Gateway to transaction processing network

A method and apparatus for processing credit card transactions over the internet, includes an application program interface (API) that converts a simple ASCII transaction message from a merchant (122) to the message spec required by the transaction processor (200, 300). The API also encrypts the transaction message so that the transaction is secure over the Internet and manages the message traffic between merchant and transaction processor. In a second preferred embodiment, a merchant sends a simple ASCII transaction message via a Secured Sockets Layer (SSL) internet connection. In preferred embodiments, redundant connections are set up between the merchant and the transaction processor, allowing a transaction to continue being processed if one of the connections fails.