Payments

Overview

The payments section is one of the most important in the UltraCart administration system. This is where you configure how your customers pay for their purchases.

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This screen allows the merchant to enable and configure the payment optionas available to their customers.

There are Four Major Sections to this page:

SectionDescription
Credit and Debit CardsThis section is where you will configure the types of credit/debit cards you will accept.
PayPalThis is the section for configuring PayPal as a payment option for your customers.
Amazon PaymentsThis is the section for configuring Amazon Payments as a payment option for your customers
Advanced Payments

This section contains addtional payment types that you may provide to your customers. This section includes the following payment types:

  • Affirm
  • Cash
  • Cash On Delivery (COD)
  • Coinbase (Bitcoin)  - DEPRECATED -> Coin Base no longer offers this API.
  • Electronic Checks
  • Money Orders
  • Paper Checks
  • Purchase Orders
  • Quote Requests
  • Wire Transfers

PCI Compliance Considerations

Importance of having CC gateway integration

PCI compliance is an important part of your online store, and requires that you and your vendors, such as UltraCart and your payment gateway, work together to make sure that each step in the payment process is performed with the appropriate controls and safeguards.  To this end, your merchant account provider/gateway may require you to submit proof of PCI Compliance.  As part of our regular and ongoing compliance with the safeguards related to PCI regulations, the ultracart user interface has been changed to prohibit access to the complete credit card number. This change eliminates liability related to unintended exposure of sensitive credit card details that could lead to misuse and abuse of your customers credit card information.

A credit card processing gateway is required in order to process the credit card payments for the placed orders:
Credit Card Processing Transaction Gateway Integration list 

What if I don't have a gateway?

See the complete PayPal section at http://docs.ultracart.com/display/ucdoc/PayPal.

Enabling Payment Types

Credit and Debit Cards


Description
Settings

Click the box to the left of the payment method that you wish to configure.
In almost all cases, there will be additional information to add to complete the configuration.
Once you have completed the required configuration details, click the "Save" button at the bottom of the screen.

Connect Single (Gateway)Here you will configure your specific credit card gateway with its configuration credentials.
Connect Multiple (Rotating)This is an advanced configuration option which allows you to configure multiple credit card gateways.
See: Rotating Transaction Gateway for more details. 


Selecting Card Types To Appear in Checkout

After you have configure the gateway credentials and card types you are setup to process through the gateway, you'll then toggle those card types to display  in the checkout by clicking the logo images that appear in the Credit and Debit card section pf the payments page. For example in the screenshot image above, the Diners Club and JCB card types are greyed out, because they are not active card types for the checkout. If greyed out, the card types will not appear as an option to the customer during checkout.

Credit and Debit Card Settings

FieldDescription
Payment Method QuickBooks CodeThis is a configuration field for QuickBooks integration. 
Payment Method QuickBooks Deposit To AccountThis is a configuration field for QuickBooks integration. 
Surcharge QuickBooks CodeThis is a configuration field for QuickBooks integration.
Surcharge Transaction FeeIf configured, will apply the configured surcharge fee to the customers' order.
*Some credit card agreements do not allow this option, so make sure to review your merchant credit card and gateway account agreements.
Surcharge Transaction PercentageIf configured, will apply the configured surcharge percentage to the customers' order.
*Some credit card agreements do not allow this option, so make sure to review your merchant credit card and gateway account agreements.
Processing Transaction Fee
Processing Transaction Percentage
RestrictionsYou can configure restrictions based on:
  • Order Subtotal (Minimum subtotal and/or Maximum subtotal)
  • Destination Restriction
    • Screen Branding Theme or StoreFront Restriction


FieldDescription 
Charge Appears on Statement as _____This should be configured with the way your charges will be displayed on the customers' credit card statement. Consult your Payment Gateway and credit card merchant account to verify how it appears, then configure this field accordingly.
Charge During CheckoutDefault and recommended setting is 'YES'.
Collect Card Verification NumberIf selected (Default setting), the customer will be required to enter the CVV number of their credit card during purchase.
*The CVV  number is never stored in UltraCart, per PCI/DSS regulations. Orders not processed in real-time, will not retain the CVV number, but their is a field to reenter it if you recollect if from the customer for payment processing.
After Failed attempt ___ at processing the payment collect the order information and store in accounts receivable.The default setting is 3 attempts. Upon the third declined transaction, the order is completed and stored in A/R for merchant review and follow up.
Email customer to update billing (sent when order goes to the Accounts Receivable due to too many failed attempts) at processing the payment during customer checkout.When selected, the customer is sent email notification that their placed order payment has not been processed, the email provides a link for the customer to update their billing details for their order.

UltraCart allows you to configure payment information that can be used for placing test orders. This is very useful when a store is live,
but orders need to be placed to test new functionality. By using test credit card numbers it removes the hassle of voiding charges on real credit cards.

For more, see the following knowledgebase article: Test Credit Card or Electronic Check Payments


Paay.co 3DS/PSD2 (Alpha)

About Paay.co 3ds.PSD2

EMV 3DS is a global payment security standard. You can think of it like the chip & pin on your physical credit card, but for card-not-present (CNP) purchases.

3-D Secure is a protocol that enables card issuers to authenticate consumers, secure purchases, and prevent CNP fraud.

Also referred to as 3DS2, EMV 3DS allows card issuers to authenticate consumers without adding friction to the payment process. Everything happens behind the scenes using risk-based-authentication.

Provides issuers with access to over 150 additional data parameters resulting in a 95% authentication rate
Is optimized for web, mobile, and in-app purchases
Enables Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) so merchants are able to comply with PSD2

The Payment Services Directive 2 is a banking regulation issued in the European Economic Area (EEA) by the European Banking Authority (EBA). PSD2 is an open banking initiative that seeks to improve consumer protection, boost competition, and innovation. The legislation states that merchants must use Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) on e-commerce transactions when the acquirer and the issuer are both in the EEA.

Unlike the frictionless authentication, SCA doesn’t happen behind the scenes. Instead, it requires consumers to verify their identity using two of three elements:

  • Something they are (biometric)
  • Something they have (phone)
  • Something the know (password)
  • This is known as two-factor authentication.

PAAY supports SCA by enabling the use of two-factor authentication. Its flexibility allows issuers to set authentication preferences using their preferred risk and regulatory factors. In other words, issuers decide how the customer will be authenticated by using a one-time-passcode, knowledge-based questions, or biometrics.

to learn more about Paay.co, please see FAQ, Case Studies, & contact us





UltraCart can protect your custom order forms by preventing immediate finalization of order forms that do not come from specific domains.
You should list your domains to enhanced security for your checkout if you are using your own custom front end checkout forms.



PayPal

Amazon Payments

Advanced Payment Methods

The advanced payment methods are considered "advanced" because they are used in a more limited fashion.  This is in part due to the fact that many of these payment options are not based on a real-time validation process like the "Common" Methods. These methods may not be appropriate for many storefronts.

To configure an Advanced Method simply click on the Slider to make it green.  

Once you've made your selection and configured any additional details, click the Save button on the bottom of the screen.  You will be returned to the "Configuration" screen.  (In most cases you'll configure more than one Payment Method.)


The following are brief descriptions of the Advance Methods:

MethodNotes
CashSelecting this option will add a payment method of Cash. (Not recommended for most merchants.)
C.O.DSelecting this option will add C.O.D. payment method (Not recommended for most merchants.)
Coinbase 
(Deprecated)

Selecting this option will add Coinbase Payment method which is a bitcoin wallet and exchange service

Deprecated API

Coinbase eliminated the Payment API.

Electronic ChecksSelecting this option will add a payment method of Checks. (Not recommended unless gateway configuration section has electronic check as configurable method.)
Money OrdersSelecting this option will add a payment method of Money Order. (Not recommended for most merchants.)
Paper ChecksSelecting this option will add a payment method of Paper Check. You'll be presented with configuration fields for providing your "payable to" address details.
Purchase OrdersSelecting this option will add a payment method of Purchase Order.
Quotes RequestsSelecting this option will add a payment method of Quote. (Quotes Tutorial)
Wire TransferSelecting this option will add a payment method of Wire Transfer. (Not recommended for most merchants.)


Transaction Gateways

Purpose

Transaction gateways provide Internet based interfaces into the major credit card processing networks like FDC, NDC, Nova, and many more. Transaction gateways are analogous to a retail merchant's point-of-sale terminal.

Reasons to Signup with a Gateway

Even if a merchant has a retail point of sale terminal already, they will still require a transaction gateway, due to PCI regulations that prohibit the exposure of the full credit card number. Since the full credit card number is obfuscated, having an credit card gateway configured with the account is integral to the payment processing of the placed orders. Additional benefit of having an integrated gateway include reduced data entry by keeping merchants from having to reenter order information to process the order. This reduces the time to process orders and removes potential errors from having to retype the order details into another system. In addition, UltraCart also has the ability to process orders in batch in a parallel fashion, which means authorizing even hundreds of orders can be accomplished in a matter of seconds. The Accounts Receivable chapter will cover processing orders with the transaction gateway in more detail.

Credit Card processing Gateway Credentials

The credentials will be provided to you by the gateway, or you will log into the account to generate the configuration credentials that you'll configure in Ultracart.

View of Gateways Configuration page

Clicking on the Transaction Gateways tab will display the list of integrated gateways:

Basic versus Advanced view

The basic view will display only the list of supported gateways and is all that is required to link the gateway to the UltraCart account.
The advanced view will display an additional section below the bottom of the supported gateways:

Authorization Model

The "Authorization Model" refers to how the credit card authorization transaction are handled.

There are three "Authorization Model" options:

Authorization ModelDescription
Auth and Capturemeans that both authorization and flagging for settlement occur in one transaction, in real-time.
(This is the default setting and the appropriate authorization model for most merchants.)
Auth then Capturemeans an AUTH transaction (real time) followed by a delayed CAPTURE transaction for settlement, which will occur when the order is marked as shipping in the shipping department (non shippable items will be processed in Auth and Capture mode.)
Auth Only

means the transactions simply are authorizing for checking the validity of the card and available credit for the payment transaction.
These transactions are NOT flagged for capture of payment. This model is not recommended fro the vast majority of merchants.


Supported Gateways

Currently UltraCart supports over 80 transaction gateways. The transaction gateway a merchant selects is dependent on the ones that their merchant credit card processing bank will support. Contact the bank account representative to determine available options, pricing information, and setup information. After establishing an account with one of the transaction gateways, complete UltraCart's gateway configuration section for your gateway by selecting the checkbox for it from the list of gateways.

Limitations of Support

UltraCart has some limitations with regards to transaction gateway integration. UltraCart only supports charging the customer's credit card. The transaction gateway's web site provides the remaining functionality such as issuing credits, transaction activity inquiry, etc.

You can review the integration details for the integrated payment gateways here:  Credit Card Processing Transaction Gateway Integration list

PCI regulations that prohibit the exposure of the full credit card number. Since the full credit card number is obfuscated, having an credit card gateway configured with the account is integral to the payment processing of the placed orders and wel as for processing refund, when needed.

Due to PCI requirements to protect the integrity of the stored CC details (the CC number is obfuscated through out the order lifecycle) when looking for a new gatewway, UltraCart strongly recommends selecting one of the gateways listed as supporting ***refund*** transaction.

Unsupported Gateways

There are literally hundreds of different transaction gateways available. UltraCart supports some of the most popular transaction gateways on the market today. If a merchant credit card processing bank does not offer one of UltraCart's supported transaction gateways, please contactsupport@ultracart.com. Typically, a short amount of time is required to add support for additional gateways.

Requirements for integration of new gateway

UltraCart requires the gateway to have an API integration rather than a web site handoff. This is due to the inherent lack of robustness to the website handoff approach.

Test Gateway

Only certain gateways allow for a "test" mode, which means you can only use a valid credit card, and real funds are processed. So, to help with initial account setup and testing, UltraCart has created a test transaction gateway, selectable from the Transaction Gateways tab on the Payments Configuration screen.

After selecting the test gateway, enter your Ultracart MerchantID and select the card types, then scroll to bottom of the page and click the save button to save the changes.

This gateway behaves like a "real" gateway, allowing you to completely test the system's functionality.
While it does not actually capture payments, it does allow you to perform a complete checkout to a receipt
so that you can add orders without actual transaction charges being accrued against a real credit card.

Test Gateway is for Testing only!

The UltraCart Test Gateway is for initially testing only, so make sure to configure your real credit card gateway after initial testing against the test gateway is completed.


To use the gateway, simply select it from the Transaction Gateways screen, and enter your Merchant ID. Select the payment types you want the gateway to handle, and press "Save". 

Rotating Transaction Gateways

Rotating transaction gateways allow a merchant to spread credit card transactions across multiple gateways. While available to all UltraCart merchants, it is primarily intended for merchants with substantial transaction volume. Merchants should thoroughly test their configuration before going live with this feature.

For more regarding Rotating Transaction Gateways, navigate here:  Rotating Transaction Gateway.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: When are Credit Cards Charged?

Answer: The answer depends are various details, please visit the following document for the details: When are Credit Cards Charged

Q: In cases where the customers order was captured for review, they believe the order was successfully processed, how can we make it more transparent to them?

Answer: If the order is captured after the specified number of failed authorization attempts, the customer receives their receipt for the placed order. While the receipt does not directly make reference to the the final transaction authorization attempt, the receipt itself may be interpreted by the customer as being proof of an successful payment. You can alter the default settings in regard to the emailed receipt and also to the test displayed in the receipt provided in the customers web browser to make things more transparent. See the following for more details: Tutorial - Transparent payment processing status of placed orders

Q: We are thinking about adding a gateway that offers e-check processing along with the credit card processing.  Which payment types are recommended?

Answer: There are a number of gateways that offer e-check processing, for example Authorize.Net offers e-check support, but to be brutally honest customers rarely use e-check payments when it's offered to them. E-check transactions amount to fractions of a percent for most merchants because most people/businesses that want to draft money out of their account will already have a PayPal account w/ their checking account linked (or want to send a paper check.) Our advise regarding payment processing is this:

* Visa/MC is a given
* AMEX is a good idea as a long of business customers have AMEX.
* PayPal - always a good idea. Some merchants have seen a 30% boost in transactions by supporting PayPal
* Amazon Payments - new, but coming on strong with customers. 

Related Documents

Configure Transaction Gateway

UltraCart Test Gateway

Checkout Payment Options

Test Credit Card or Electronic Check Payments

Payment - Filters (tab)

Rotating Transaction Gateway

When are Credit Cards Charged