CHEXpedite - Online Electronic Check (OEC) (Online Payment Option Internet Check) User s Guide and Technical Specifications

- ELECTRONIC PAYMENT SOLUTIONS CHEXpedite - Online Electronic Check (OEC) (Online Payment Option Internet Check) User s Guide and Technical Specifications Version 1.3 NBDS, Inc. 6707 Brentwood Stair Rd. Suite 640 Fort Worth, TX 76112 Phone 817.457.9545 Fax 817.457.0188

Table of Contents I. Welcome 1 II. Overview 2 III. Getting Started 5 IV. Developer s Guide 10 V. Appendix A Status Descriptions 17 VI. Appendix B Terminology 19 VII. Appendix C Return Code Help 21

WELCOME TO CHEXPEDITE CHEXpedite There are tremendous opportunities in the marketplace for your business. Welcome to a new future! I. Welcome O pportunities abound in many areas of business. One area of special importance, of course, is the Internet. Whether you are a large company searching for new ways to increase sales or simply an entrepreneur wanting to market or sell your new idea, the Internet represents tremendous opportunities for your future. Although any type of business is challenging, selling goods and services over the Internet presents is own unique circumstances. It can be extremely expensive, difficult, and complicated to set up your own effective system for authorizing payments and managing transactions, even if you know what you re up against. Your solution must be secure, reliable, and cost-effective to compete in today s market. CHEXpedite Electronic Payment Solutions allows you to remove the obstacles that may prevent any company from doing business on the net. With our advanced transaction processing system, we take care of the complex issues for you. The whole process is as easy as knowing how to use a web browser and an Internet connection. That s all you need to process and manage transactions over the Internet. Thank you for requesting your CHEXpedite online check and/or credit card merchant ID. 1

II. Overview What is CHEXpedite? The CHEXpedite real-time transaction processing system functions as a payment service using a secure transaction server on the Internet. Merchants must have a valid CHEXpedite and/or Credit Card merchant account to use the system to submit, authorize, capture, and settle online check and credit card transactions. There are currently two options available for processing transactions using this system. GoConnect GoConnect allows a merchant to link their existing shopping cart or website to the CHEXpedite system. This will allow the merchant to accept electronic check or credit card payments from customers in real-time while maintaining complete automation. GoCartExpress GoCartExpress enables merchants to accept credit card and/or electronic check payments for online transactions on the web without requiring the setup of their own secure servers or shopping carts. GoCartExpress provides a secure, convenient, and user-friendly administrative tool to manage merchant accounts via the Internet, 24 hours a day, using a Web browser. In addition, it allows merchants to administer their own accounts, shopping carts or online orders with a few clicks of the mouse anytime and anywhere that the Internet can be accessed. How Does CHEXpedite Work? CHEXpedite Account Basics This documentation is provided for information purposes only. In order to accept online check payments and credit card transactions, you must activate a merchant account. Once your merchant account(s) have/has been set up and are live on the system, you can accept online check payments and credit cards from customers generally as follows: 1. A customer presents their check or credit card for payment. 2

2. Using their check information or credit card number, CHEXpedite submits an electronic request to the processing network for authorization to capture funds from the consumer s checking account or credit card account in the amount of the purchase. As opposed to traditional means, this request is provided electronically to our payment gateway servers, which then route the request along the processing network. 3. The processing network immediately receives your electronic request and determines if the account is valid. This process can be done in several ways. For online checks, the account is checked against a negative database (Feature To Be Announced) to ensure that there are no limiting factors on this account such as numerous bad checks, velocity parameter barriers that have been exceeded or other attempts to defraud. For credit cards the account is determined to be valid and checked to see if the funds are available. If everything appears okay, the processing network returns an electronic response to your terminal or computer. This response will include the authorization code, and is your approval to capture the funds. The transaction and its associated authorization are stored in a batch, where other transactions for that day reside. 4. The customer then receives a receipt on either type of transaction. Traditionally, the customer would sign the receipt. In performing online transactions, the customer simply authorizes on screen and prints their receipt. Then, as far as the customer is concerned, the transaction is complete. The merchant may have some other steps to ensure completion of the transaction. 5. For Credit Cards, at the end of a typical business day a final request is submitted to the processing network to capture the funds that you obtained authorizations for during the course of business that day. Using the CHEXpedite gateway, this will be in the form of authorizing shipment of such products through your merchant admin area. For accepting online checks, the process is slightly different. Without merchant interaction, the process will continue and will be processed for payment at midnight PST Monday through Friday. The merchant, however, has the ability to place a transaction on hold, void a transaction, or leave it set to initiate which will allow the processing to continue. Each status carries with it the ability to control its particular transaction. 6. Within 48 hours for checks and 48 to 72 hours (usually) for credit cards, the funds associated with the batch you settled are deposited electronically into your business bank account. Typically, the discount rate and fees you pay to your merchant account provider are deducted from the deposit before it is transferred to your bank account, resulting in a net deposit of funds. 3

Understanding Rates and Fees All banks and merchant providers require transaction fees from you for accepting online checks and/or credit cards. These fees are typically broken down into 3 categories: a transaction fee, a discount rate, and monthly fees. The bank s definition of a transaction is usually any communication between you and the processing network. A credit transaction is treated the same as a regular transaction. Basically, anything involving communication with the processing network is considered a transaction. Transaction Fees This is a flat amount that you pay for each transaction. Usually cents per transaction. Discount Rate This is the percentage of the total transaction amount that the processing center will usually deduct prior to transferring your deposit into your bank account. Typical discount rates range from 1.79% for checks to 2.5% to 5% for credit cards, depending on your type of business and other factors. A higher rate may be charged on individual transactions if the transaction doesn t conform to certain qualifications set forth by your bank or merchant provider. Monthly Fees These are fees charged for other account related services, such as customer service, your monthly statement, network access fees, and minimum monthly fees. All fees and charges are required to be disclosed to you prior to your commitment to the merchant agreement between you and your merchant provider. 4

III. Getting Started Logging In Each merchant will be provided with a login ID and PIN number when their application has been accepted and their account has been created on the system. To log in to the system, you must have Internet access and utilize a web browser. Once you are able to access the web, you will be able to access your merchant site by visiting our Merchant Administration page at http://secure.chexpedite.net/merchant. At this point, you will be required to log in using your GoCartExpress Merchant ID and PIN number. Merchant Administration The Merchant Administration area allows a merchant with a valid Merchant ID and PIN number (password) to login to the GoCartExpress system. From here, merchants can access their accounts and view their shopping carts and customer orders, or search for specific orders. The following instructions for GoCartExpress Merchant Administration features and tasks assume that the merchants are logged in to the GoCartExpress system and that the merchant profile gives the appropriate permissions to access. Login Merchant Administration requires a valid Merchant ID and PIN number to access the system. To Login to Merchant Administration: o Open web browser and navigate to https://secure.chexpedite.net/merchant/ o Enter the Merchant ID and Password Log Out o Click the Login button Logging out prevents unauthorized access to the Merchant s account by anyone using the same computer afterwards. Log out promptly after using the Merchant Administration screens. 5

To Log out of Merchant Administration: o Click the Log Out link on any Merchant Administration page, as shown below. Click here to logout Menu Search Click on a link to go to an area or log out of Merchant Administration as follows: Menu: Go to the main page of Merchant Administration. The main page will list the online purchases within the last 48 hours as default with the option to view the online purchases for other periods. Search: Go to the search page of the Merchant Administration area and allow merchant to search online purchases. Log Out: Log out of the GoCartExpress system. The following instructions are for searching orders for the Merchant Administration area. To search: o Click the header link Search o Select and enter the search criteria o Enter the Submit button. The figure below demonstrates how the results will look when a match is found. o Click on the ID number under the PID heading to view the details for the order. 6

Access the Item Wizard Tool Item Wizard allows a merchant to create a form for a selling product. Once a form is created, the merchant can cut and paste it anywhere on a web page for display. To access the Item Wizard tool: o Click the Item Wizard link on the Merchant Administration page. You can find more information about the Item Wizard in the Developer s Guide in Section IV. CHEXpedite Online Reporting Options CHEXpedite Online Reports allows a merchant the opportunity to view the current status of electronic checks and credit cards as they are processed through the processing center. To access the CHEXpedite Online Reports tool: o Click the CHEXpedite Online Reports link on the Merchant Administration page. 7

o You will be presented a form page to allow you to choose the date range and the type of report. o Click on the Submit button to view the report requested. o To view the details of a transaction, click on the transaction link. How to Accept Electronic Payments Electronic Payments with GoConnect The real power and flexibility of this system is seen in its integration with the World Wide Web. The quickest and easiest way to integrate a web page with the system is by using the GoConnect method. At its most basic level, interaction between a web page and the system takes the following form: 1. A consumer navigates through a merchant s web site or shopping cart, selecting what they would like to purchase. 2. The consumer is then directed to make their electronic payment via a link on the shopping cart or web site. 3. The consumer is then connected directly to the system, which displays a form requesting information. The consumer completes the form. This is an HTML form that has been set up to post the information into the system. When submitted, based on the choice of payment type, the form validates the credit card or partially completes the online check which will be displayed on screen. 4. If there are errors on the form, the consumer will be shown the errors and given an opportunity to correct any information found to be in error. After a successful completion of the forms, the consumer will receive a receipt page. This page should be printed and saved for their records. 5. The receipt page that is shown to the consumer will have a link back to the merchant s site to complete the transaction. 6. Unless otherwise specified, a receipt will also be e-mailed to the consumer as well as to the merchant. Examples of Connecting to the System Using GoConnect For more information and code examples of the GoConnect product, please visit the Developer s Guide in section IV. 8

Electronic Payments with GoCartExpress Utilizing the GoCartExpress shopping cart system, merchants can create their own product code utilizing the Item Wizard mentioned previously in this section. By implementing this code into their existing web site merchants have the ability to develop their own shopping cart system utilizing the payment options offered by CHEXpedite. This code makes it extremely simple to get started building your own shopping cart system. Examples of Connecting to the System Using GoCartExpress For more information and code examples of the GoCartExpress product, please visit the Developer s Guide in section IV. 9

IV. Developer s Guide This section of the documentation is intended to be a comprehensive reference for all of the different forms of interaction with the CHEXpedite system. This section covers the GoConnect method as well as the GoCartExpress method of sending consumers directly to the payment forms for sending their payment to the merchant electronically via the World Wide Web. Basic Integration Concepts At its most basic level, integration between a merchant s web site and the system is performed by constructing an HTML form, which does an HTTP POST to https://secure.chexpedite.net/noprod.asp or https://secure.chexpedite.net/cart.asp depending on the connection being used. In this form are several fields that are passed to the system to indicate whatever information the system needs to know about the transaction. Some of this information is required, such as the Merchant ID and the transaction amount. Other information is optional, but may be specified in the HTML form either to prevent the customer from changing the information or to avoid having to key the data in elsewhere. Form Construction It is assumed that a developer who is intending integration into the CHEXpedite system would already have knowledge of how to construct HTML forms. To impart a working knowledge of HTML would be beyond the scope of this documentation, however, a brief overview of HTML forms is provided here. All forms used to integrate with the system will be submitted to the URLs https://secure.chexpedite.net/noprod.asp or https://secure.chexpedite.net/cart.asp using the HTTP POST method. Another option using the HTTP GET method will also be explained. The basic HTML tags used to construct such a form would be written as follows: <FORM METHOD=POST ACTION= https://secure.chexpedite.net/noprod.asp > </FORM> Any form fields that needed to be sent to the system would be enclosed as <INPUT> fields within the opening <FORM> tag and the closing </FORM> tag. GoConnect The simplest and easiest form of integration between a merchant s website and the system is the GoConnect method. At its most basic level, interaction between a web page and the system takes the following form: 10

1. A consumer navigates through a merchant s web site or shopping cart, selecting what they would like to purchase. 2. The consumer is then directed to make their electronic payment via a link on the shopping cart or web site. 3. The consumer is then connected directly to the system, which displays a form requesting information. The consumer completes the form. This is an HTML form that has been set up to post the information into the system. When submitted, based on the choice of payment type, the form validates the credit card or partially completes the online check which will be displayed on screen. 4. If there are errors on the form, the consumer will be shown the errors and given an opportunity to correct any information found to be in error. After a successful completion of the forms, the consumer will receive a receipt page. This page should be printed and saved for their records. 5. The receipt page that is shown to the consumer will have a link back to the merchant s site to complete the transaction. 6. Unless otherwise specified, a receipt will also be e-mailed to the consumer as well as to the merchant. Connecting to the System using GoConnect GoConnect receives a transaction from a web page created by the merchant. The interface between the consumer and GoConnect is the standard HTTP/1.0 (or HTTP/1.1) protocol using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption. GoConnect recognizes and processes both GET and POST methods, although NBDS, Inc. strongly recommends the POST method. Transactions are sent to the GoConnect web server at secure.chexpedite.net, port 443. It is transmitted either as an HTML link (the GET method), or as an HTML form (the POST method). Examples: Examples of GoConnect transactions using the GET and POST methods are shown below: GoConnect Transaction as an HTML link (using the GET method): https://secure.chexpedite.net/noprod.asp?mid=1001&cid=123412341234&p=9.99 11

GoConnect Transaction as an HTML form (using the POST method): <FORM ACTION= https://secure.chexpedite.net/noprod.asp METHOD= POST > <INPUT TYPE= hidden NAME= MID VALUE= 1001 > <INPUT TYPE= hidden NAME= P VALUE= 9.99 > <!-- Next Value is usually generated from existing shopping cart. --> <INPUT TYPE= hidden NAME= CID VALUE= 123412341234 > <INPUT TYPE= hidden NAME= autoredirect VALUE= yes > <INPUT TYPE= hidden NAME= respondpost VALUE= yes > <INPUT TYPE= hidden NAME= responseurl VALUE= http://ordercomp.chexpedite.net/ > <INPUT TYPE= hidden NAME= m1 VALUE= cartpurchase2 > <INPUT TYPE=SUBMIT VALUE= Checkout! > </FORM> Field Specifications: GoConnect recognizes the fields contained in the following tables. Required Fields: Certain fields are required in the script in order for GoConnect to complete a transaction. Optional Fields: These fields are used to increase the flexibility of the GoConnect system and may be used when completing the transaction. Required Fields: GoConnect uses the information in the required fields to determine how the GoConnect transaction will be processed. Field Name Size Description MID 8 The Merchant ID field identifies the merchant for the transaction being submitted. Valid transaction types are numeric and are assigned by the GoConnect/GoCartExpress Administrator. CID 12 The Cart ID is a value used to identify a unique transaction with a customer. If a non-unique value is provided, the transaction will be rejected. P 8 The Price field indicates the total for the order. This is the amount that will be applied to the check or credit card transaction upon checkout. This should be a positive numeric value. Optional Fields: 12

The fields described below contain optional information about the transaction, and are used to increase the flexibility of the system. Field Name Size Description autoredirect 3 When the Auto-Redirect feature is used, the value should be marked as yes. This feature allows the interface to re-direct to the merchant s shopping cart when the transaction is complete. responseurl 50 URL of the page the merchant would like the user returned to (if not specified, it will use the SuccessURL from the merchant record). respondpost 3 Instead of redirecting back to the merchant site with a URL string, this function will submit all of the field data as POST data. Value must be set to yes. m1 30 Merchant defined fields. Values passed into the system via these fields will be passed back to the merchant s website when the transaction is completed. m2 30 Same as above. m3 30 Same as above. m4 30 Same as above. m5 30 Same as above. GoConnect Responses: Upon completion of a transaction, GoConnect will return the customer to the merchant s responseurl (or Success URL/Failed URL). If the transaction fails due to time-out or incorrect data, the system will respond with failed=true and decline=### (ECHO transaction decline code) in the HTML post or string sent back to the merchant s web server. Depending on your requirements, you may extract this information in order to format an appropriate response to your shopper. 13

GoCartExpress The GoCartExpress method of integration differs slightly from the GoConnect implementation. This method was specifically designed for merchants that are in need of a shopping cart solution that is easily updateable, doesn t require a massive amount of HTML experience, is very inexpensive when compared to larger shopping cart installations on the web, and allows the consumer to utilize the full functionality of the CHEXpedite Electronic Payment Solution to pay for their products. This implementation allows the merchant or the merchant s web designer to add products to an already existing web site in order to create an online store or catalog to drive consumers to their site. GoCartExpress utilizes the same basic functionality as the GoConnect method, however, it also allows the addition of a product shopping basket that is ordinarily embedded within larger or existing shopping cart packages. To allow the merchant to create products for their website, we have included a product creation tool called the Item Wizard. With the Item Wizard a merchant can, themselves, create the code necessary to add to their website that will allow them to sell their products to consumers worldwide. Each product will be defined by an individual HTML form. Field Specifications: GoCart Express utilizes the same field structure as GoConnect. All the required fields are the same as seen on p. 12, as are all the optional fields on p. 13. However, there are two fields unique to GoCart Express. Optional GoCart Express Fields: Field Name Size Description T 8 The Tax field indicates the amount of the transaction that was taxable. This should be a positive numeric value. S 8 The Shipping field indicates the shipping cost of the transaction. This should be a positive numeric value. Utilizing the Item Wizard To create a form for an individual selling item: 14

o Click on the Item Wizard link in the Merchant Administration area located at https://secure.chexpedite.net/merchant o The following page will be displayed: o Fill out the form o Click Proceed to the next step! Preview the Form of the Item To preview the form of the selling item: o Click Preview My Form! 15

Generate HTML Code for the Item To generate the HTML code for the selling item: o Click the Generate Code button o Code resembling the following will then be generated. <FORM ACTION= https://secure.chexpedite.net/cart.asp METHOD= POST > <INPUT TYPE= hidden NAME= MID VALUE= 1001 > <INPUT TYPE= hidden NAME= P VALUE= 20.00 > <INPUT TYPE= hidden NAME= CID VALUE= 123412341234 > <INPUT TYPE= hidden NAME= autoredirect VALUE= yes > <INPUT TYPE= hidden NAME= responseurl VALUE= http://order.chexpedite.net/ > <INPUT TYPE= hidden NAME= N VALUE= Widget > <INPUT TYPE= hidden NAME= S VALUE= 5.00 > <INPUT TYPE= text SIZE= 7 NAME= Q > <INPUT TYPE=SUBMIT VALUE= Order Now! > </FORM> o Copy and paste this code where you would like your new form/product to appear in your web page. 16

V. Appendix A Status Descriptions CHEXpedite Status Descriptions Received by CHEXpedite To Be Processed Unable to Process Transaction was received by CHEXpedite to begin the submission process. This transaction will begin processing for payment at 12:00 PST. Signifies that a transaction was not able to be processed due to an incorrect account number, routing number, or the account has been closed. There may be other reasons for this status, however, the status will be accompanied by an explanation within the detail section of the transaction report. 1 st Presentment Check has been presented for payment. 1 st Presentment Returned Indicates that the 1 st Presentment was returned due to NSF or other reason(s). 2 nd Presentment Representment of NSF or failed check. 2 nd Presentment Returned Return of 2 nd Presentment. 3 rd Presentment Representment of NSF or failed check. 3 rd Presentment Returned Return of 3 rd presentment. Check Forwarded to XpressCheX Collections Check Returned to Merchant for Collections No Further Processing Can Be Done by CHEXpedite XpressCheX Collections will assume attempts to collect on the item. Check has failed all presentments and is returned to the merchant rather than sent to secondary collections. Merchant will handle the responsibility of secondary collections. There will no longer be any further processing by the CHEXpedite system. This status will accompany Check Forwarded to XpressCheX Collections or Check Returned to Merchant for Collections. 17

Waiting For Available Funds in Check Writer s Account This status means that the check has been presented and returned two times. XpressCheX, the collection are of CHEXpedite, attempts to verify that there are available funds in the check writer s bank before the 3 rd and final presentment. 18

VI. Appendix B - Terminology CHEXpedite Terminology Merchant Terminology Active Merchant Abandoned ECHO CHEXpedite Item Wizard Pending Live MID Header Links PIN Pull Down Reset Status Merchant accounts that have been approved and given a valid Merchant ID and Password Please refer to Status ECHO is the company that processes credit card and electronic check payments on the web. CHEXpedite is the name given to the process created by NBDS, Inc. and ECHO, Inc. to process electronic payments via the Internet. A tool that creates forms for selling items or orders for a merchant s shopping cart. Please refer to Status. Please refer to Type. Merchant ID; a unique identifier for a merchant. Header Links refer to the same hyperlinks that are displayed on every page at the top section of each page. Personal Identification Number (Password). Allows a selection of different options. Clears the information in a form. GoCartExpress contains different types of status and the term status appears in the GoCartExpress Merchant Administration areas. Currently, only merchant accounts and online orders are assigned a status. The following are the different types of status: Abandoned The abandoned status is assigned to an online order that fails to go through, is incomplete, or is canceled by the customer. 19

The information is still retained for internal information or reporting purposes. This status is assigned to online purchases only. Approved The merchant account or order is given access or permission. Assign this status to activate a merchant account or order. Authorized Approval is received for a merchant account or order. Credited A refund is received or given. Chargeback The order is recharged. Emailed An email was sent to the customer or merchant. Canceled The order was canceled by the customer. Delete The order or merchant account is removed from the system. Declined The payment from the merchant or customer was declined. Deposited Prepaid fees are received for the merchant account or order. Timed-out The system timed out before the order was completed. Pending Awaiting approval status for merchant account from underwriters. Rejected The shipment of the order was rejected by the customer. Shipped The order was shipped out to the customer. Hold The merchant account or order has not yet been activated, but was submitted. Assign this status if the merchant requires administrator or other approval. Submitted The merchant account or order was already received. Type Type is assigned to a merchant account for identification. A merchant with a Live type is an actual merchant account whereas a Test type indicates a fictitious merchant account used for testing. 20

VII. Appendix C Return Code Help CHEXpedite R-Code Definitions R01 Insufficient Funds R19 Amount Field Error R02 Account Closed R20 Non-Transaction Account R03 No Account/Unable to Locate R21 Invalid Company Identification Account R04 Invalid Account Number R22 Invalid Individual ID Number R06 Returned per ODFI s Request R23 Credit Entry Refused by Receiver R07 Authorization Revoked by R24 Duplicate Entry Customer R08 Payment Stopped or Stop Payment R25 Addenda Error on Item R09 Uncollected Funds R26 Mandatory Field Error R10 Customer Advises Not Authorized R27 Trace Number Error R11 Check Truncation Entry Return R28 Routing Number Check Digit Error R12 Branch Sold to Another DFI R29 Corporate Customer Advises Not Authorized R13 RDFI Not Qualified to Participate R30 RDFI Not Participant in Check Truncation Program R14 Representative Payee Deceased or R31 Permissible Return Entry Unable to Continue in that Capacity R15 Beneficiary or Account Holder R32 RDFI Non-Settlement Deceased R16 Account Frozen R33 Return of XCK Entry R17 File Record Edit Criteria R34 Limited Participation DFI R18 Improper Effective Entry Date R35 Return of Improper Debit Entry R36 Return of Improper Credit Entry Return Codes used by Originating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI) to dishonor Return Entries: R61 R62 R63 R64 R65 R66 R67 Misrouted Return Incorrect Trace Number Incorrect Dollar Amount Incorrect Individual Identification Incorrect Transaction Code Incorrect Company Identification Duplicate Return 21

R68 R69 R70 Untimely Return Multiple Errors Permissible Return Entry Not Accepted Return Codes used by Receiving Depository Financial Institution (RDFI) to contest dishonored Return Entries: R71 R72 Misrouted Dishonored Return Untimely Dishonored Return 22