Accepting Credit Card Payments

[aaron_karp]

I've been building websites for a while now, but only since I've started using PHP in past months to build database driven sites have I encountered the need to accept credit card payments online.

I have the know-how to build the database-driven site, but I'm a bit uneasy about starting to accept credit cards. I believe I have to use some sort of 3rd party to process transactions, right? Does anyone have recommendations for a good service to use?

Also, how does PHP integrate with these services? Do I simply post the forms to some page or program used by this service? I'm very new at this. Please help.

[mahers]

I think your after a payment gateway. There are so many payment gateways available, to get you started here are some of the bigger ones:

http://www.2checkout.com/
http://www.revecom.com/
http://www.worldpay.com/
http://www.ccnow.com/

The integration of their services may differ with each gateway, e.g. some provide full shopping carts, or a link to the final payment page, or APIs linking to their secure servers. Just make sure you do your research first.