e-Path Merchant Requirements

e-Path requires you to have:

a merchant account facility at a bank that allows you to manually charge credit card payments into it that you receive online.
a computer that can connect to the internet with an SSL capable browser.
a website or shopping cart or an approved means to communicate (direct) your online customers to your secure e-Path gateway system.
Agree to, and operate in, strict compliance with our Terms Of Service - Merchant Agreement.

Understanding How Things Work

e-Path is the highly secure PCI DSS compliant payment gateway system to where your customers will enter their credit cards details to effect an online payment to you. In order to charge the credit cards safely handled and delivered to you by e-Path you need a merchant account facility at a bank. It is the merchant account that settles funds from the card into your account, not the gateway.

With e-Path you have unique control over what is transacted into your own private merchant account. Fraud transactions going instantly into your merchant account live is something those who use 'real time' payment gateways may experience, but not those who use e-Path. That dangerous vulnerability does not exist with e-Path. See e-Path Security.

Therefore, to accept credit card payments online with e-Path you will need two components, the e-Path gateway and a merchant account facility at a bank that allows you to enter your customers credit cards to effect the charge.

The Right Merchant Account Type

Essentially, if you can charge credit cards into your merchant account yourself and the system is approved for you to receive credit cards from over the telephone, fax machine, normal postal mail and e-Path as well as card present situations, then you already have the right merchant account facility. You will NOT need to to go to the added further expense of establishing a completely new merchant account facility at a bank to accept credit cards from your online customers.

There are EFTPOS terminal based merchant accounts; merchant accounts that provide you with an internet banking style secure website to where you can enter your customers credit card details to charge them; merchant accounts that give you a PC program you can run straight from your home computer to charge credit cards; merchant accounts that are totally mobile; web based batch file uploading merchant accounts where you can upload single or multiple credit cards for charging; and there are even paper based merchant account facilities; and the list goes on.

The important thing to remember here is none of them are receiving blind and anonymous transactions in real time live on the open internet straight into your account without you knowing. That vulnerability is completely removed by the use of e-Path. Therefore, even though card-not-present is itself officially classified as a high risk method, none of the fore mentioned merchant account types should carry quite the same level of high risk classification as a typical real time payment gateway/merchant account setup. See

e-Path Security.

Why We Can't Tell You Which Merchant Account is Best

As far as we are aware all merchant account types provided by banks, if approved to be used in this way, are ideal to manually charge credit cards you receive via e-Path.

With so many merchant account types to choose from that allow the right functionality it is impossible for us to suggest which one would be right for your particular circumstances. Therefore we are happy to suggest the highly trained and attentive experts at your chosen bank should be the ones to help guide you towards which of their merchant account services is right for you.

Some Tips For Getting it Right First Time

When you apply for a merchant account at a bank to enable you to charge the credit card details safely handled for you via e-Path, we suggest you explain that you are needing a manual merchant account facility that allows you to enter credit cards yourself.

You will perhaps have to repeat the magic word 'manual' a few times because for the last ten or so years banks have sold little else but the more expensive real time system when it comes to e-merchants wanting to accept credit cards from the internet.

But demand for improved security has brought change and if you clearly explain to your bank the merchant service you are requiring is of the inexpensive manual type then they should most certainly be able to look after you.

Manual merchant account facilities cost in the area of $30.00 per year plus the usual range of bank fees and charges that differ from one bank to the next.

From: Visa Asia Pacific e-Commerce Merchants’ Guide to Risk Management

One of the great benefits of the manual system, quite apart from the security advantages, is that you will also be able to accept and charge credit card payments that come to you by telephone, fax machine or by normal postal mail. This expands the methods your business can accept credit cards well beyond that of just from the internet via e-Path

Why We Can't Act For You

In a traditional real time payment gateway/merchant account set up the gateway and bank connect to provide the service. However, e-Path is a payment gateway that communicates to you directly, not your bank. This allows you full control over what is entered into your merchant account and keeps your merchant account well away from the vulnerabilities of the open internet - a lower risk scenario than the real time gateway/merchant account set up. See e-Path Security

Therefore without us being a real time gateway processor, we have no real connections with banks. The matter of you establishing a merchant account facility is a matter between you and your chosen bank.

Our only requirement is you select a merchant service from a bank that meets the security standards of the PCI DSS. e-Path is not to be associated with services that are not compliant to PCI DSS.

Credit Card Data Security: Manual vs Real Time Online

It is roughly estimated that near 70% of the worlds online credit card fraud can be either directly or indirectly attributed to credit card data being compromised when permanently stored within databases on webservers or on similar storage devices. When you deal with a 'real time' payment gateway mostly all of them will permanently store your customers credit card data in some form or another, usually without even disclosing this to the actual cardholder.

However, it is roughly estimated that only around 2% of credit card fraud can be attributed to data being compromised when in the sole physical possession of a merchant, i.e., when things are done manually. With e-Path this is your category, and its a category that cardholders will greatly appreciate you being in.

Removing credit card data from having to be permanently stored on webservers or similar storage devices on the internet is one of the most significant advancements in improving protection for credit card data the industry has seen.

For more information on credit card data security, please see e-Path Security

The Importance Of Security After e-Path

It is important you adhere to the recommendations of your merchant account facility provider (your bank) in relation to your legal responsibilities in keeping credit card data safe and secure.

The security of the credit card data you have received by phone, fax, normal postal mail and e-Path needs to be carefully managed. Although its not e-Path's role to enforce the terms and conditions of the merchant account facility provided to you by your bank, it is however a condition of the e-Path gateway service that you agree to comply with your bank's merchant account requirements in every respect.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:
e-Path Pty Ltd is not a bank nor is affiliated with any bank. Therefore, advice contained on this page is provided as a courtesy only and should not be considered anything more than a guide. For all information on merchant account facility services please contact the bank of your choice.

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