Customer Service 1 - ORNAMENT TREES.COM

Courtesy of Authorize. net	Step 1: The merchant submits a credit card transaction to the Payment Gateway on behalf of a customer via secure connection from a Web site, at retail, from a Mail Order/Phone Order center or a wireless device.
	Step 2: Payment Gateway receives the secure transaction information and passes it via a secure connection to the Merchant Bank.
	Step 3: The Merchant Bank’s Processor submits the transaction to the Credit Card Interchange (a network of financial entities that communicate to manage the processing, clearing, and settlement of credit card transactions).
	Step 4: The Credit Card Interchange routes the transaction to the customer’s Credit Card Issuer.
	Step 5: The Credit Card Issuer approves or declines the transaction based on the customer’s available funds and passes the transaction results, and if approved, the appropriate funds, back through the Credit Card Interchange.
	Step 6: The Credit Card Interchange relays the transaction results to the Merchant Bank’s Processor.
	Step 7: The Merchant Bank’s Processor relays the transaction results to Payment Gateway.
	Step 8: Payment Gateway stores the transaction results and sends them to the customer and/or the merchant. in an average time of three seconds or less!
	Step 9: The Credit Card Interchange passes the appropriate funds for the transaction to the Merchant’s Bank.

You can shop at www.ornament-trees.com with confidence. We accept all major credit cards, debit cards from: Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express, Paypal, money orders (if you prefer to order by mail) and Paypal e-checks. PLEASE NOTE: PayPal e-checks take a minimum of 4 business days to clear before the order will be shipped.

Although all internet merchants accepting credit cards are required to do using a secure order form, many of them are not handling your card in the most secure manner. Many merchants selling on the internet are actually collecting your credit/debit card information and processing the sale "by hand" using a terminal which has a lower processing rate. Merchants who do not charge your card until the item is shipped are usually processing your card "by hand". In short, you do not know who is handling your sensitive credit card info or how trustworthy they may or may not be. In addition, honest merchants will use some type of address verification for your protection.

By contrast, credit/debit card processing from our website is handled entirely between secured computers located hundreds of miles apart from one another. Which means your confidential information is not handled by anyone on our premises. Orders placed using our secure shopping cart and paid for with a credit or debit card are credited/debited immediately or to use e-commerce lingo In "real time." You will get a receipt by e-mail after the order is placed. No further confirmation of the order will be issued until the order is shipped at which time you will receive a tracking number by e-mail. If a problem develops and we either can not ship the order or you cancel an order before it has been placed at the warehouse /shipped, a full refund will be issued.

Customers using a bank debit card, bank check card, pre-paid credit or gift card may see two charges on their card which may or may not have different dates. If so, it is because your card issuer requires that a merchant obtain an authorization first then, follow up the authorization with an actual charge when the order is either confirmed at the end of the day or shipped. Customers mistakenly believe that we are charging their card twice. Or, sometimes if an order is not approved, it may appear as though the card has been charged. When you use your debit card, the statement will show two charges however, one will be an authorization. It is not a duplicate payment. Most card issuers will automatically remove the authorization from your account within 48 hours. Although some may take as long as 5-10 days.

We have partnered with Authorize.Net, a leading payment gateway since 1996, to offer safe and secure credit card, debit card and electronic check transactions for our customers. Ornament Trees.com (http://www.ornament-trees.com) is registered with the Authorize.Net Verified Merchant Seal program. The Authorize.Net Payment Gateway manages the complex routing of sensitive customer information through the credit card and electronic check processing networks. The company adheres to strict industry standards for payment processing, including:

128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology for secure Internet Protocol (IP) transactions.
Industry leading encryption hardware and software methods and security protocols to protect customer information.
Compliance with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard.

For additional information regarding the privacy of your sensitive cardholder data, please read the Authorize.Net Privacy Policy. If you prefer, we can process your moneyh order or credit card transaction by fax or mail. DO NOT, under any circumstances, e-mail anyone your entire credit card number with expiration date or e-mail your checking account information. General e-mail is not secure. Your personal information passes through many different e-mail servers and a copy remains on each one. If you have any questions about how your credit card will be handled, use our Contact Form link below.

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Explanation of Real-Time Credit Card Processing