auntik

Authorize.net has "Authorize only" transaction types, and you can "Capture" within 30 days. But how do I transfer this deposit to merchant without putting ourselves in the higher risk category?

You really don't want to be in between here, after all the chances of rip-offs increase enormously, or you will have to go through a lengthy accreditation phase with each merchant where you verify that they can deliver the goods.

We have sort of solved that issue. The only issue left to be solved is authorizing a deposit against the buyers account before the auction, and then transfering this amount to the merchant at the end of the auction. This deposit is not only going to be part of the price of the merchandise. Any idea on how this model could be improved?

Its actually a different kind of auction where the buyers role and the sellers role are switched. Maybe I could explain the business model to you in detail over here: http://etherpad.com/FhFO67ihv2 ?

Also, there cannot be a merchant account for all the merchants because initially I wont know who the winning merchant is going to be.

How can I redesign my business model and at the same time not put myself in the higher risk category? These are the things I want to achieve:

1. I want to make sure the buyer is authentic and has the available funds

2. Once the merchant wins the auction, buyer cannot back out and the deposit authorized earlier goes to the merchant.

Thanx jacquesm. I have very little knowledge regarding IPSPs. How do they differ from third party payment processors?