Hi everyone,

I going to build a website but i need to add a shopping cart and a way of processing credit card (and cheques if possible) for the items that the user decides to buy. The thing is i do not know how to add a shopping cart or add a way to process credit cards.

Is there a free program that i can use to add a shopping cart?? if there is such a thing could someone post a link for me if it is of no inconvinience.

As for the credit card processing the company i am working for has a bank account in Hong Kong. Is there any services that are no so expensive that i could use so that what ever the user purchases the cash is deposited in the bank account in Hong Kong. The server that has the web page is in South Africa. I can use paypal but i am not sure if they add their service to a server in South Africa.

I am not sure where to start and any pointers would really be great.

Thank You

Yours Sincerely

Richard West

I would begin by checking out script resources such as: http://www.hotscripts.com/PHP/Script...rts/index.html

HotScripts is usually pretty decent. Also be sure to check out open source projects at www.sourceforge.net (do a search for "shopping cart")

Accepting credit cards cost money... monthly usually. Unless you have paypal... they just take a percentage. To some consumers, paypal is a bit of a turn off, but at the same time its a decent learning tool. If you're not sure how to add a shopping cart, they have pretty good tutorials. Also, www.oscommerce.com has decent and FREE shopping cart software, but i've found quite a few glitches as far as accepting credit cards goes.

I wish I had more info for you, but this is a problem I'm currently trying to fix myself, so once I figure out something, I'll be sure to post my solution! Good luck, and please let me know if you have any luck with anything else. I'd like to know.

You might check out www.2checkout.com for some information on credit cards. Also check with your bank to see what they might offer since you are not in the United States. For United States residents, you can sometime get a discount rate as low as 1.99% at times when companies run a special. Of course you also have an electronic payment gateway as well to deal with.

oscommerce with paypal and then u have a shop that can accept paypal payments like credit cards and also many other payment methods!

To accept credit cards online you typically need the following 3 components:

1. A merchant account: The two largest in the US are First Data/Paymentech and Nova. There are thousands upon thousands of resellers. You should not pay more than 2% of the transaction + about a quarter per transaction + a monthly fee - usually around $20. You will need to pass a credit check, as well as provide the processing bank with proof of financials. AMEX and Discover do not use resellers - you must apply directly. Their rates are about 1% or so higher than Visa/MC.

2. Payment Gateway: The largest is Verisign, then Authorize.net. The gateway acts as a virtual terminal. Your shopping cart will parse data through the gateway to charge or credit the card, or you can do so manually. The gateway also allows implementation of fraud protection features, such as AVS (address vertification system).

3. A shopping cart: There are thousands available. Many resellers of Visa/MC merchant accounts provide free basic carts. Make sure the cart you choose supports your payment gateway. It's more professional and less expensive to host your own shopping cart, rather than run it on a third party server. I recommend choosing a shopping cart that is SEO friendly - as you want the spiders to pick up the content stored in the cart.

I can write a whole book on the topic of accepting credit cards online. Above are the basics you should know to get started.

Use paypal checkout it is basic but powerful.

I would recommand Zencart for shopping cart program! It is based on Oscommerce but better! Check it out at www.zencart.com

freesoft2000 wrote:
"As for the credit card processing the company i am working for has a bank account in Hong Kong. Is there any services that are no so expensive that i could use so that what ever the user purchases the cash is deposited in the bank account in Hong Kong."

PayPal is rather unweildy for many buyers. Banks are behind the curve in online purchasing so charge outrageous fees.
Try the card processor and gateway offered here- http://www.micro-fx.com/ecommerce.htm

There is a link on that page to an extensive list of compatable shoppingcart solutions that are already set up for this application.

Ben

chronopay might be most accurate solution for E Europe.