Graphic 1 is divided into three blocks: the first one is represented as a column made of boxes representing different transaction generator elements, Net Acquirer hasn't got limit as regards to these elements and it is completely open to the incorporation of new devices, both common and specific ones for some concrete activity.

Next it is made a short description of some transaction generator element:

• Sale Point Terminal (TPV) are devices, either software or hardware, which purpose is sending transactions to be proccesed. Electronic trades have a Virtual TPV, which doesn't need an special hardware although they have exactly the same functionality as a conventional TPV. Traditional trades have also cash registers that can be equipped with the necessary elements so that they can read cards and make the same operations that TPV which are exclusive for payment means.

• Self-service Terminals (Stands) include several services which control a series of hardware devices as chip and magnetic-band card readers, printers of tickets with cut, state screens,etc. All these services together, compose a net element which sends operations to be processed.

Net Acquirer Components

The second block of graphic 1, (the central box), represents the main components of Net Acquirer central system, which includes the gateways, the agents, the system kernel, the database, the administrator and the other units that carry out specific functions.

Entrances or Gateways

They are the services responsible for receiving all the messages of the transaction generator elements. These services will verify the received message authenticity, and by means of the functions supplied for the kernel, they will send it to the agent in charge of processing it.

Each Gateway is capable of receiving transactions coming from specific communication channels, TCP /IP routers, X.25 modems, RSDI boards, etc., and that have the same protocol to form the message.

Net Acquirer can offer virtual TPV to be distributed in the electronic trades, these TPV will talk in a safe manner, using RSA and 3DES algorithms, with the entrances or Gateways, offering a complete solution to process transactions originated in the shops staying in Internet.

An agent mission is receiving transactions from Net Acquirer entrances, making conversions to the protocol that the authorizing center uses, so that it can process these new operations as if they were traditional operations, that is to say, as if the transaction source were one of the terminals for which the authorizing center or management center was designed.

The authorizing center only will have to register in its systems the shops or terminals that have installed the new devices that send the operations, in the same manner that it register its traditional devices, even if the terminals that are going to generate these operations are different or virtual.

There are also agents whose mission is only receiving notifications of operations made, and storing these notifications in the database. These notifications will be processed using the usual Host methods, by generating files of the same kind that those currently processed.

The kernel

The set of functions that allow all the services and components of Net Acquirer, making cryptographic functions, accessing the database, managing multiple threads, coordinating depending on the configuration which agent is going to process the transaction that comes in for any Gateway, etc., compose Net Acquirer kernel.

Both entrances and agents and the other components of the solution use cryptografic functions, and they comunicate internally using a flexible protocol provided for the kernel.

In this manner the kernel ensures the connectivity between the current components and those which are being developed depending on the technology advance ant the client needs.

The Database

The information related with the messages to be processed and the specialized agents is stored in the database. Its main function is to store all the information, the received operations, the terminals, the certifications, etc., in order to allow to monitore in any moment what is happening in the system.

In case that any agent stores notifications of operations that have been carried out, the functional value of the database will be in addition to maintaining the system configuration and allowing to monitor and to make statistics, storing the operations until the process center operative requires them.

The administrator

The administrator is the tool that Net Acquirer provides to consult the state of the processed operations and a series of statistics that allow to add information about the processed transactions. It also allows to modify or to add configuration elements about the messages to be processed.

In those cases in which it is necessary extracting notifications of operations that have been carried out to generate an operation file for the process center, the generation or regeneration if necessary of these files will be managed in the administrator.

Additional tools

Depending on the system configuration and the needs that have to be covered, Net Acquirer has additional tools, as the alert handler, which is a component specialized in supervising all the time the running services and launching a message to the system administrator in case that any incidence happens.

The alert handler supervises, sends alarms and tries to recover the system if it happens any incidence that affects the system running.

If it is wished to direct Net Acquirer as a platform specialized in Internet electronic trade, simplifying as most as possible the virtual TPV operative, the centralized Virtual TPV will be the tool that allows this work.

The centralized virtual TPV Server, allows to equip the new electronic trades that join the virtual TPV system without supplying them any software.

One of the most common option in electronic trades, also supported for Net Acquirer, is that of equipping each shop with one component called virtual TPV. This component has to be installed in the shop pages and its mission is receiving the purchase requests of the shop pages, codifying and sending them to authorize them.

Usually the installation process in electronic trades and its later maintenance, generates a series of problems in which it comes to be necessary to invest time for solving them.

For this reason, Net Acquirer offers the centralized virtual TPV Server: electronic trades could send to this server its transactions without installing any component in its systems, which improves the installation time in a new Virtual TPV and has a lower maintenance cost, specially when it is time to update the Virtual TPV functionalities.

Resolution systems or processor centers

The third block is also represented as a column with three boxes and it tries to reflect different transaction process centers. Net Acquirer can send operations to one or several process centers using one or many protocols depending on the agent.

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