:
Performs address verification (AVS), and eliminates the chance
of shipping to someone using a stolen credit card, saving you
from a charge back.
- Quicker Transactions:
Allows you to send multiple transactions as a batch, thus reducing
authorization time to as low as three seconds per transaction.
- Eliminates Equipment:
Multiple registers can share a single modem, and phone line,
thus saving money.
- Lowers Transaction
Costs: Electronic processing is faster and less expensive than
paper processing.
- Faster Billing:
Makes it easy to build and process a batch of transactions as
often as needed; great for recurring billing.
- Recurring Billing:
Schedule transactions to be processed according to your specific
billing requirements.
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10.
Can I use Miva with my existing merchant account?
- Top
Miva
Merchant software will work in one manner or another with any Merchant
Bank. The limitations that can exist are related to doing a live
authorization at the time your customer places the order or actually
having to manually process the order in your office at days end.
Our Merchant accounts are setup with the ability for Miva to communicate
with the Card Processing center directly and get a credit card authorization
in seconds why your client is still on your order page. This allows
for immediate confirmation the order is in processing and if a problem
did occur the customer could enter another credit card or choose
a different form of payment before leaving.
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11.
What is the difference between a web site and an e-commerce web
site? - Top
An
ordinary web site presents prospective customers with only information
and the only purchasing options available are off-line. On the other
hand an e-commerce web site not only presents all the required information
but also provides secure options to complete the sale right there.
An ordinary web site is like a copy of your printed catalog, only
presenting information, whereas an e-commerce web site is a new
business unit that complements your existing traditional selling
channels and accentuates an entirely new sales/distribution channel.
An ordinary web site offers limited security options. On the other
hand e-commerce web sites provide options for high levels of security
by encrypting data and transferring it over secure servers.
An ordinary web site operates entirely outside your existing business
system. All orders have to be manually entered into the system and
processed off-line. Whereas an e-commerce web site integrates into
your existing system for inventory control, order processing and
order fulfillment. A fully integrated e-commerce web site automatically
ties into your existing business process and acts like an extension
to your existing sales force.
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12.
I already have an E-Commerce Store, I want to now change my Hosting
Provider, what do I do? - Top
You
will need to submit a domain modification/transfer request to the
registry you originally registered with. Within 72 hours your domain
name will be transferred to our servers. But in the mean time you
can upload all your files to our servers using the IP address you
received once you have signed up for an e-commerce plan. The best
way to avoid any downtime for your store during the transfer is
to make sure that you do not cancel your account with your
current hosting provider, until all your files have been uploaded
to our servers and your site is live and ready to go. In case you
need assistance with uploading, you can use our 24/7 Support Desk.
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13.
When am I charged the setup fee and how long does the approval
process take? - Top
The
setup fee will be charged once your application for the account
has been approved. Applications with monthly volumes of or less
than $30,000 are generally approved within 48 hours. Depending on
the information you provide to Card Service, and your financial
standing, this process may take longer.
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14.
I have secure server access on my account, do I still have to
pay secure gateway fees? - Top
Yes.
We provide all accounts with access to secure servers so customers
can order your product/services over a secure server.
The Secure Gateway Fees are for the secure transfer of information
between your web page and the bank for processing the orders your
customers place through your web site. Hence you need to pay the
Secure Gateway Fees.
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15.
Do you include Merchant Accounts with your Web Hosting Services?
- Top
No.
Our web hosting services only provide a home for your web site and
online store. But if you want to process credit cards online, then
you will need a merchant account.
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16.
Do you provide Shopping Cart software?
- Top
Yes
we do. We offer Miva Merchant, one of the most popular, robust,
scalable and easy to use browser based storefront and catalog development
systems available. To help you set up shop immediately we provide
you 'cut & paste' options for the necessary account configuration
information.
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17.
What is an Electronic Shopping Cart?
- Top
An
Electronic Shopping Cart works the same way a shopping cart does
in the physical world. As customers browse through your online store,
they can place products they intend buying in their virtual shopping
cart, which keeps track of the products placed in it. When they
are ready to leave your store, they click a "check out" link which
shows them what they've placed in their virtual shopping cart. Here
they have the option to remove items they are no longer interested
in purchasing. Then they enter their shipping and payment information
to process the order.
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Updated: October 4, 2001
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