PDF of this tutorialBusiness customers building a transaction server-supported commerce site need a Web site-construction tool that is provided (or a wide variety of popular content-creation tools) to create Internet pages that incorporate the special buy button created by the transaction server-client tools.
Web-Site Hosting and Publishing
Once the Internet storefront is completed, the site can be published to any server the business customer prefers and the commerce-service provider allows. The commerce-service provider is ready to provide the seller with the on-line transaction functions.
Transaction Server
The transaction server handles credit- and debit-card transactions (using secure electronic standards technology) on behalf of the merchant and the end customer. It must contain a common payment application programming interface (API) that is used for all payment types and functions: receive, approve, deposit, and refund. The transaction server handles the necessary authorization requests and recording of the transaction and settlement of the transaction information with the merchant, the credit-card company, and the customer. The transaction server manages the payment process, from communicating with the consumer to drafts with the merchant's financial institution. Records of transactions must be maintained to facilitate reconciliation and reporting later. The transaction server should also contain a component to process digital certificates from an organization using certificate-authority software or follow-on security technologies. Multiple merchants can operate on a single transaction server.
Security Products and Services
SET, jointly developed by Visa and MasterCard, is the industry standard for secure electronic transactions. An open multiparty standard protocol for conducting secure bank-card and debit-card payments over the Internet, SET provides message integrity, authentication of all financial data, and encryption of sensitive information.
Registration systems reduce the risk in electronic commerce by establishing trust through authentication and nonrepudiation using SET standards, which in turn drives cost efficiencies and opens new avenues for commerce.
Payment Systems
Payment systems require components placed at the end customer's location (home PC, etc.), the merchant's transaction-system location (whether on merchant premises or service provider environment), and the financial institution's location.
Consumers must know that their financial information is confidential; this is accomplished with electronic wallets or credit-card software at the consumer's end point. The consumer's credit information is sent to a transaction server that can accept a variety of electronic payments, just as a physical store can accept credit- or debit-card information. The transaction server also must manage the payment process, from communicating with the consumer to drafts with the financial institution. Records of transactions must be maintained to facilitate reconciliation and reporting later. The transaction server also contains a component to process digital certificates from an organization using certificate-authority software. Financial institutions use gateways to decrypt sensitive information received from the merchant's transaction server about the consumer and manage transaction settlement for the merchant. The transaction server maintains detailed transaction payment information, enabling companies to handle disputes, chargebacks, or adjustments easily.
Figure 8. Distributed Architecture for Electronic Commerce
