Digital Transactions Authoritative, insightful and timely information for payments professionals
Dallas-based processor TransFirst today began marketing a Web-based payments-processing engine that was developed by a company it acquired a year ago and is currently being used by 3,500 merchants. Called Transaction Central, the new product acts as a virtual terminal for physical merchants and a payments gateway for Net retailers, TransFirst says, while easing the process of adding new payment options. “It almost supersedes the need for a product upgrade,” says Christy Corey, president of TransFirst's newly created product division (Digital Transactions News, Feb. 28). TransFirst points to several advantages with its product. The system resides on TransFirst's secure server, with merchants accessing it via an assigned gateway. This eliminates compatibility issues and the need for installations or periodic software upgrades, TransFirst says. Also, the company stresses that since the product is proprietary, it will maintain control over pricing, which will include a transaction fee and monthly gateway fee that could be bundled into overall pricing for direct sales or sales through independent agents. This control over pricing, the company says, will allow it to “achieve a strong competitive edge” in comparison to other portal services. Virtual terminals are typically laptops or desktop computers used by mobile or small-volume merchants and equipped with card-processing software. They are also useful to recurring billers. The underlying technology for Transaction Central was developed by Payment Resources International, Newport Beach, Calif., which TransFirst acquired last spring. Aimed particularly at the small and mid-sized merchants for which TransFirst provides processing, Transaction Central is capable of processing card and automated clearing house transactions at a single point of entry for multiple locations. By hooking up peripherals, merchants can also use the technology to capture card swipes, image checks, and perform wireless connections. It includes real-time reporting and, for online merchants, an integrated shopping cart. Both Vital Processing Inc. and First Data Corp. have certified the product.
