The Credit Card Verification System (CCVS) uses your computer and modem to simulate a credit card swipe box, also known as a Point of Sale (POS) terminal. A stand-alone product, CCVS includes several Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that facilitate customization and integration with third party software applications or database products.
CCVS is safe, secure, and easy to use. Written in ANSI C and conforming to POSIX standards, CCVS is portable and easily integrated with modern operating systems, programming languages, and the Internet. Designed for easy scripting and programming, CCVS can be used to automate batch processing or enhance any application that requires credit card processing.
CCVS can be used in countries other than the US if your bank or merchant services representative uses one of the protocols supported by CCVS. If you are in Canada, CCVS supports the NDC protocol, which can be used by any bank in Canada to configure your merchant account. If you're in a country other than the US or Canada, you will need to check with your merchant services representative. The protocol supported by CCVS that has the best chance of being supported by a financial institution outside the US is the the Visa 2nd Generation ``K Format'' protocol (VITAL).
A demonstration version of CCVS is included with Red Hat Linux. The demo version is fully functional and can be used for testing CCVS on your system. In demo mode, it will do everything except connect to your financial institution and transmit the payment request. If you choose to use CCVS in a production environment to process credit cards, contact Red Hat to purchase a license key. See http://www.redhat.com/products/software/ecommerce/ccvs for more information on how to activate CCVS.
CCVS excels at making the connection between an e-commerce application and a credit card payment gateway. While the ways in which you can use CCVS depend upon the protocol your payment gateway uses, in many cases, CCVS can be used with very few changes to an existing system. See http://www.redhat.com/products/software/ecommerce/ccvs/support/docs/protocol-specific.html for specific information on the different protocols supported by CCVS.
Consider the following examples of how CCVS can be used:
CCVS can support a system for telephone operators taking catalog orders over the phone. The CCVS Tcl extensions can be used to create a Tcl/Tk Graphical User Interface (GUI) that presents a simple interface for telephone operators. The operators can then use simple X terminals, and all of the software will run on the central server. CCVS only needs to be installed on one computer, and the operators don't have to wait for an available phone line — all of their transactions will go out over the same phone call.
CCVS can be used to help automate billing. For example, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) might have a customer database on a database server. The ISP's database administrator could write a Perl script, combining the CCVS Perl module with a module for the ISP's database system. The script would then be run every month. The script will read the customer data, process monthly billing, and update the records in the database to indicate payment has taken place.
CCVS can be used to help process payments for a web storefront which also uses a call center to handle telephone orders. In this way, orders processed over the web using a standard CGI application or by a sales agent using a custom Java program running over the LAN can go through the same connection for processing and payment. In addition, CCVS Address Verification System (AVS) features can be used to prevent fraud in both order methods without having to worry about implementing this feature separately in each of the applications, therefore saving development time.
These are only a few examples of the capabilities of CCVS. It can be used to enhance any aspect of your operations that require credit card processing. The many features of CCVS include the following:
A C library with a documented API empowers users to integrate CCVS seamlessly with existing applications.
A Tcl extension enables use of CCVS with server-side Tcl such as NeoWebScript.
A Perl 5.0 module allows CCVS to work with the most popular CGI programming language in use today.
The ability to quickly construct custom GUIs using Tcl/Tk — typical development time is less than a day.
Python, PHP3 and Java modules allow CCVS to work with other common programming languages.
Command Line Interface (CLI) programs for interactive use — call programs from any UNIX shell and program in the UNIX language you like best.
AVS fraud protection, which allows merchants to check for stolen credit cards. Many clearinghouses offer a better rate to merchants who use AVS, even on orders taken over the phone.
Support for multiple merchant accounts, allowing users to open their own virtual malls with unlimited store fronts. A merchant account is a special type of bank account which allows a business to accept credit card payments from customers. The merchant account holds the proceeds from credit card transactions.
The ability to conduct multiple transactions in a single session, approaching leased line performance (two seconds per transaction!) with no extra cost or complexity.
The reassurance of being able to test and do development programming on the product without charging real credit cards.