Intellivative Payment Solutions without Borders

Intellivative, Inc. is pleased to announce that the Intellivative Merchant Portal now allows merchants to submit paper checks to the banking system electronically via Check 21.

What is Check 21?

Check 21 is a federal law that is designed to enable banks to handle more checks electronically. Using Check 21, merchants send scanned images of paper checks electronically to the bank.

Banks can then handle these checks electronically, which makes check processing easier, faster and more efficient.

Why use Check 21?

Before Check 21, merchants had to physically take paper checks to the bank for deposit. Banks then were required to manually process the paper checks with the banks and credit unions that the checks were drawn upon. This process is clearly inefficient and costly. By using Check 21, banks can process the payment faster and more efficiently, enabling the merchant to get paid faster. Merchants also save trips to the bank to deposit paper checks.

How does it work?

The merchant uses a check scanner, which scans and captures the entire image of the check. Intellivative submits these images electronically with the transaction information to the bank. The merchant’s bank can transmit this information electronically to the customer’s bank. If a receiving bank or its customer requires a paper check, the bank can use the electronic picture and payment information to create a paper “substitute check.” Using ‘Check 21’ electronic check conversion, the transaction is processed within 24 business hours.

Which check scanner(s) are supported?

The RDM 7000i is the check scanner that is compatible and is currently being used with the Intellivative Merchant Portal to capture the check images. Other check scanners may be integrated in the future. The RDM 7000i is available for resale from Intellivative.

If you sign up for a merchant account with Intellivative that includes ACH check services, we will provide a check scanner at no cost.

Is it difficult for merchants to set up the check scanner?

It is not difficult to set up the check scanner to work with the Intellivative Merchant Portal, but for those occasions where a problem is experienced, we prepared the Installation and Setup Guide, complete with step-by-step instructions, pictures and screenshots, to help the merchant install the software drivers and get the check scanner device working properly with the Intellivative Merchant Portal.

Contact us for further information or to get set up for the check 21 service.

If you’re new to eCommerce, it might seem like a daunting task to figure out how to get your web site to process credit card and debit card payments electronically. Fortunately, there are a lot of companies that have already figured out  the hard parts–all you have to do is pick the right one for you. So, where to start?

Well, in order to accept credit cards and debit cards, you need a payment gateway like Intellivative (others include Authorize.net, LinkPoint, Verisign, Paypal, …). But there are a lot of other factors involved …

Where are you going to host your eCommerce web site?

You might already have part this figured out, but if you haven’t, you’ll need to choose and purchase a domain name for your web site (check its availability first!) and find a place to host it. Large businesses might host the site on their own web server, but smaller businesses probably want to hire an Internet Service Provider to do that part.

How big of an online store do you want?

Are you selling 2 different products, 100, or 1,000? The scale of your online store is going to make a big difference in your web store’s strategy.

If you have just a handful of products to sell, you’re not going to need a whole lot. A “Buy Now” button from PayPal or Google might be enough–or you may be able to sell your products on an auction site like eBay or Amazon.

But when you’re ready to move beyond selling a few products online, you’ll need an online shopping solution with more functionality. That’s where shopping carts come in. If you have more than 5 – 10 products, you’re going to need a shopping cart. 

Should you build your eCommerce store yourself, hire someone to build it, or buy a pre-made solution?

Nowadays, it’s not necessary to solve it all yourself (unless you just enjoy doing that kind of thing). A pre-built shopping cart can give you so many features it would be difficult to build yourself. You still might want to hire someone to help you, but most likely you can find a cart that will meet your needs. 

You can find shopping carts that will provide all kinds of bells and whistles–the question becomes which bells and whistles are important for your store’s success?

Here are some of the features you might find offered:

 The lists of features alone can be overwhelming, but really, it’s best not to have too many, at least to start with. Think about making your store simple for the user to find what they want, add it to the cart, and purchase it. Some of the “features” can sometimes get in the way of that one primary goal. Keep yourself focused on the goal, and don’t let yourself get too bogged down in features.

What’s really important on an eCommerce site is:

• a straightforward user shopping experience–this is your number one goal. Make sure you shop some of the stores that use the cart you’re considering. Notice how easy or hard it is to select an item and make a purchase.
• pleasant, uncluttered design–does the cart allow you to create a design layout that makes sense, without overwhelming the user, yet still allow them to easily find what they’re looking for?
• sufficient information–people need enough info about your products/services to make a decision. What types of tools do you need to give shoppers enough information about your products? Does the cart allow drill-down to product details? Multiple product images? Product comparisons? Test out each tool you’re thinking about using to see how straightforward and helpful they are.
• secure online transactions–even experienced shoppers have reservations about handing over their credit card numbers. Make sure all the software you employ on your site is PCI compliant.
• search engine optimization–your store has to be found first, and search engines are critical to making that happen. What does the cart do to support that?
• support after the sale–shipping integration, email notification and order tracking are customer touchpoints that can make a big difference in customer retention. Does the cart offer sufficient tools to allow you to do that?

Make sure the cart supports these essentials, but also think to the future. What are your long-term goals for this site? Will the shopping cart you’ve selected be able to grow as your business grows or will you have to switch solutions? Switching solutions later can be expensive and timeconsuming. 

What comes after the cart?

Once you’ve figured out the shopping cart problem, you still need a payment gateway to integrate with your cart and a merchant account where proceeds from your sales will be deposited.

A payment gateway connects your online store to the payment processing networks and banks. The payment transactions are handled electronically, via a secured Internet connection. Some carts will partner with a payment provider; others will allow you more flexibility. It’s always better to choose a cart that allows you the flexibility to choose your gateway, so if you want to switch down the line, you don’t have to change your entire store around.

Similarly, it’s beneficial to choose a gateway that allows you to change your merchant account. Gateways that connect to more than one merchant account provider help because it allows you to shop around and get the best deal as your business changes. A merchant account provider that suits your business today may get expensive in terms of merchant account fees when you grow past a certain size.

Speaking of that, Intellivative is currently integrating with three new bank networks, which will greatly increase your choices for merchant accounts, without having to change your eCommerce store setup.

Give us a chance to show you how much you can gain (and save!) with Intellivative. Contact us for a free, no-obligation quote today.

If you’re new to eCommerce, it might seem like a daunting task to figure out how to get your web site to process credit card and debit card payments electronically. Fortunately, there are a lot of companies that have already figured out  the hard parts–all you have to do is pick the right one for you. So, where to start?

Well, in order to accept credit cards and debit cards, you need a payment gateway like Intellivative (others include Authorize.net, LinkPoint, Verisign, Paypal, …). But there are a lot of other factors involved …

Where are you going to host your eCommerce web site?

You might already have part this figured out, but if you haven’t, you’ll need to choose and purchase a domain name for your web site (check its availability first!) and find a place to host it. Large businesses might host the site on their own web server, but smaller businesses probably want to hire an Internet Service Provider to do that part.

How big of an online store do you want?

Are you selling 2 different products, 100, or 1,000? The scale of your online store is going to make a big difference in your web store’s strategy.

If you have just a handful of products to sell, you’re not going to need a whole lot. A “Buy Now” button from PayPal or Google might be enough–or you may be able to sell your products on an auction site like eBay or Amazon.

But when you’re ready to move beyond selling a few products online, you’ll need an online shopping solution with more functionality. That’s where shopping carts come in. If you have more than 5 – 10 products, you’re going to need a shopping cart. 

Should you build your eCommerce store yourself, hire someone to build it, or buy a pre-made solution?

Nowadays, it’s not necessary to solve it all yourself (unless you just enjoy doing that kind of thing). A pre-built shopping cart can give you so many features it would be difficult to build yourself. You still might want to hire someone to help you, but most likely you can find a cart that will meet your needs. 

You can find shopping carts that will provide all kinds of bells and whistles–the question becomes which bells and whistles are important for your store’s success?

Here are some of the features you might find offered:

 The lists of features alone can be overwhelming, but really, it’s best not to have too many, at least to start with. Think about making your store simple for the user to find what they want, add it to the cart, and purchase it. Some of the “features” can sometimes get in the way of that one primary goal. Keep yourself focused on the goal, and don’t let yourself get too bogged down in features.

What’s really important on an eCommerce site is:

• a straightforward user shopping experience–this is your number one goal. Make sure you shop some of the stores that use the cart you’re considering. Notice how easy or hard it is to select an item and make a purchase.
• pleasant, uncluttered design–does the cart allow you to create a design layout that makes sense, without overwhelming the user, yet still allow them to easily find what they’re looking for?
• sufficient information–people need enough info about your products/services to make a decision. What types of tools do you need to give shoppers enough information about your products? Does the cart allow drill-down to product details? Multiple product images? Product comparisons? Test out each tool you’re thinking about using to see how straightforward and helpful they are.
• secure online transactions–even experienced shoppers have reservations about handing over their credit card numbers. Make sure all the software you employ on your site is PCI compliant.
• search engine optimization–your store has to be found first, and search engines are critical to making that happen. What does the cart do to support that?
• support after the sale–shipping integration, email notification and order tracking are customer touchpoints that can make a big difference in customer retention. Does the cart offer sufficient tools to allow you to do that?

Make sure the cart supports these essentials, but also think to the future. What are your long-term goals for this site? Will the shopping cart you’ve selected be able to grow as your business grows or will you have to switch solutions? Switching solutions later can be expensive and timeconsuming. 

What comes after the cart?

Once you’ve figured out the shopping cart problem, you still need a payment gateway to integrate with your cart and a merchant account where proceeds from your sales will be deposited.

A payment gateway connects your online store to the payment processing networks and banks. The payment transactions are handled electronically, via a secured Internet connection. Some carts will partner with a payment provider; others will allow you more flexibility. It’s always better to choose a cart that allows you the flexibility to choose your gateway, so if you want to switch down the line, you don’t have to change your entire store around.

Similarly, it’s beneficial to choose a gateway that allows you to change your merchant account. Gateways that connect to more than one merchant account provider help because it allows you to shop around and get the best deal as your business changes. A merchant account provider that suits your business today may get expensive in terms of merchant account fees when you grow past a certain size.

Speaking of that, Intellivative is currently integrating with three new bank networks, which will greatly increase your choices for merchant accounts, without having to change your eCommerce store setup.

Give us a chance to show you how much you can gain (and save!) with Intellivative. Contact us for a free, no-obligation quote today.

If you’ve ever looked into using a virtual terminal to handle the payments for your retail, mail or telephone order business, you might be wondering whether it’s better to use a standard credit card machine (a.k.a, point of sale or POS terminal) or a virtual POS terminal. As with anything, there are advantages and disadvantages of each, and you need to consider the pluses and minuses in the context of your own business objectives–then figure out which payment option fits your situation best.

First of all: what’s a virtual terminal?

A virtual POS terminal is generally a secure web site you log into to process credit card and/or electronic check payments. It works a lot like your traditional credit card terminal, except it uses your computer and a secure Internet connection rather than a separate piece of hardware and a phone line to process the payment.

Advantages of a virtual POS terminal

There are quite a few benefits:

• Virtual terminals are available from any computer with an internet connection–if you’re at a trade show or travelling, you don’t have to carry extra equipment.
• There’s no extra hardware to clutter up your counter (or desk). Your computer is your credit card terminal.
• With a virtual terminal, updates are usually automatic. Credit card associations update their rules regularly, usually requiring credit card terminal owners to update their software and/or hardware. Virtual terminals eliminate that hassle because the software processing the payment is on the company’s server–not yours. That means when a change comes down the pipes, they take care of it for you and you never have to worry about it.
• Some virtual terminals allow you to plug in a card-swipe device or keyboard, so you can swipe credit cards or key them in.
• Several people can use it at once. This is really great for catalog call centers,  where everyone on the floor usually has a computer anyway, so each of your call center workers can log into the virtual terminal right on their computer. It cuts costs tremendously because you don’t have to pay for each person to have their own POS terminal.
• Payment reports for humans–no paper required. While a traditional credit card terminal does typically have reporting built in, it’s a paper report that may not be the easiest thing to read. Usually with virtual terminals there is a reports module included that has visual reports designed for people to read online. Much easier to read and interpret, available anywhere (from a computer with internet access), and it saves paper because you can read it online.
  • Some payment providers even let you download the report data right into a database or into Excel (or your favorite spreadsheet) so you can massage the data to your heart’s content.

The Down Side of Virtual Credit Card Terminals

Virtual credit card terminals are not all roses; they have their drawbacks too.

• If you don’t have a computer where you’re processing payments, it can be a hassle to put one there to run your payments. It only works to your benefit when you have a computer there anyway.
• Some virtual credit card terminals are cumbersome to use–not something you really want when you’re in a hurry trying to check out a long line of customers. Others are more efficient. Shop around and pick the one that works best for the people at your business who process the payments.
• Virtual terminals time out after a period of inactivity. (Or at least they should. If your employee walks away and leaves it for 20 minutes, you don’t want any old schmuck walking up and processing payments or worse yet, viewing your reports.) But when they do time out, it can be a hassle to log back in before you can check someone out, especially if you’re in a hurry. So if you have a long time between checkouts, the timeout could get in your way. Traditional credit card terminals don’t time out.

Intellivative offers both types of solutions so no matter which you option you decide on, we’d appreciate it if you would consider the Intellivative Merchant Portal (which includes a virtual terminal), one of our credit card terminals, or if you already have credit card terminals you’d like to keep using, consider using Intellivative as your payment processor.

Whichever solution you choose, best of luck to you in your business!