Online payment gateway is a third-party provider that allows a merchant to receive payments on their site. It is essentially the software that transmits the transaction information from the issuing bank to the acquiring bank, confirming whether the transaction is approved or declined.
Whether you are an eCommerce platform owner or just maintaining your online presence, you want to offer your customers a safe, quick, and easy-to-use payment system. Then chosen payment solution has to satisfy both the needs of your customers and your business, so, it has to be convenient to use, and compatible with your platform.
Choosing the right payment gateway determines the currencies you can accept, the transaction fee, how fast money gets in your merchant account, and the payment methods you’ll offer.
There are numerous payment gateways out there available for e-commerce projects. Below are the criteria to choose the best payment gateway.
1. Choose The Flow
A company has two main possibilities for how its payment method will flow. It may have a website with a built-in payment form or it may be able to redirect payments.
For the first, the gateway provider receives all required transaction information through a secure form. The second technique takes the user to a different page where they must provide transaction data. Typically, people favor the secure form.
2. Make Sure A Marketplace Payment Gateway Is Compliant With PCI DSS
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which was introduced in 2006, aims to ensure that businesses that store, transfer, or accept credit card data protect sensitive data. The PCI DSS’s main goal is to ensure the security of payment accounts while transactions are being processed.
Companies must use strong passwords, encrypt data, use antivirus software, restrict data access, keep access logs, routinely scan networks for vulnerabilities, and other measures to comply with the regulations.
Therefore, before integrating with an online marketplace platform, it is essential to confirm that a payment gateway solution is PCI DSS compliant. The PCI Service Providers that Stripe, PayPal, and Braintree all hold certification in.
3. Safety And Security
The security of your payment gateway should be a top issue when it comes to accepting payments online because you’ll be keeping sensitive financial information. Remember that various payment gateways follow various security requirements. Make sure the gateway you select complies with PCI DSS level 1 requirements.
4. Make Sure it Provides 24/7 Customer Support
Numerous payment options are available, but none of them offer customer service. To resolve an issue, users of these payment gateways would need to read and follow manual instructions, which are normally available on the provider’s website.
Although this can be beneficial, you frequently need to acquire technical skills to completely understand the material. This is why it’s crucial to confirm that the provider provides round-the-clock live technical assistance so you can rapidly fix problems and avoid business downtime.
Your company will be able to enhance the consumer experience and bring about a few advantages, such as enhanced brand loyalty, by choosing online payment gateway providers that give round-the-clock service. This also makes it possible for you to fully seize important chances for proactive consumer engagement and retention.
In addition, it enables you to respond quickly to the demands of your clients and provide support whenever they do. The best part is that receiving round-the-clock assistance from payment gateway providers enables you to boost the reputation of your business and expand your clientele to boost sales.
5. Checkout The Purchasing Funnel
A consumer may abandon a website if there are too many steps needed to reach the payment confirmation page. As certain payment gateways, like PayU Money, need users to register for an account, consider whether your request for information is excessive or whether you are merely using the medium to grow your business.
Overly ambitious requests are a recipe for failure. Therefore, check out the Payment Gateways website’s shopping funnel or request a demo. This will give you a decent picture of how the procedure will work in practice at your store. Please be aware, though, that the Hosted Payment Gateway does not give you a lot of freedom. Integrated Payment Gateways, however, give you additional freedom.
You can choose between a one-page checkout and a multi-page checkout on the Integrated Payment Gateway depending on your preferences. You can remove conversion-blocking factors by using Analytics data.
6. Research Device Compatibility
You will have a wide range of visitors using a wide range of devices, depending on what you offer and who you sell it to. Some payment gateways function flawlessly across all platforms, while others have bugs on specific ones. Prior to making a decision, be sure to investigate how the gateway performs across various platforms and operating systems. Knowing the demographics of your website visitors in advance is also useful.
7. Consider Fee And SAR
Take into account the cost and Service Agreement Requirement before selecting the payment gateway. The pricing and Service Agreement Requirement are slightly vary for each payment gateway. Therefore, before selecting the payment gateway, be careful to double-check both.
8. Check For Easy Integration
Examine a payment processor’s ease of integration and merchant friendliness before choosing one. Does their documentation have an online version? Do they support the required shopping cart plugin? Exist any mobile SDKs on their end? These are essential since you already have a limited developer pool, and no one wants to waste days or weeks integrating a payment gateway when they might be spending that time creating fantastic goods. Additionally, find out how responsive their technical integration teams are. This will enable you to speed up the integration and begin taking payments immediately.
9. Check For Merchant Account
It is an important component of every payment gateway. To receive payments from customers, you must have a merchant account. Money is temporarily placed in a merchant account, which is a separate retailer account from your bank account, until the clients’ banks confirm the transaction.