How can I collect credit card information without using a gateway company?


If you would like to collect credit card information without using a gateway and you are using cart versions 3.6.0 and higher, you can use the Credit Card Storage Tool completely free. CCS allows you to store the CC info on the same server as your shopping cart and is fully encrypted, you can access it later so you can process the order amount. The customer stays within the same shopping cart, thereby skipping the cart’s necessity for the secure transmission of the credit card information.


Applies to Version(s): 3.9.x  Series

Complexity Level: Easy 

Estimated Time for Completion: 2 minutes


How to Setup Credit Card Storage

In your admin area, go to Settings > Payment & taxes > Credit card storage.


    1. Select Enable storage of cardholder data

    2. Select the length of time you want to hold the user's credit card data in the system.

    3. Enter a very secure username and password to be used for access to the credit card information, make sure you save your changes.

enable storage of cardholder data

Now, if ever you forget your username and password, or need to reset them for security reasons, you can click Regenerate Credentials. Be aware that doing this will lose your access to any current credit card numbers you have stored and you will not be able to retrieve them again. You will only be able to retrieve credit card numbers for future orders.



regenerate credentials


confirm regeneration of credentials



Note: It’s highly recommended that you do not store credit card information on your system unless you feel it's necessary. No system is 100% safe and you will be held responsible for any breach in the security of your server. CISP compliant payment gateways are the only recommend repository for customer payment information. While we provide this feature as a service to our customers, we strongly advise against using it. Since no encryption method is completely secure, we cannot be held responsible for any issues surrounding the storage of your customer's payment data.


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If you didn't get your question answered, please contact the Pinnacle Cart Support Team. To submit a ticket, go to the My Account drop-down menu at the top right of the admin area and select Support.