Hi.  I just had a conversation with Jose Medina at APC Security (www.awarenessprotectiveconsultants.net ). 

We just did some work for him and he said -- "Can you just charge the card you have on file?"

When I replied "We don't keep your credit card on file" -- he very quickly said "Then how do you charge my card every month?".

That's an excellent question.  How do we charge your card without keeping your sensitive credit card info on file?

We take security very seriously.  When we start a recurring transaction with our gateway (we use Linkpoint) -- we process the transaction and once we see it was approved, we clear credit card information from our records.  We can maybe pull up the first and last four digits for proof. Not your entire card number or security codes.

Once the recurring is created with Linkpoint the information is stored there.  Credit card processing and security is their core business.  They are insured for taking responsibility for your credit card information.  So we let them do their job.

It would be like asking us to hold your money instead of a federally insured Bank.  We would prefer you use the bank.

If someone (knock on wood) actually hacked into our very secure Website Forge system -- there is very little for a hacker to steal.  They certainly won't be able to steal YOUR credit card info!  And that should make you feel good.

I find that very few companies take this approach.  Most will take the gamble with your private information.  We just choose not to take that risk.

So next time you think about asking us to "Just use the card on file.. " remeber we don't keep your card on file for your own benefit!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Shane Merem

Web Site Design and E-commerce

www.websiteforge.com