To accept payments from customers, a provider needs to configure payment methods.
Payment Processing Basics
Payment method is the way in which a customer can pay in End-Customer Marketplace or customer control panel for the service they purchase. For example, the ability to pay with a check or cash, direct debit, or with online payment systems (PayPal, Authorize.NET, and so on).
Billing communicates with the processing centers of electronic payment systems by means of the respective payment gateways. A payment gateway is a connector between Billing and an online payment system's processing center. For each online payment system, there is a respective payment gateway in Billing (for example, the PayPal Standard payment gateway is the connector to the PayPal Standard's processing center).
Payment system in Billing – which should not be confused with an online payment system – is a standard in accordance with which an online payment system accepts and processes payments. Each online payment system has its own standards. For example, an online payment system can accept payments by means of a redirect, or using a token or modal form. For each of these standards, there are respective payment systems in Billing (for example, for the PayPal Express Checkout online payment system, there are two payment systems in Billing: "PayPal Express Checkout" and "PayPal Express Checkout Token").
The scheme below shows how to configure payment processing step by step in CloudBlue Commerce.
To configure payment processing in Billing, you should:
- Set up the payment systems.
- Set up the payment gateways (plug-ins).
- Associate payment systems with payment plug-ins.