As we reported last March development ceased on MacAuthorize, a standalone credit card authorization/processing software system from CyberCash. Since then, MacCentral has received several e-mails asking if there’s an alternative application. We’ve finally been alerted to one, though it’s not without flaws.
MacAuthorize bit the dust when Network 1 Financial Corp., a supplier of payment processing systems and Internet payment services, bought out CyberCash’s operating assets. MacAuthorize was a fatality of the acquisition, as were other products.
Chuck Foster of USBC, Business Concepts, told MacCentral that he’s been using a program called FreeCCS since last August. But he said there’s one serious feature limit: it can’t do batch processing.
FreeCCS is a free credit card processing system. To use it on the Mac platform, you’ll need a Mac running System 7 or later, any modem that recognizes “AT” commands and is capable of running at 1200 baud, and a valid credit card merchant account with access to the MAPP (MasterCard Automated Point of sale Program) credit card network (or a MAPP-compatible network). MAPP is a general purpose bank processing network supporting a variety of credit cards, not just MasterCard transactions.
If you’d like to write the developers of FreeCCS and ask for batch processing features, their e-mail address is help@semaphorecorp.com. Also, feel free to encourage them to develop a Mac OS X version while you’re at it.