Ecommerce Tutorial Introduction

Welcome to the eCommerce Tutorial. Would you like to be able to accept secure, real time credit card transactions on your web site? Well, here's how! This tutorial will show you how to get started in the complex and exciting world of Electronic Commerce.
This is how eCommerce works.
The consumer moves through the internet to the merchant's web site. From there, he decides that he wants to purchase something, so he is moved to the online transaction server, where all of the information he gives is encrypted. Once he has placed his order, the information moves through a private gateway to a Processing Network, where the issuing and acquiring banks complete or deny the transaction. This generally takes place in no more than 5-7 seconds. There are many different payment systems available to accommodate the varied processing needs of merchants, from those who have a few orders a day to those who process thousands of transactions daily. With the addition of Secure Socket Layer technology, eCommerce is also a very safe way to complete transactions.