Making purchases over the Internet involves five parties: the customer, the customer's credit card issuer (Issuing Bank), the merchant, the merchant's bank, and the company processing credit card transactions over the Internet. A merchant account, which is given by an "Acquiring Bank" or "ISO" (Independent Sales Organization), is needed in order to accept credit cards.

A customer enters your website and decides to place an order on a product/service. The customer selects the product/service via your shopping cart or catalogue. The order is totaled, and a request is made to purchase. The customer now takes his credit card, which he gets from an "Issuing Bank," and enters the sensitive data (credit card number, shipping address, etc.) onto the given form. The sensitive data is then submitted, collected and passed securely through our server. This data collection is done in real time by our system (IPOSS) via the Web, or can be collected by mail or telephone and then entered through our virtual terminal.

Now with all the needed information, our IPOSS system securely contacts the processor associated with the merchant¹s Merchant Account, and verifies that the credit card number is valid, not stolen, etc., as well as comparing the card number to our anti-fraud database. If all passes correct, the purchase price will be reserved from the "Issuing Bank" of the consumer¹s credit card, and allocated to the merchant's Merchant Account. This transaction is then added to a growing "batch" that is associated to the Merchant Account.

Early each morning, the processor will settle the Master Batch; it is at this time that all monies move. Funds reserved will be transmitted from the Issuing Bank of the cardholder¹s credit card to the merchant¹s Merchant Account. Discount fees associated with the Merchant Account will automatically be paid out of these funds as they are moving.