SagePay is used by many shops I’ve built and they provide a reliable service with realistic fees. They’re usually top of my list when customers ask for a recommendation. An additional benefit is that they’re developer-friendly (good integration guides and test environment).

www.sagepay.co.uk - the new home for ProtX

Form or Direct?

Sage Pay offers 2 main services: Sage Pay Form where customers go offsite to Sage Pay to pay the invoice & are then returned back to your shop; and Sage Pay Direct where customers stay on your website and only the payment details are sent to Sage Pay.

Both options required the business to have its own internet merchant account. Sage Pay provides a list of compatible banks here: http://www.sagepay.com/developers/industry_knowledge/merchant_acquirers.asp.

The form integration is very simple. The website doesn’t even need an SSL certificate (although we do recommend this for all e-commerce websites). Customers go to the Sage Pay site to pay and are then redirected back to the website. Sage Pay Form comes with the added benefit of PayPal integration.

With Sage Pay Direct, customers stay on the website and only their card details are passed over to Sage Pay. Website will therefore need an SSL certificate and be PCI DSS compliant. Customers enter their card details on checkout_confirmation. If 3D Secure is required, the bank’s 3D Secure page appears. On successful autorisation, customers go the checkout_success page. Voids/Refunds can be processed from within the admin area.

Taking payments

Multi Currency: Sage Pay is in principle multi currency compatible, however accepting multiple currencies must be agreed with the merchant account provider (usually your bank) and can be expensive. If you need to take multiple currencies, check the fees carefully in advance. For smaller shops, PayPal may be a cheaper method to handle several currencies.

MoTo: Sage Pay can provide a virtual terminal for accepting payments in writing and over the phone. Very useful and doesn’t cost anything extra.

Cashflow: Sage Pay transfers the authorised payments into your bank account at the end of each working day cycle. This makes it great for cash flow, especially when compared to PayPal where transfers can take over a week to reach you.

Sage Pay Integration with osCommerce

The form integration is available as standard with all osCommerce shops. It can be found & activated under “Modules -> Payment”.

For the direct integration, we recommend http://forums.oscommerceproject.org/index.php?autocom=downloads&showfile=20 . The module is actively maintained and very reliable.

A paid installation service is also available from TerraNetwork.