Dear
Paul:
I
have been an avid reader of The Green Sheet and a dedicated customer to your
publications for a number of years. GO Software has always thought that The
Green Sheet is an effective tool to get in front of our financial channel
markets and ISOs.
I
just finished reading the February 2001 edition of GSQ in which the Internet
sector was covered in great detail. There are a few areas that may be a bit
misleading that I would like to clear up.
One
of Ed Freedman’s quotes (page eight) indicated that Internet-based merchants
are required to use a virtual terminal and an Internet payment gateway to
process transactions. This is really not the case. Internet transactions may be
processed through product-based solutions as well. GO Software products such as
PCCharge Pro, PCCharge Express and PCCharge Payment Server are certified to
process Internet transactions, sent by the merchant directly to the credit card
processors. In fact, several credit card processors have direct Internet
connectivity that is available to merchants who use certified products such as
PCCharge. The purple information bar on page eight, which also cites information
provided by Ed, purports that individual merchants are not allowed to access the
processor directly through the Internet. This is not true. Again, merchants can
use a certified software solution, like PCCharge Products or RiTA Products, to
access the processor directly via the Internet.
I
realize that The Green Sheet can’t check the validity of every quote, but the
notion that gateways and virtual terminals are the only way to do electronic
commerce (ECI) transactions has been damaging to our business, as Ed is not the
only one who has misinterpreted the ECI requirements handed down by the
affiliates.
Ed
is a knowledgeable resource, and a PCCharge reseller. We have a great
relationship with his organization and respect his opinion.
One
area to which the article did not really do justice was in presenting gateway
alternatives designed for merchants who process a high volume of transactions.
One example of such a solution is our RiTA Server product, which is a
multi-threaded cross platform solution that accepts multiple tender types. We
found the omission ironic because we ran a full page ad for RiTA Server on the
inside cover of this GSQ edition. RiTA Server is a great value, as merchants do
not have to pay the additional gateway fees that are tacked on for each
transaction by the gateway provider. By using the RiTA Server, the merchant has
direct access to the processors. ISOs have an excellent opportunity to realize a
huge gold nugget up front from a RiTA sale rather than a little bit of gold dust
on each transaction prevalent in the gateway model. Plus, they can provide their
merchants a better overall value.
