Posted by leepeng on September 10, 2010
We had our first Citibank payment gateway integration on Jan 2008 and I think it will be good to share our experience.
Citibank provide a good alternative for the available payment gateways in Singapore (PayPal, WorldPay, eNets, NERA etc). I think the good point with Citibank is flexibility. Programmer can basically implement all kind of workflow after mastering the architecture and API. In addition, Citibank do provide full set of payment options (SALE, AUTH/CAPTURE, VBV). However, it is technically more complicated, require more correspondences and take longer time to implement (and of-course it can be more expensive)
Ask yourself these questions before you call Citibank
- Do you really need Citibank? Do you need a full fledged payment engine? Or simpler payment interface like PayPal and WorldPay can satisfy your need?
- Is Citibank already your aquirer? Have you negotiate a good rate with them?
- What payment mode do you need, SALE or AUTH/CAPTURE?
- Do you need to be protected through VbV (Verify by Visa)?
SALE, AUTH/CAPTURE, VbV???
These can sound foreign if you are new to payment gateway integration.
SALE – Credit will be deducted immediately once transaction successful.
AUTH/CAPTURE – AUTH perform the card verification process and authorise the card (reserve the amount). CAPTURE will do the actual deduction from the reserved amount. AUTH/CAPTURE mode is particularly suitable for reservation (e.g. hotels, flights) and deposit payment.
VbV stands for Verify by Visa (and Master). With VbV activated, card holder with VbV activated will required to key in a security code during online payment. This security code is normally set when the card issuer issued the card and normally can be reset / changed via bank’s online portal or ATM machine. With VbV activated, merchant can reduce the charged back risk if fraud case happen.
The Process
It is not that straight forward to get this payment up and running. In summary here are the steps
1.) Approach Citibank online payment team to create a payment gateway account. You will need to decide the currency, the payment mode (SALE or AUTH/CAPTURE) and if you need VbV to be activated. These will eventually affects the number of online payment accounts you need to open with Citibank.
2.) Receive test account from Citibank
3.) Payment gateway development and integration based on the test account
4.) Payment testing based on test account. Citibank will then required a test report to be submitted to them in order for them to issue the LIVE account.
5.) Issue of LIVE account (not activated)
6.) Payment testing based on LIVE account. Additional test cases will be needed if VbV is turned on and this can only be done at the LIVE account. Citibank will then required a comprehensive test report to be submitted before they giving green light to activate the LIVE account.
7.) LIVE account activated and you can start collecting money.
Posted by leepeng on August 29, 2009
Setting up an online shop is not straight forward as some might think. It is far beyond getting someone to develop a e-commerce website or installed a off-the-selve ecommerce solution.
Just share some experience we gained after developing some e-commerce solutions for our clients.
Are You The Pro?
I do not mean are you tech-pro; but are you your product-pro?
Personally I don’t believe you can sell something online if you do not have in-dept professional knowledge in the product you selling. One of our very successful client is a jigging master who selling popping and jigging equipments online. He kicked start with and online shop and eventually evolve to a real retail store. In addition, he also runs a fishing hobby forum and organising fishing trips to various hot-spots.
Where to Start?
Many people jump into conclusion that having eShop means building a e-commerce website. I always advise my friends to start small at places like forum and ebay, or promoting products at blog. Only invest in online store when they have sufficient product range and loyal customers. Do not start without a base. Do not think about the big market before you can establish a small market.
Payment
We normally advise people to start with a mixture of offline payment and PayPal at the beginning. Only consider premium payment gateway like Citibank when they have substantial online transactions.
Shipping
Shipping is an area that neglected by many during the planning of their e-commerce site. However, it play a major part as it affect the total price that the buyer going to pay. The value of the product must be justifiable enough for the shipping fee paid.
Take for example a 500g package will take about $65 to ship from Singapore to US using UPS. The fee will become ridiculously high if the item only cost $20!
Merchant can think creatively for the cheap and fast delivery of the products. Take fore example small items like neglacts can actually be shipped as registered mail instead of parser.
Marketing
It is actually a myth that an e-commerce website will be “self-market” after it goes live.
Just like normal shop front, nobody will know you if you do not market your shop.
Google will not rank you #1 in a very common search keyword after your website goes live.
There will be a lot of effort in doing visitation monitoring, search engine optimisation, search engine marketing, online marketing using various social channels or event offline marketing.
Posted by leepeng on December 27, 2008
Consider the basic architecture of my previous Post (PayPal Integration)
At point A, we have stored the order record in the database as “Pending Payment” status. We will update the status to either “Paid” or “Failed” after PayPal redirect back to Thank you or Transaction cancelled page. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by leepeng on
This article contains 3 section …
I. General Architecture
II. PayPal Settings
III. PHP Integration
The integration uses CURL to connect to PayPal server. I assume you are familiar with CURL functions for PHP. You can visit PHP manual at http://sg.php.net/manual/en/ref.curl.php for more information. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
Posted by John on November 6, 2008
Forecepts was recently featured under the Success Stories column on the Infocomm Singapore Portal. The highlight of the story was on our implementation of an instant hotel & flight booking confirmation system for CTC Holidays. Full story here.
Find out more about Forecepts’ booking solutions and reservation systems.
Posted by John on November 5, 2008
HOT http://www.mcdelivery.com.sg/
5 out of 5 stars
Finally, a website that makes ordering fast food for home delivery as easy as 1, 2, 3. I was glad to find a “First Time Here” link easily on the home page when I was trying to make my first order with McDonald’s online, it detailed a clear step-by-step set of instructions for me. WAIT! There is more to read… read on »