E-Commerce Lebanon

arithma

So we need to process credit card payments, and then process it through our business rules. It's a regular online service of some sort.

Does anyone here have experience with that?

rolf

I have addresses:
- 2checkout.com
- authorize.net
I think #2 is the most popular. It also allows you to have full control on the appearance. #1 requires you to go to their site during the payment. But #1 is cheaper.
You could also try to contact a bank, which is probably like #2 only more expensive.
Someone also mentioned that Paypal can be made to work with an offshore account.

I am currently trying / hoping to "create my own (manual) gateway" in a way, that is to get a credit card processing machine from a bank and an authorization to process credit cards without signature. Then I will be able to charge credit cards without going through a 3rd party payment gateway.

arithma

I need immediate feedback and a developer API because I don't have fixed prices for the values so that strikes off 2checkout.
Authorize.net, going through their website was an extreme hassle and it appears I must have an internet merchant bank account which is also costly. There are tons of options and that's why I need help from people with a prior experience.

Paypal does seem promising and has almost no start up fees. If it works well, I'll set up in a close country like KSA.

Banks in Lebanon charge like $350 for setup (unheard of charges!), $35 a month and 3% for transactions. You must be registered as a company as well.

rolf

All true.

For 2checkout, check the following:

https://www.2checkout.com/documentation/api/
http://developers.2checkout.com/echo/topic/useful-documentation

I'm not sure but maybe you can find what you want there. It seems they have an API, but I dont know if it's the sort that you want.

WizaRd

rolf wroteI am currently trying / hoping to "create my own (manual) gateway" in a way, that is to get a credit card processing machine from a bank and an authorization to process credit cards without signature. Then I will be able to charge credit cards without going through a 3rd party payment gateway.

Good luck getting PCI certified or at least bypassing the minimal measures of security because theres no problem for any bank in Lebanon to provide you a POS (Point Of Sale), but you'll have suspecting customers if you plan on taking their PANs, Expiry dates, Security code from your webform and inputting them on the POS.

All POS on the market are made to only make calls therefore it rules out any option for you to make an application, however 'secure' it might be, that lets you inject the customer's information to the terminal automatically.

You'll have to do it the manual way, and I can only hope you're not having any plans for this?

rolf

Flyingwizard wroteYou'll have to do it the manual way, and I can only hope you're not having any plans for this?

Yes, it is for a low-volume website. We're not expecting more then 10 sales a month (if we're lucky) and staff is available for doing manual work.

I have doubts, mostly about the security and what to do in case of disupte. But I'm kinda optimistic and curious about a possible solution. Doing work manually is not the main problem, but it may become one later.

WizaRd

I meant that it's a huge security risk when you can see a customer's PAN (the 16/19 digits of a card) along with expiry date and security code. This information alone can compromise any card's account.

I am not doubting your intentions for the good of your business but if I was you I really wouldn't want such a burden on my shoulders.

Hybrid

Anyone tried google checkout before? and knows if it works?

rolf

I tried to make it work, seems it doesnt support Lebanon. Forgot the details though. It looks like the best option, if you are eligible.

Kassem

When the law of e-transactions gets approved in the cabinet, we might have PayPal in Lebanon. At least that's the only reason why we do not have PayPal here in Lebanon, which I know about...

chosen2k

<edit> it appears that i didn't read arithma's earlier post carefully, I'm just repeating what he said :P </edit>

These are lebanese offers:

NET COMMERCE
Financial Terms

iPAY

· Setup Fees : $350

One time fee to provide the Merchant with a standard payment page linked to our system.

· Customization : $250.- ( optional )

Optional fee for customized payment page.

Monthly Fees : $35.-
For Hosting, Monitoring and Support.

Commission rate 3%
Commission deducted from authorized transaction amount, only.

No Processing Fees are incurred on Reversed or Refused Transactions.

BANQUE AUDI OFFER

Fees payable for subscription
o Installation Fee The Set-Up charges will be USD 350 ,--

o Monthly Maintenance Fee The monthly maintenance fee will be of USD 35$

Payment Options

o Discount Rate We will apply a discount rate of 3.5% on each MasterCard/Visa transaction settled through our system. The rate on AMEX transactions will be discussed with AMEX team.

o Payment Method by credit to your Bank Audi Account All payments will be directly credited to your account opened in Bank Audi books within 3 business days of transaction date.

+ expect from both some background check on your business.
I mean: papers u need to get as:
سجل تجاري Sejel tijari
نظام الشركة Nizam al charikah
إذاعة تجارية Iza3a tijariyya

Plus, they will tell you that some countries are locked (scared of fraud!!!) but u can before signing the contract open the countries.

Anyways, i love the way they try to re-invent the wheel at every level.

rolf

The funny thing is I called Bq Med, and after 1/2 hour on the phone explaining to the phone operator the process of e-transaction (she had no idea what I was talking about) and after her trying more then once to sell me an Internet credit card so that I can buy, and after her inquiring and calling me back, it turned out that they had no such offering and were apparently not interested in creating one for me.