This process is like any sale made in a physical store,where someone buys a product and passes his or her card to the check out clerkfor payment. Only with an Internet payment gateway, the customer does not haveto pass his card over but just enter the card data into a secure online form.

This data will include the card number, name of the holderand the CVV number on the rear of the card. The payment will be debited fromthe card and in a matter of days, will be credited to the merchant's bankaccount.

From a security aspect, online payment gateways are quitesecure, though the customer should be certain that he or she is using a reputedsite. Look for the ?s? after the ?http? in the URL of the site.

This is a start but not a guarantee to prevent the site fromusing your card information for illicit purposes. So does it make a differenceif you make your own Internet payment gateway in-house? Perhaps yes.

This will give the net savvy customer a feel that you havetaken the trouble of developing your own secure software instead of justgetting one off the net. It will also merge with your site design instead ofdisplaying other third party ads and logos on your site.

It may cost you a little more, but you will be offering youronline customers a sense of security and will have full control of the software.So you will not have to wait for the third party to wake up to rectify anyfault in the online processing solution they have set up for you.