We actually came up with the idea for a fun, old fashioned sweet shop after a conversation we had in the pub! We trundled off down memory lane, remembering all the sweets that we used to buy from the little sweetshop at the end of our road. We were unsure whether the idea would go any further as we were certain that they couldn’t possibly still make the sweets that we remembered with such fond memories.

But in most cases they did (and still do) make them. And so the idea was born.

When it came to setting up the business we remembered the reactions of friends and family, and the way their eyes would glaze over when they started listing all the sweets that we just had to have in the shop. We therefore decided that it would be a website that people would like in order to make the business a success…

When it came to designing the site we drew inspiration from a comic we used to read called Whizzer and Chips – we wanted an online sweetshop that looked like the comic. We found Colin Whittock, a superstar cartoonist, to draw the cartoons for A Quarter Of to give if that perfect feel.

Finally A Quarter Of went live in July 2002. We always intended the business to be an internet only venture – there is no physical sweetshop, just the online one. Initially the shop was only a bit of fun. I had found sweets that I didn’t think were made anymore, and I thought there might be some other people out there who shared my passion and excitement.

Once the site was up and running our next challenge was to find a payment gateway to process our orders, and we looked around the market at the different payment providers available.

We were looking for a solution which we could integrate into our site, and that would allow the customer to remain on our site for aesthetical reasons. Several of the alternative payment processors required the customer to leave http://www.aquarterof.co.uk and go to an external site, which we thought was ugly, cumbersome and implied less security.

We decided to choose Protx as our payment provider because they offered a solution that allowed our payment page (and the customer) to remain on our own website.

We also chose Protx because they offered low cost payment processing and excellent fraud protection. We had been hit by fraudulent transactions on a few occasions with a previous provider…and Protx’s excellent security measures and information reporting were key elements in our decision to use the company.

We decided to integrate our website with the Protx VSP Direct system so that our customers could remain on our site throughout the transaction process. Protx offered integration kits and guidelines that allowed us to integrate seamlessly with their payment engine in the background. Their support team were also available to advise us on the integration process.

Since using Protx, fraudulent transactions being processed through our site have reduced by over 95%. Our sales have continued to increase and Protx has handled the increased volume of transactions with ease.

The other advantage we have found using Protx is the ability to enter payments using the virtual terminal, which has been a massive bonus to us. The Protx pricing policy has also more than met our financial requirements.

We are pleased with our relationship with Protx. Our payment system has now become an integral part of the site – the customer is reassured and the site aesthetics are not compromised in any way.

To visit the A Quarter Of.. website please go to http://www.aquarterof.co.uk