Pcounter WebPay Frequent Questions

What does it mean that PWP is a hosted service?

PWP is a remotely hosted service created by Pcounter Web Services Aps (PWS), a Danish company founded in 2003. PWS take care of all the technical aspects of setting up and maintaining the PWP site for the school/library. There is no extra software or hardware to purchase. PWS host the PWP service with a premium level 1 PCI certified hosting provider. The datacenter certified staff manage hardware, external firewalls, network, security and operating system level. PWS manage the application layers and throughout have extremely strict policies on any and all access. The systems are fully security audited each quarter by an independent security auditor. We are proud of never having had any breach or vulnerability of any kind, since we began in late 2003, and not had any unscheduled downtime since 2005.

What are the requirements to run PWP?

There are no extra requirements for the school IT infrastructure to run PWP, if Pcounter works, then PWP will too. PWP works with Pcounter on both Windows and Netware, both clustered and non-clustered in 32 or 64 bit. PWP uses only features already in Pcounter. No need to purchase any extra software or hardware.

What is the process for a school or library to get PWP?

The process is simple:

1) School/library orders PWP from Pcounter Web Services (PWS) or local Pcounter representative
2) PWS send a PWP Setup Checklist which explains the setup steps in detail, and a simple information/customization form for the school/library to fill out
3) School/library gets merchant and payment processing accounts
4) School/library configures Pcounter at their site and opens firewall for PWP to communicate with Pcounter
5) PWS setup and customize the school/library PWP, do the necessary integration to school/library and payment processing companies, run extensive testing and finally send an official "welcome" email to the school/library with helpful instructions and tutorials.

How long does it typically take to get PWP?

It typically takes 3-5 weeks from ordering to final setup of PWP. The paperwork with payment processing and merchant bank is usually what takes the longest.

What are the roles of merchant bank and payment processing companies?

There are essentially three companies involved in delivering the PWP service:

1) Pcounter WebPay, providing the interface for users and administrators to deposit or withdraw to Pcounter accounts, and the integration with the school/library Pcounter server;
2) The payment processing gateway, which handles the transmission and authorization of payments and processing of funds between gateway and merchant bank;
3) The merchant bank which allows the school or library to accept payments from the various payment providers, such as Visa, Mastercard, Solo, Carte Bleue, iDeal, Dankort etc. Payment gateways and merchant banks are always required for online payment processing, with only minor variations from country to country.

We already do ecommerce online and have a relation with a creditcard processing gateway, can we use the same gateway or can PWP only work with specific gateways?

PWP is very flexible and in general can work with practically any payment processing gateways, providers and Internet payment methods. Please contact us to inquire about a specific gateway or merchant bank.

How big a security risk is involved with online payments?

There is very little risk for both the end-user making a payment online and the school or library PWP customer. An end-user enters their billing information into a secure form which sends the information directly to the banking networks for authorization over a secure connection. Billing information is never stored for any length of time in PWP or its servers, so creditcard numbers or similar are always safe. There are very extensive mechanisms built in PWP, to ensure a payment is never lost. In addition, all users authenticate against Pcounter and Active Directory/Netware NDS, so the chance of fraud is virtually non-existant.

What credit cards or payment methods can be used?

Pcounter WebPay can work with practically all Internet-enabled payment methods, including all major credit and debit cards, national payment systems, such as Dankort in Denmark, iDeal in Netherlands, Solo in the UK, Carte Bleue in France, ELV "Elektronisches Lastschriftverfahren" in Germany and so on. Please contact us to inquire about a specific payment method or payment gateway.

How is the security between PWP hosted remotely and the Pcounter server hosted at the school/library?

PWP communicates with the Pcounter server when authenticating users at the PWP site and retrieving the users current balance, and when updating the Pcounter account balance after a successful user payment. Communication is done over an encrypted SSL connection via the protocol HTTPS on a private port. Firewalls are configured to allow only communication specifically from PWP to the Pcounter server on the specific port used. Please contact us for more technical PWP information.

How is security and data safety between PWP and the payment processing gateways?

Billing information is transmitted directly to the payment processing company over encrypted secure connections. PWP does not store any payment information, such as credit card numbers, for any length of time. PWP only stores the absolute minimum required to process the transaction securely, including the users username, source IP address and email address.

How long does it take for a deposit to show in the users Pcounter account?

When a payment has been completed by a user, PWP instantly updates the balance in Pcounter, making the credit available immediately.