I attempted to purchase some new shoes in a Danish online shop. In Denmark all credit card clearances are done at a central institution called PBS.
The shop had integrated so-called 3D payment, which mean that after several redirects you end up in your bank's online client where the payment can be authorized by you the user. This is okay, it does however represent some problems, like if you are not at the computer you normally are and where your keys are located and so forth. It is a security measurement and it is probably necessary these days.
The last part did not succeed, so I was presented with a white window with the following error message:
Fejl! Betalingen IKKE gennemført! (Beløb IKKE reserveret)System error: Contact PBS International if problems persist
Please note that the error message was copied from the window, I have not altered it (apart from fixing the entities, since use.perl could render these correctly). I could not read the last part because it extended outside the size of my browser window, so I had to scroll to read everything.
PBS is supposedly the authority on online transactions in Denmark. I have implemented several payment solutions and they always have to permit that you put your shop online, this is however a different story, which I my blog about some time.
Anyway, the page is simply not good enough in my opinion. The error message looks like something somebody cooked up for a prototype. It is not styled, it does not render the danish letters correctly - I know it is all presentation, but in this case presentation matters, I want to have a feeling of a controlled process when doing financial transactions online, I want it to look and feel professional.
I think I have to write to PBS and state my concern and discomfort with their solution.
