LinkPoint API

LinkPoint is now the First Data Global Gateway. Contact your LinkPoint representative and make sure your account is set up for the Global Gateway API. You should confirm this before proceeding as some customers reported problems that originated in an account type that was not correct.

If you are not setup to use the LinkPoint API, but rather LinkPoint Connect, click here.

To use the LinkPoint API with your ProductCart-powered store, you will need to ensure that the Web server that is hosting your store has the necessary software installed. You or your web host will need to register the LpiCom_6_0.dll found along with the Link Point Integration Guide at the following URL, under “COM Object®”:
http://www.firstdata.com/support/software_downloads/global_gateway/api_downloads.htm

As of March, 2009, the file to download is called “30015_Windows_APICOM.zip”.

If you are hosting your store with a third-party, contact your Web hosting company and ask them if they support the LinkPoint API, or if they can install the corresponding software on their server. Provide them with the link mentioned above so that they may download the software and documentation.

To install the COM Object on your dedicated server, or to help your Web hosting company install the necessary software on the shared Web server that is hosting your store, refer to the following information.

• ProductCart uses the Windows COM Object® found on the API Downloads page, as mentioned above
• The name of the DLL that need to be installed on the Web server is LpiCom_6_0.dll.
• The dll is installed in the system32 folder.
• Register the DLL by entering the following command using the Command Prompt (Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt):

  regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\lpicom_6_0.dll

Once you have ensured that your Web server can support LinkPoint API, follow these steps to use LinkPoint API with your ProductCart-powered store.

In order for you to begin accepting credit card payments, your ISP may require a digital certificate to complete the setup of your store. This certificate should be saved as a file on your Web server with a *.pem extension. The file name is your LinkPoint store name plus ”.pem”.

To download your digital certificate, please use LinkPoint Central. Access LinkPoint download Center in the LinkPoint Central Support section:

• Log in at https://www.linkpointcentral.com/
• Click on “Support” in the Main Menu Bar.
• Click on “Download Center” under Downloads in the Side Menu Box.
• Click on “download” in the Store PEM File section on main page.
• Key in necessary information to start download.
• You can use “111111111” as your Tax ID for your test account. For production stores you will be required to supply your actual SSN or company Tax ID submitted in the merchant account boarding process.

Once completed, it will prompt you to save the file to your local system.

• Save the file to your desktop
• Upload it to the pcadmin folder in your ProductCart installation. Note that you likely renamed this folder when you installed ProductCart.

The certificate file carries a *.pem extension. Make sure not to alter the file name or extension. The LinkPoint API software installed on your Web server will look for the file named with your LinkPoint store name and .pem extension to automatically locate the certificate file once it has been uploaded to your Web server, in the directory mentioned above.

The LinkPoint store name that you will enter when setting up LinkPoint in the ProductCart Control Panel should be the same as the digital certificate file name, minus the .pem extension.

You can now return to the ProductCart Control Panel and finish configuring your LinkPoint API settings. Follow the instructions below to do so.

• Select: Payment Options – Add New Options – Real-time credit card processing to load the Add Real-time Payment Option form.
• Select LinkPoint from the list of available payment gateways, and you will be taken to the section of the page where you can configure the following settings:

• I am using LinkPoint API with Batch Processing Authorizations. If you use Authorization only as you transaction type, you will have the ability to capture these transactions by using ProductCart's batch processing feature.
• Store Name: Enter your Store Name that was provided to you when you set up your account.
• Certificate Directory: You MUST copy your certificate file (*.pem) to the folder listed here. For information on how to obtain a Certificate, please see earlier in this section.
• Transaction Type. Can be set as either “Sale” or “Authorize Only”. Choose “Sale” to both authorize and capture funds (the credit card is debited). Choose “Authorize Only” to authorize the credit card, but not capture the funds. When an order is received, ProductCart considers the order processed when funds have been captured, pending when funds have been authorized, but not captured (payment has not been collected yet).
• Require CVM: For added security, you can require customers to enter their card’s security code (CVV) on the payment details form.
• Test Mode: You can set LinkPoint API to run in Test Mode. When you do, all transactions will be approved and the credit card will not be charged. <note important>If you check the box to run in test mode, you must have a test account set up on LinkPoint's staging server. If you don't have a test account set up with LinkPoint, then you will get the following error: SGS-020005:ERROR (Merchant config file missing, empty or cannot be read).</note>
• Processing Fee: You can choose whether to charge an additional transaction fee using the Processing Fee field. The fee can be either a flat charge or a percentage of the total order amount.
• Payment Name: You can change the description that is shown to your customers during echeckout. For example, you could change “Credit Card” to “Visa/MasterCard”.

• ERROR
  If you get a error message that says “ERROR”, then it means that your ProductCart-powered store is not successfully communicating with LinkPoint. Potential causes are:
  • The Web server does not have the DLL properly installed
  • Your are not using a digital certificate, it does not contain the correct information, or has not been updated to the correct directory on the server. Please see the section of this page that covers this topic.
  • Port 1129 is not open on the server your on.
• If you don't get anything but a 404 error page after you submit the test transaction, most likely you are not setup correctly with LinkPoint.
• “SGS-020005: ERROR (Merchant config file missing, empty or cannot be read)”. Possible causes are:
  • You have setup LinkPoint in test mode in the ProductCart Control Panel, but do not have a LinkPoint test account
  • You did not upload the *.pem file to the “pcadmin” folder (which might have been renamed)
  • You have entered a wrong store name in ProductCart under the LinkPoint payment method. Remember it should be the same as your pem file name, minus the .pem extension.
• “Error: DECLINED: SGS-000001: D:Declined:XXUX:”. This is not something to worry about. When using a test credit card number (e.g. VISA 4111 1111 1111 1111), you will get a declined message because the card number doesn't really exist, but LinkPoint knows that and has communicated the information back to your store. So the two systems are communicating correctly.