What does it take?

John Klyne

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Okay there site is https://mycheckfree.com

You can go onto it, and pay a number of your bills all in one site.

What would it take to create a site that does that?
What programming language, and such?

I can take care of the legal issues, and the funding, but when it comes to making the actual site, I don't do much at all in terms of creating a site from scratch.

Anyone know or would be able to help me, and give me some more information on what programming language would be needed.

The site would not require a lot, just a normal home page.
A script where members can log in, and are given unique serial codes, to which they later show it to their company they have to pay bills to, and then the company would need to automatically send the information to their screen for payment.

I could see
1, script for the members making an account
another script for the companies to automatically send billing information to a member who requests it.

There is more to it, but it's basically 5 scripts total that would be needed...

Anyone want to talk to me about this?

Please post what you think, in this thread, it would be greatly appreciated. I have always wanted to run a payment processor company, and would love to actually hire some developers to get this started and finished.

Thank you for your help, and your time in advance.

John Klyne
E-mail: johnklyne@hotmail.com (Please no spam, do onto others what you want done to you.)
 

lemon-tree

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The level of security required for any site dealing with real money is HUGE, as the safety of the customer's data is paramount. This is certainly not something I would recommend for someone who doesn't even know what sort of programming language would be needed; this sort of site requires at least a professional input and testing to insure integrity against a wide range of attacks.
Really, this isn't the best place to ask as I doubt any - or very few - of us have anywhere near the experience necessary to design and execute a 'payment processor company' from scratch. What you need here is to spend some money on professional consultation and design from somebody with regular experience in this.

Also, for what it's worth, I would never put any of my personal data anywhere near that site: not only does it look a bit sketchy but it is also an unnecessary complication to money management. If they can't even spend the time to come up with a half decent looking site, then how am I to trust that they haven't been equally as negligent when they were designing the security of the system that holds monetary data? This isn't to say that a good CSS site will instantly win my trust, but lack of it will surely lose it.
 

descalzo

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Also, for what it's worth, I would never put any of my personal data anywhere near that site: not only does it look a bit sketchy but it is also an unnecessary complication to money management. If they can't even spend the time to come up with a half decent looking site, then how am I to trust that they haven't been equally as negligent when they were designing the security of the system that holds monetary data? This isn't to say that a good CSS site will instantly win my trust, but lack of it will surely lose it.

The parent company, Fiserv, was founded in 1984 and had 2009 revenues of $4.1 billion. ie, Fortune 500 company.

They acquired CheckFree in 2007. CheckFree had been founded in 1981.

I trust in facts and a track record more than I do in CSS.

Sorry JK, way out of your league. Your concept of what it would take proves it.
 

lemon-tree

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Like I said, a pretty site isn't a deal clincher, but a poorly designed site is something that displays a lack of effort or investment to me. Likewise, a scammer could make a brilliant site, but that doesn't mean that I would have faith in it automatically without first extensively looking into other people's experience with the site and any relevant warnings to ensure security. I didn't this in this case because I am not looking to use this service and was simply offering a personal judgement of first impressions.

Clearly, I was wrong with my initial assumptions this time but it doesn't mean that it isn't something that will influence whether or not I will use a site. After all, care with money on any web service is something you can never have too much of.
 
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Sharky

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Ohh... This makes sense now. Crazy American spelling of "cheque". 'check' is a whole other word.

I wouldn't use it, sorry. Maybe I'm paranoid but only a select few retailers and the tax man get my bank details for making withdrawals.
 

essellar

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I have a horrible track record of underestimating projects, and I can tell you that I wouldn't touch it for less than $100K -- and that's with zero coordination or communication costs, where the architect, designer and implementer are all on the same page all of the time (because they're the same guy). And you'd be nuts to hire one guy, but you can't hire four and make the project go four times faster -- it might cut the time in half.

There's a lot to do, from researching the APIs for the various institutions you want to deal with, to "simply" building the application, to hardening and testing (and the test/debug cycle will be at least three times the length of the architecture and coding cycles combined before you're ready to call it a "minimum viable product" and move to a public beta). Then there's the cost of running the site -- you need physical security of the servers (that means co-location of machines you own in at least two separate "hardened" data centers), redundancy in your redundancy, off-site disaster recovery, et cetera, et cetera.

You're probably looking at nearly half a million spent before you're able to buy a packet of instant ramen noodles with the first profits from the venture. There's a potential for a vast income, yes, but it depends on making a big bet up front. If you were a fanatical coder with a dream and the know-how, you could place a significant portion of that bet using sweat equity, but you won't find a "technical cofounder" to execute your idea on speculation. This isn't an iPhone app, it's a serious enterprise-level, security-is-paramount, legal-liabilities-attached software project that just happens to have a web front-end.

That being said, if you're up for the hundred grand, let's talk, and I'll show you how I'd earn every penny.
 

John Klyne

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To some comments above...

I know the Fiserv Team, and to honest they have the jest of what they should be doing with the company, but are missing a lot of what I have in mind. Their profits run to 4.1 billion a year as someone stated, but then they have more than one part of their company. With the mycheckfree.com site, with some tweaks on marketing, and total services offered, I know I can create a 5 billion dollar a year stretch mark just from mycheckfree.com.

Fiserv creates 4.1 billion from all their services offered...heh, that is not what I need to do to get that 5 Billion.

Instead of buying it, where it would be easier to increase profits. And want to pursue the company idea on my own, from scratch.

"Sorry JK, way out of your league. Your concept of what it would take proves it." stated from descalzo... You are quite a negative person. I won't go into that, but if I dump enough money on something, I get it done, not getting it done would lead to the money being dumped down the drain.

Essellar, I will contact you via PM.

Thank you.

John Klyne.
 

ejweb

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Howdy Mr. Klyne,
It's too bad you ask for ideas and questions but don't get a straight answer. I noticed this a lot in these forums. It does sound like you got a few ideas and appears you are or were a business owner. Maybe I can provide some positive ideas. I'm a web programmer and have done a online business but on a very, small scale. I've programmed in and have seen such websites using ASP.NET and PHP programming languages. Another one, which may be "stronger" and stable is Java Server scripts (JSP). Besides the `programming language` used in the site, I'm assuming you will need to purchase a SSL (Secured Socket Layer) certificate and register it. This will validate your website after you've passed a background check by the SSL issuer. Your website will need to be encrypted for processing - ie; https:. The local, online business site that I did used paypal for the processing but for your idea; I would definitely purchase and use a SSL certificate. Here are a few websites dealing with online processing that may be of help;
http://banking.about.com/od/bankonline/f/setupbillpay.htm
http://www.kiplinger.com/basics/archives/2003/03/billpay.html
http://paytrust.intuit.com - http://www.truste.com (eTrust - site for online processing/SSL)
http://www.verisign.com/ - SSL certification, etc.


You may need to set up a retailer or merchant account at your local bank to be focused on ecommerce processing. I'm sure the local bank rep can help and answer questions regarding online processing. Just do some research and have questions ready for them.
Of course, as it was pointed out earlier in this post, I would look for a reputable attorney who has online/ecommerce experience that can help you with the website's legal aspects. If essellar above cannot help, maybe you can ask around in your community or local computer groups that may recommend an experienced, reputable website programmer with such experience. eBay and PayPal may be a good source to see if you can contact a site developer/programmer to get ideas to lay out your business plan and your SDLC model (System's Development Life Cycle). Hope this is helpful...
 

descalzo

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"Sorry JK, way out of your league. Your concept of what it would take proves it." stated from descalzo... You are quite a negative person. I won't go into that, but if I dump enough money on something, I get it done, not getting it done would lead to the money being dumped down the drain.

I have seen your history of posting here. I stand by my assertion. It is amazing that you can get anybody here to take you seriously.
 

lemon-tree

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I know the Fiserv Team, and to honest they have the jest of what they should be doing with the company, but are missing a lot of what I have in mind. Their profits run to 4.1 billion a year as someone stated, but then they have more than one part of their company. With the mycheckfree.com site, with some tweaks on marketing, and total services offered, I know I can create a 5 billion dollar a year stretch mark just from mycheckfree.com.
It is delusional to believe you can bring in greater profits with just a new website than a major company, so please don't just pull numbers out of the air. Sure, their site needs a face-lift, but it also has considerably greater backing from knowledgable people within the industry than any startup would.
 

John Klyne

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Ejweb, the information was helpful, but SSL Verification and such is not an issue, as for getting the bank to work with us, it has been done in the past, wouldn't be hard to do it again. I still do own, non-internet related businesses, legal aspects, management and such are all covered. I have always wanted to do something on the internet though. Your help or information was appreciated non the less.

"I have seen your history of posting here. I stand by my assertion. It is amazing that you can get anybody here to take you seriously." descalzo...

You stand on your assertions based on the past. Amazing that I can get anybody here to take me seriously? When I want to put a smile on my face, I do it in ways you don't even know how to imagine. My posts or what is said in some of them, is for my mere entertainment though I can guess others were amused as well, if such things are remotely taken seriously I must say, some people know not how to joke around, and just hear some nonsense I can write or say for my pure entertainment.

My posting history shows, if you truly had analytical skills, that I'm a person with fluctuating moods, and am solely driven by them. If I'm happy, I act on the fact that I care less of what others think, I act on the fact that what I do next must increase such states of mood. If I am sad, or bitter I once again emphasize such moods through my actions and thoughts. There is a borderline within happy, and bitter or sad...that's my normal state, the state I'm in, when relating to Business, Finances, and myself along with my families and friends well being.

Some people handle what life throws at them, by hiding behind a tree and thinking of what they could have done, or should have done, things they did not do. Other people take what life throws at them, and go with the flow. But then there are people like myself, I take what I'm given, twist it, confuse what people know of it, and use it to my advantage, to please myself. Yes, I'm a selfish person extensively.

You trust in a track record? Take my real name Descalzo, and run it through a number of background checks, or whatever you please. You trust in what is merely shown to you. Not in what you must look for.

You want a track record? I can bet your house against mine I am over qualified with running businesses. I can bet your house against mine that I do not have a track record in running anything successful online, that starts from scratch. I know that with such information it won't make you change your mind but for the sake of my enjoyment of showing off what I have accomplished in my short life... I own a multi-million dollar construction company and have for 10 years. I own, one home in the state of New Jersey, where my construction company is located, doing business in NJ, NY, CT, PA. I own another 5 story home in a country known as the Republic of Macedonia, in Europe, and am on vacation there for 2 1/2 months every year. I was born there, might as well, vacation there like a prince. I have had dealings with an exotic car washing company in Germany, and speaking of exotic or nightlife, am to own 2 bars, 1 in Struga Macedonia and 1 in Ohrid Macedonia next summer. I have had dealings with At&T for their cell phone construction, and distribution needs. The same goes for T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless. I own a number of phone towers yielding monthly profits. I have owned oil drilling compounds with partners in the United States. I have owned an Import, Export Company that yielded monthly profits. And am currently undergoing research for a consumable product non-existent within the United States of America. I have been a member of Amway International, and if I may add, makes a good deal of residual income on a monthly basis. I am currently working on a vending machine business, you might think it's stupid, but some stupid things do make me money. I have had dealings with Tax Lien Sales, Tax Deed Sales...and is probably the 4th most profitable business to be involved with. I have also provided escorting services, in the state of Nevada. Speaking of Nevada, and Las Vegas or gambling, when I was 19 years old I was on a cruise with about 100 of my friends, not people you just call friends, but people you can count on for anything. On this cruise, I made my first amount of money in 3 hours gambling, playing blackjack...$ 21,791.01 I bet some people don't make that in 2 months of work...with that said, I still do gamble, and I believe it is a great source of joy within my life, or great source of income. Who here can count cards, just horrible enough not to get caught? Yes, I did get a C-in my math courses in High School and college (that I didn't feel like finishing) except for geometry, which I passed with a 98 Average. So with that said, I am funding a Architectural company in a poverty stricken country of Macedonia...what else can I add to my list of things...I will probably make more in money in a span of 5 years than you will make in your lifetime.

My posting history, is nonsense. I know that, and you were smart to use it to aid you in whatever you needed aid in, but then, replying constructively would have been better...and actually helps both sides...or not replying at all would have been appreciated. I am under qualified?...for an online business, YES. But for any business form not online over qualified. I must also add, that I have obtained no college degree, college is a bunch of nonsense, in my opinion, for what I wanted to do in my life...college and highschool are both nonsense...all you need is to read, write as good as a A+ student from 1st grade to 8th...and you need to know simple, addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Henry Ford, was in court for his stupidity. They said people thought that he was not qualified to run the Ford Car Company...Question after question, Henry Ford, answered WRONG...until this one question. The opposing lawyer asked this one question he completely knew not how to answer...Henry started to turn red, then he started to sweat, and took a deep full breath. He answered: "If I ever needed to answer any of your questions, which I don't, since such questions are nonsense, I could push a button and 20 guys would have the answer for me in minutes."

With a group, of people, Henry, created, and ran a very successful company. His past of nothing more than 8th grade, and bad grades, (I may be mistaken on the grade) played a part in his success. A persons history is garbage, but that does not mean his future is bright...

My history on these forums has been very amusing to myself, but that does not mean....ah who cares about forum history?

Way out of my league...if I ever thought that, I'd be working for some company for nothing more than 50$ an hour as some of my construction workers do, and I'd be a grunt, for my boss...I don't think such, thus in my opinion, I am very Financially secure.

...I took a course on Public Speaking, and voicing your opinion, when I wanted to run for mayor to brush up on my skills...every public speaking class, composed of people who slept through it all...my class composed of a class, that never snored or was bored. Thanks to myself. It's another accomplishment of mine I feel like needlessly stating.

Since this post has turned to rubbish from this post I am making...

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I asked what does it take? ...to start something of such vast profits.

Well, if I was asked what I thought it would take to start something profitable, I would answer...

"Dedication, persistence, planning and hard work. You would also need to believe you can do it, along with not listening to negative people, who are only negative because they themselves have something they lack within their demeaned lives." I live my life with such a quote, and care less what others think.

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lemon-tree, delusional...yes it is to some extent, and what you said does make sense. But they started at some nonsense anyways, who says you can't start there as well?

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It was an interesting post.

To those with constructive responses thank you. To those without, it was nice talking to you, I learned a lot, and it was greatly appreciated for what you may have said.

Thank you,
John Klyne.
 
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