Lutho.com now also accepts Google Checkout

PR Log (Press Release) – Apr 28, 2009 – Lutho.com, the South African based website publishing company, today announced that it started to also accept Google Checkout payments.

"The integration with Google's payment gateway is part of our continuous efforts to make the payment process as easy as possible for all our stakeholders," says Hanru Nienaber, Director: Strategy at Lutho.com.

In stead of paying by credit card via Lutho's usual secure payment gateway, clients can now choose to provide their credit card details to either Paypal (international clients only) or Google Checkout as trusted third party.

These alternatives are available for selection on the Purchase page from Lutho's main website at http://www.lutho.com/ as well as client's Financial Centre where renewals can be processed.

Each credit card payment alternative has a different base currency. A one-month website subscription, for example, would be processed at ZAR 145 via the credit card gateway, but at USD 16 via Paypal or GBP 12 via Google Checkout.

This allows a wide variety of choice for consumers as the client does not need to pay in the currency noted - the payment provider will automatically convert the amount to the home currency of the purchaser. So, for example, a South African client can use Google Checkout to pay GBP 12 for a website voucher using their South African credit card.

In addition to credit card payments via the gateway, Paypal or Google Checkout, Lutho.com also accepts Ukash vouchers (available internationally from retail stores such as Pick 'n Pay) as well as "Instant EFT" payments (applicable to South African customers with "big 4" bank account). These options are useful for clients that do have credit cards or do not want to disclose their details, even to third parties such as Paypal or Google Checkout.

SA customers can also pay their subscriptions via debit order. Access to Lutho’s clients’ bank account details in the Lutho® Control Panel is secured by their login information (provided over a secure connection) as well as a pass code that is sent via SMS and is needed to gain access to the financial centre. Once provided, financial information is stored in an encrypted format to ensure that the information is protected even in the unlikely event that Lutho’s database is compromised.

"We make sure that any communication of financially sensitive information between our client’s computer and our server is encrypted at all times," says Nienaber.