Shopping Cart and Credit Card Question

Discussion in 'eCommerce' started by jawinn, Jul 3, 2006.

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  1. #1
    I'm completely new to the shopping cart and credit card processing arena. I usually just build contextual sites. I have a customer that wants the ability to check and see if a credit card entered into an online form is valid automatically.

    Is there such a service or will he just have to take the order and wait and see from her merchant account company to see if the card is valid?

    Thx
     
    jawinn, Jul 3, 2006 IP
  2. stymiee

    stymiee Peon

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    #2
    The only way to tell if it is a real credit card (and has the funds available for a purchase) is to authorize the credit card through a merchant account. You don't have to run a real transaction, though. You can do a authorization which only freezes the funds on the credit card. So, you can do an authorization for .01 and see if it is approved or not. If not, it is a not a real credit card.

    You can verify a credit card is in the proper format before you send it off to thebank (i.e. a visa card is 16 digits long and starts with a 4) but that's about it.
     
    stymiee, Jul 3, 2006 IP
  3. toxalot

    toxalot Active Member

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    #3
    Exactly.

    There is also a checksum to test credit card number format that is more than just checking the number of digits and the starting digit.

    Jennifer
     
    toxalot, Jul 4, 2006 IP
  4. T0PS3O

    T0PS3O Feel Good PLC

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    #4
    T0PS3O, Jul 4, 2006 IP
  5. mad4

    mad4 Peon

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    #5
    The options are things like secpay, worldpay, paypal and google checkout (US only).

    These will all integrate with a shopping cart pretty easily.
     
    mad4, Jul 4, 2006 IP
  6. T0PS3O

    T0PS3O Feel Good PLC

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    #6
    Jawinn, I just thought through your needs and realized how dodgy it would be if such a service existed. Image such a credit card number validator that ACTUALLY (not just string comparison like is_int etc.) verified whether a number is real or not. All scammers would be trying numbers until they found a good one and then use it to scam others. I guess it doesn't exist for that very reason.

    You either make the transaction, or you don't. No testing the water besides the 'is this number 16 digits long and not just zero's' etc.
     
    T0PS3O, Jul 4, 2006 IP
  7. jawinn

    jawinn Active Member

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    #7
    That's a great point. I saw a news special where thieves who had stolen credit cards would go to gas stations and buy $1 worth of gas from the pumps that take credit cards. If they got gas they knew the card was good.

    Thanks a bunch for everyone's help. I have enough info to go back to the customer now.
     
    jawinn, Jul 4, 2006 IP