I want to start a phone business that offers cellphones as well as services. I want people to be able to pay online and they would know right away when their credit card has been processed as well as send them an email on how long it will take for the product to be delivered, typical when people are buying online. Also I want a credit card processor that offers API. Thanks
If you are looking for a seamless integration (i.e. your customers stay on your website when making payment) using Paypal is not your best option. Although they do offer that service is not cheaper then a true merchant account and is much more difficult to implement then most true payment gateways.
A true merchant account from any provider will work well for you. The key is what payment gateway you choose. Each one will have a different API to use with some being easier to use then others. The Authorize.Net payment gateway is almost certainly the easiest to work with. Their Advanced API (don’t be intimidated by the name) is very easy to use and can provide a seamless checkout for your customers. They have an excellent installation guide and even give away free working code for you to use.
As far as handling sending your customers an email to let them know how long it will take for their item to arrive, that would require working with UPS’s API. Their API is free if you have a UPS account with them. Your website will need to send the email but all of the information you will need for that email can be obtained from their API.
You definitely want to look into a company that offers you great discount rates as well as cheap set up fees. Most credit card processing companies tend to steer clear of offering a shopping cart to use and they let you choose one on your own, or with your developer. Take a look around and then give these guys (http://www.imsofpa.com) a call, they don’t hard sell you and they can explain it all in detail, they are who I use.
Hope this helps or at least gets you started.
PayPal is the best! It is so easy for people to use too! This is my third year using paypal.