Technical info

This section explains the technical factors you need to know about, in order to ensure:

• your customer has a positive experience when shopping on your website
• data can travel successfully between your systems and Barclaycard Business

Why not show this page to your technical support staff, hosting partner or web development agency? We also have approved partners who can help you with integration.

In order to manage your own online payment service you will need either:

• The Barclaycard Business MPI (Merchant Payment Interface) that captures, converts and transfers card details for processing
   
  OR
• An approved Payment Service Provider that can communicate with Barclaycard Business

However, you might want to consider our end-to-end solution that we manage for you, which passes the responsibility for the security of the transaction data onto us.

Technical information if you choose our MPI
The ePDQ MPI is a self-hosted solution, where you host the payment page on your own server and take full responsibility for the cardholders' details. This means you need to install SSL certificates, firewalls and network partitioning software.

Summary
The MPI uses an Application Program Interface (API) which allows your website to communicate with the Barclaycard Business transaction processing engine.

Technically the integration is performed by installing our API on your server, using the Java class or C++ library files which we provide. Using the API, you create a wrapper to construct a transaction document which is sent directly into the ePDQ engine across SSL links. A similarly formatted document containing the response is sent back, allowing you to fulfil and complete the transaction.

Alternatively, you can use the direct XML input component version of the MPI, which lets you create a wrapper in any language you choose, to form an XML document according to the ePDQ Document Hierarchy (a documented version of a DTD/schema).

MPI transaction processing details
Once it's installed on your web server, the ePDQ MPI must communicate with your storefront software. In order to forward the transaction for processing, you need to pass the MPI this information:

• Type of transaction (authorisation only or authorisation and capture)
• Currency
• Transaction total
• Your web site/trading name
• Full cardholder billing and delivery details
• Unique information which we will provide for you

If you wish, you can also submit a unique order ID generated by your storefront to aid reconciliation.

The MPI will pass these details directly to the ePDQ payment engine, and return a response to your storefront.

MPI transaction security summary details
If you choose to use the MPI, you must make sure you meet the security requirements set out for internet traders:

• You must be using at least 128 bit SSL encryption
• You must have a valid security certificate
• You must be using firewall technology to protect your web site
• All card transaction information must be stored on a server which is not connected to the internet

MPI operating system and software compatibility
To integrate the MPI, you must be running the appropriate operating platform and software levels. These are:

• Solaris (Sparc) 2.7 (please note: Solaris (Intel) 2.7 is not supported)
• Windows NT 4.0/Windows 2000
• HP-UX 11.0
• Java 1.2/1.3

The ePDQ MPI is available in C or JAVA, and comes with sample scripts, sample content for form completion and essential command lines.

MPI Store Administration Tool information
The MPI option includes access to our Store Administration Tool, which enables you to review transactions processed online.

The ePDQ Store Administration Tool supports these browsers:

• Netscape 4.7.x on HP-UX, Sun Solaris or Microsoft Windows
• Netscape 6.2.x on HP-UX, Sun Solaris or Microsoft Windows
• Internet Explorer 5.5 with Service Pack 2 on Microsoft Windows
• Internet Explorer 6.0 on Microsoft Windows

Browser settings
Your browser must be configured to accept cookies, and JavaScript must be enabled.

Skills needed to integrate ePDQ MPI successfully
In order to integrate the ePDQ MPI, you will need someone with at least 2-3 years' programming experience in C/C++ or Java, including:

• HTML - essential
• Client-side scripting in Java or VB
• Server-side scripting in Java/Perl or ASP (VB)
• Order fulfilment and database design/management

If you do not have these skills in your company there are many developers who can do this work on your behalf. If you do not know of any companies with the right experience, we have approved a number of partners who can do this on your behalf. They can also help you help you with the initial integration of MPI.

And of course, we also have dedicated technical support analysts available between 9am and 5pm on weekdays.

If you choose a PSP and/or software other than our MPI you will need to consult your partners about the technical requirements for integrating ePDQ with your systems.