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Payment gateways are an essential component of eCommerce websites, without that payment transactions will not happen. Read on to find more about types of online payment gateways and its advantages and disadvantages. Payment Gateways: A Brief The payment gateway is a software application that acts as a conduit between an eCommerce website and the issuing bank that authorizes or denies payment transactions. Without a payment gateway, you cannot process the payment further to receive the money. Transactions on online platforms are done as card not present situation, and the merchant will have to rely on the data provided by the customer. The payment gateways offer security via encryption, authorization request and fulfillment of the transaction. The eCommerce service providers offer three different ways to integrate a payment gateway to your website. Redirects: A Convenient Choice The redirect method is an easy and quick solution to integrate a payment gateway to your website. Here, the customer is redirected to a payment page from your website. The major advantage is its simplicity. It’s a plug-and-play method and the merchants need not worry about PCI DSS compliance hassles. Your website will not need any enhancements and thus it saves the cost. A small business can use the convenience and safety offered by the payment gateway providers. However, this method means a two-step payment experience for your customer. Incidents of abandoned carts may happen as the customer leaves the page to complete a transaction. The merchant will have less control over the process. A different webpage may not offer the same experience that you want your customers to have. Direct Post Method: Check-out Onsite and Payment Offsite In the direct post method, the form which collects the customer’s financial information is served from your web server, but, then the data is forwarded to a secure online payment gateway and the actual transaction is done in the offsite. Here, the customer data is not handled on your website. The front-end check-out is from your webpage, where the transaction is done in the back end. The advantage is that you can maintain the branding of your website to an extent. Your website need not be PCI compliant. However, the merchant will not full control over the customer experience. Onsite Payments: Server Integration Method The server integration method or SIM provides the option to handle payments on your website, even though the actual transaction is done by an eCommerce service provider. All the forms are displayed on your website. The payment gateway provider handles all the steps like data collection, submission and the response to the customer. But the customer never leaves the page or made aware of this change. With this, you can maintain the look and style of customer experience to your expectations. However, you need to invest in web designing and compliance requirements. This method is used by medium to large scale businesses with a trustworthy brand.

Payment gateways are an essential component of eCommerce websites, without that payment transactions will not happen. Read on to find more about types of online payment gateways and its advantages and disadvantages. Payment Gateways: A Brief The payment gateway is a software application that acts as a conduit between an eCommerce website and the issuing bank that authorizes or denies payment transactions. Without a payment gateway, you cannot process the payment further to receive the money. Transactions on online platforms are done as card not present situation, and the merchant will have to rely on the data provided by the customer. The payment gateways offer security via encryption, authorization request and fulfillment of the transaction. The eCommerce service providers offer three different ways to integrate a payment gateway to your website. Redirects: A Convenient Choice The redirect method is an easy and quick solution to integrate a payment gateway to your website. Here, the customer is redirected to a payment page from your website. The major advantage is its simplicity. It’s a plug-and-play method and the merchants need not worry about PCI DSS compliance hassles. Your website will not need any enhancements and thus it saves the cost. A small business can use the convenience and safety offered by the payment gateway providers. However, this method means a two-step payment experience for your customer. Incidents of abandoned carts may happen as the customer leaves the page to complete a transaction. The merchant will have less control over the process. A different webpage may not offer the same experience that you want your customers to have. Direct Post Method: Check-out Onsite and Payment Offsite In the direct post method, the form which collects the customer’s financial information is served from your web server, but, then the data is forwarded to a secure online payment gateway and the actual transaction is done in the offsite. Here, the customer data is not handled on your website. The front-end check-out is from your webpage, where the transaction is done in the back end. The advantage is that you can maintain the branding of your website to an extent. Your website need not be PCI compliant. However, the merchant will not full control over the customer experience. Onsite Payments: Server Integration Method The server integration method or SIM provides the option to handle payments on your website, even though the actual transaction is done by an eCommerce service provider. All the forms are displayed on your website. The payment gateway provider handles all the steps like data collection, submission and the response to the customer. But the customer never leaves the page or made aware of this change. With this, you can maintain the look and style of customer experience to your expectations. However, you need to invest in web designing and compliance requirements. This method is used by medium to large scale businesses with a trustworthy brand.

There is nothing like a secure, quick and easy payment solution that can take place any time anywhere. Online payment service providers offer their services to aid the merchants to run the transactions on their websites. Here are a few considerations on how to choose the right service for you. Know Your Customers and their Requirements Customers are making more and more online payments in these days, and they have a variety of options. You need to offer multiple billing and payment methods to keep your customer experience at par with your expectations. It can reduce the time taken for a transaction if you have a number of convenient options to offer. Preferences by Customers: Decide the Method The shopping carts go abandoned if you don’t give attention to the customers’ experience. You need to choose from different methods available for eCommerce payment gateways. In the redirect method, the payment gateway takes the customer to a payment page to complete the transaction. Simplicity is the advantage of this system. A small scalemerchant can incorporate redirect-gateway to their page without any hassles.However, the merchant has less control over the process and the customer will have two steps to complete the payment. Payment off-site option allows front-end transactions, but the actual process behind is through the gateway. The onsite payment method allows the transactions to be done on their own website. Based on your brand-value, size of the business, type of customers, and requirement of the appearance of your website you can choose the method of payment gateway. Security Standards of the Providers You will surely want to work with a PCI compliant online payment service provider. The PCI DSS or Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is the system of standards that upholdsa security compliance system for the e-world.Before you sign-off on any payment gateway, make sure they maintain PCI compliance. The standards are meant to protect the sensitive data of customer’s payment information. If your service provider is PCI compliant that means you can trust their process of encryption. The Reputation of Service Provider Your customers would be concerned over the security of their financial data at the checkout. The eCommerce payment gateway you choose should be from reputed online service providers. A sketchy payment gateway will increase the chance of abandoned shopping carts. Focus on large payment gateway providers with established brand value. The brand recognition will work in your favor, highlight the security efforts and encourage the customer to continue shopping. Research with your key priorities in your mind before you chooses the provider. Look for the per transaction rate to understand how the choice of the gateway will impact your bottom line. Make sure compliance with security standards. Understand what your customers want.

More and more people prefer to shop from the comfort of their home in these days, instead of visiting a physical store to buy services or things. This is quite a natural characteristic of modern life. Online shopping allows customers to purchase anything without the limitations of stock availability in a brick and motor store. This is a golden opportunity for merchants to increase their sales and reach of their products and services. To make it possible smoothly and safely, you need to consider payment gateway integration.  What is a Payment Gateway? Payment gateway providers facilitate payment authorization. It is software application that connects your website to the bank so that the customers can pay you right there without any hassle. The service can be used by eCommerce websites, other service providers whose customers pay online, any organization that collects money online or even physical store that accepts payment through alternative methods. The payment gateway acts as an electronic cash register. It is the final step of sales process on an eCommerce website, without which you will not be able to securely charge your products or services.  The Function of Payment Gateway For customer payment gateways is a simple and straight forward process in online payment platforms, select and add the product or service to cart, enter the financial information, and checkout. However, it is a complex process behind the scenes. When a customer places an order on online payment platforms, and enter the payment information, an online transaction will be processed as ‘card-not-present’. Payment gateway will encrypt data between user’s browser and the server of the retailer. Authorization request occurs when the payment processor gets an approval from the financial institution to proceed with the transaction. As the payment gateway authorizes the transaction, it allows the website and interface to proceed with the next action. Encryption, authorization request and fulfillment are the security features. Payment Gateway vs. Payment Processors  Typically, a payment processor is a third-party company that is appointed by the merchant to deal with the financial transactions done in online payment platforms. Payment processors analyze and transmit the data to issuing bank on transactions. Payment gateways do this work and are a fast, economic and convenient way to accept payment on transactions, without creating a merchant's account. As a merchant, you can sign-up with a payment gateway provider and start the payment processing that day.  Types of Payment Gateways When the payment gateway takes the customer to a payment page to complete the transaction, it is called redirects. The advantage of this system is simplicity. A small merchant can incorporate redirect-gateway to their page. However, the merchant has less control over the process and has two steps to complete the payment. Payment off-site option allows front end transactions, but the actual process behind is through the gateway. The onsite payment method allows the transactions to be done on their own website.

Online payments have become the norm these days, and for the world, it looks like a simple process. But when you look for an eCommerce solution provider for your business, you realize that there are many terms, probably you have never heard of. Read on to become familiar with some important terms you should know when you deal with online payment platforms. Acquiring Bank The financial institution that underwrites and processes debit or credit card payments on behalf of your online business is known as acquiring bank or an acquirer. The acquirers are a part of an association such as Master Card or Visa and allow you, the merchant, to accept the card payments from card-issuing banks within the association. They either approve or decline a transaction based on the information available on the cardholder with card association and issuing bank. The transactions can include purchases, refunds, chargebacks, etc. Issuing Bank The financial institution that issues debit or credit cards directly to the customers on behalf of the card network is known as issuing bank or issuer. It acts as a middle-man for the consumer and cards association and contracts with the cardholders on the terms of repayment of transactions done wherever applicable. You can identify the issuing bank easily as it is available on the card. Merchant Account Another term you come to use when you start on online payment platforms is merchant account. Your business should have a merchant account when you enter into a contract with an acquiring bank. This is a type of commercial bank account that allows your business to accept and process electronic payment transactions. A transaction is said to be completed when the acquiring bank accepts the payment from the customer and deposits the amount into the merchant account. The merchant account pays out the money to the business bank account later. You need to partner with a merchant acquiring bank who facilitates all communications in an online payment transaction. Chargebacks or Payment Reversals Payment reversal or chargeback is a customer protection mechanism where a customer receives the fund back from a transaction. The transaction is reimbursed either to the merchant or to the customer, based on the case. This could be due to customer disputes, authorization reversal or refunds. Examples for such situations may include non-receipt of products, drastic differences between the product delivered and advertised, usage of credit cards without the authorization of cardholder, etc. Acquiring banks set a ratio of reversals with total sales, which should not be surpassed. Your business will have serious consequences if you process a large number of chargebacks that exceed the limit of set ratio. The eCommerce solution providers offer a variety of products and services such as mobile payment solutions, omnichannel solutions, payment gateway, etc. Look for eCommerce management companies who can provide you with comprehensive and cost-effective solutions that are secure and innovative to take your business to new heights.

Online payments have become the norm these days, and for the world, it looks like a simple process. But when you look for an eCommerce solution provider for your business, you realize that there are many terms, probably you have never heard of. Read on to become familiar with some important terms you should know when you deal with online payment platforms. Acquiring Bank The financial institution that underwrites and processes debit or credit card payments on behalf of your online business is known as acquiring bank or an acquirer. The acquirers are a part of an association such as Master Card or Visa and allow you, the merchant, to accept the card payments from card-issuing banks within the association. They either approve or decline a transaction based on the information available on the cardholder with card association and issuing bank. The transactions can include purchases, refunds, chargebacks, etc. Issuing Bank The financial institution that issues debit or credit cards directly to the customers on behalf of the card network is known as issuing bank or issuer. It acts as a middle-man for the consumer and cards association and contracts with the cardholders on the terms of repayment of transactions done wherever applicable. You can identify the issuing bank easily as it is available on the card. Merchant Account Another term you come to use when you start on online payment platforms is merchant account. Your business should have a merchant account when you enter into a contract with an acquiring bank. This is a type of commercial bank account that allows your business to accept and process electronic payment transactions. A transaction is said to be completed when the acquiring bank accepts the payment from the customer and deposits the amount into the merchant account. The merchant account pays out the money to the business bank account later. You need to partner with a merchant acquiring bank who facilitates all communications in an online payment transaction. Chargebacks or Payment Reversals Payment reversal or chargeback is a customer protection mechanism where a customer receives the fund back from a transaction. The transaction is reimbursed either to the merchant or to the customer, based on the case. This could be due to customer disputes, authorization reversal or refunds. Examples for such situations may include non-receipt of products, drastic differences between the product delivered and advertised, usage of credit cards without the authorization of cardholder, etc. Acquiring banks set a ratio of reversals with total sales, which should not be surpassed. Your business will have serious consequences if you process a large number of chargebacks that exceed the limit of set ratio. The eCommerce solution providers offer a variety of products and services such as mobile payment solutions, omnichannel solutions, payment gateway, etc. Look for eCommerce management companies who can provide you with comprehensive and cost-effective solutions that are secure and innovative to take your business to new heights.

Online business and payments are considered to be norms of the day. However, you need in-depth knowledge to select appropriate online payment platforms for your business. A major initial consideration would be on how to choose the type of payment gateway, hosted payment page, or API. Read on to understand more about both of these options. Hosted Payment Page: What Is It? In a hosted payment page, the eCommerce payment gateway will provide a unique link to a webpage hosted elsewhere to accept payments from the customer. The merchant or business can link to this page from their website. The hosted page is located in the servers of your payment solution provider securely. The only requirement would be compliance of your website to the hosted page. Process of Hosted Payment Page As your customer in your eCommerce websites decides to make the final transactions, the payment gateways will pull the customer off your site’s checkout page. He/ she will be directed to the payment service provider (PSP) page to fill the payment details and make the payment. Then he/ she will be redirected to your website to finish the checkout process. An alternative option is to use an inline frame or iframe. The payment service provider creates a form, iframe, that you can insert into your website. With this, merchants can securely accept transactions without storing the card data. The PSP receives and stores the data. Advantages of the Hosted Payment Page The main advantage of a hosted solution is the simplicity of the process itself. The capturing and processing of payment is through the eCommerce payment gateway, which ensures the security of cardholders. Setting up of the process is quick and convenient; it is a matter of linking your website to the hosted page and start receiving payments. Access to payment history and the process of refunds can be done easily without card data. API Integration API stands for application program interface provided by online payment platforms. Mainly, API involves the integration of one program to another and facilitates communication between them using the same language. Here, a website captures the payment data, such as card details, and send the payment to a gateway through API for processing. The user never leaves your website, while the transaction is processed behind the screens. Advantages of API The fact that your customer doesn’t have to leave the website to complete the transaction allows you to control the customer end-to-end in the checkout process. The customer will have a seamless experience throughout the purchase. Your business is responsible for the page and therefore the visual appeal can be improved based on your target customers and brand specifications. However, API integration requires a developer and web designer from your end. Look at the flexibility of options your payment solution provider can offer. It should support alternative methods of payment and mobile applications. The option selected should be appropriate to your needs in the business.

People around the world are increasingly comfortable with online shopping and payment. Payment gateways are equivalent to the point-of-sale machines in your brick and motor stores and act as an intermediary between your website and the customers to complete the financial transactions. These online payment services come with various features that equip you to conduct operations in your online business. Read on to understand some of these features that is offered by online payment service providers. Support Multiple Payment Methods You will want to make the payment process easy and smooth to avoid abandoned shopping carts. The primary reason for missed sales is the unavailability of the customers’ preferred or trusted payment methods. The payment gateway you choose should support various payment methods like Visa, Mastercard, China Union Pay, Alipay, Cryptocurrency, etc. This way, you can cater to the users’ diverse requirements. Hosted Payment Page vs. Direct API The eCommerce payment gateways usually offer a choice between hosted payment page and direct API. In a hosted payment page, the payment information is transferred to a payment page hosted by a third party. It ensures a single touchpoint for the card data that ensures security to the customers. You can upload your business logo and information to the gateway and do not need a web designer or developer. The setup is an easy process. It is easy to access payment history processes refunds securely. On the other hand, direct API (Application Program Interface) allows the software to software communication rather than the user interface. Key benefits include a visual appeal of your webpage that is designed specifically for you. Easy management and seamless experience will help to retain your customers. MOTO Merchant Account and Virtual Terminal Services MOTO stands for mail order/ telephone order and is supported by online payment service providers. It is a term used to describe the transactions when the customer is not present. A MOTO merchant account allows you to accept payments by mail, phone, and fax. Even with the popularity of online sales, some people still love to respond to email or direct mail campaigns. The orders can be completed without referring back to the website when your eCommerce customers call the customer service. Customer service personnel can log into a virtual terminal, which is included in MOTO merchant accounts. The virtual terminal is connected to the MOTO payment processing gateway through which order data is submitted to the banking networks. Multicurrency, Multinational Payments and Settlement Options Your business will grow to its maximum potential only if you can take it beyond borders. The eCommerce payment gateways offer multicurrency, multinational merchant account, which enables you to display the prices in the local currency of the buyer. Additionally, it allows you to receive payment in any major world currency. This feature helps you to increase your buyer’s trust, and keep them focused on shopping rather than figuring out the actual cost. It gives you a competitive advantage for business and it invariably means significant growth in sales.

If you are an ecommerce solution provider, it is imperative that your site is mobile friendly. That means that customers should find it easy to make a payment using mobile. Customers usually tend to be much less engaged when using a mobile, as compared to a desktop. Usually, customers are doing other things like watching TV, commuting, waiting in the queue, and so on, while doing mobile shopping. As such, it is important to make the purchase and checkout process simple. Here, we show you some ways in which you can accomplish this. Offer Multiple Traditional as well as Third-Party Payment Options Your store should provide mobile wallet payment options. At the same time, customers may want to pay using online third-party e-payment technology such as Neteller, Skrill or PayPal. You can offer these options to your customer’s right on the order confirmation page. As an alternative, your customers may want to provide the payment through a check or bank transfer. In certain countries, many large groups of people would prefer to use these traditional methods. You can also have a display for phone numbers for the users that want to contact you directly to organize a bank transfer. While these techniques of payment account for a much smaller proportion of the customers, you should still make it a practice to include them in your site. Selling Internationally - Country Differences If your store caters to international markets, you should account for buyer differences based on the country or region they are purchasing from. Always make sure to research which payment options are the most popular in the countries that you are targeting. And always make sure to offer these payment options in those regions. Some countries like China have a completely different and unique set of apps for payment and ecommerce payment gateway compared to Western and European countries. For example, cards are the most preferred form of payment in Canada and the US. It is important to offer your customers a multitude of payment options. This ensures that your customers have the safety and ease of knowing you have researched their geography or region well enough for them to have their own preferred mode of payment. Having such a multitude of payment options has many benefits, such as having happier customers, a reduced checkout abandonment rate, and much higher levels of security. The result is a win-win for both you and your customers. While it can be a bit daunting to approach and navigate the very fast paced world of mobile payment solution provider options, the fact is that adding many more new options to your store and to your checkout process can be a very straightforward task. It is important that you do not be hassled or put off by the hurdles relevant to the technology. It is all part of growing your online business. As sales from mobile continue to grow, and even outrank desktop sales, it is important for you as a retailer to take a mobile-centric approach to ecommerce. This will help optimize the entire customer journey, also including checkout. The biggest reason for drop in sales is customer abandonment during the checkout process. By your site offering a wide range of mobile payment options, you will be able to cater to a broad set of preferences in your customers. That automatically means more conversions, more sales and more revenues. At the end of the day, every ecommerce solution provider wants to stay relevant in today’s tough business climate, and your business is no different. As such, adopting these simple measures can make a world of difference in the way your business benefits from sales.