You get 233 results when looking for a gateway provider on G2. So a question arises: how to navigate that nebula of payment processing options? Look no further: in this article, you’ll find a checklist for selecting your perfect payment gateway.
What’s a payment gateway, and why is it important?
Payment gateways are on guard of secure authorization of online payments and transferring funds from your customers’ credit cards. This technology makes life easier for businesses by doing the following:- Simplifying your customers’ payment process
- Optimizing your cashflow
- Eliminate the risks and pains of holding sensitive customer data
A checklist for choosing a payment gateway
I’ll use this space to remind you that reading the full terms and conditions of any provider is as important as knowing what you’re looking for. Now you’re all set to jump to the first point.
1. Determine the cost you’re ready to incur
This might be the key thing to consider. Pricing may come in several types: set-up fee, monthly fee, and transaction fee. If high-value transactions comprise the lion's share of your money flow, a payment gateway with a fixed monthly fee and a low transaction fee might be a reasonable choice. It’s good to consider transaction limits too.
Some providers allow you to use their gateway for free, like Vapulus, Melio, and SecurionPay. By the way, Melio often gets kudos on G2 as excellent service from small businesses.
2. Decide which card types are allowed
Visa and MasterCard may still be the most popular card brands, but the variety goes beyond that duo. Also, you should consider that customers may choose to pay with a debit or prepaid card.
Most gateways have more than four options for credit cards, and support debit cares too. If you’re looking for a gateway for managing digital currency transactions, there’s BitPay.
3. Pick an optimal holding period
The holding time, a period when you’re waiting for the funds to arrive in your account, can vary from 1-7 days. Depending on your cash flow, you can wait or get paid immediately.
You’ll get the optimal settlement time of 2 working days after the transaction date by choosing PayU.
4. Choose supported currencies and countries
International businesses should be able to accept various currencies from many points on the globe. Fees apply, so you’ll need to check what’s what there too.
A truly global reach is something that CardinalCommerce offers: 200 countries and 180 currencies.
5. Keep in mind payment management options
Refunds and disbursements should be a short and smooth story, with top-notch customer support. Otherwise, customers might drop out after the first discomfort on their journey with your business.
Also, not all payment gateways can stomach recurring billing. If you don’t want to deal with failed transactions and set up automatic charges, look for a payment gateway that can do it for you. For instance, SecurionPay’s options include one-time payments, subscriptions, and mixed billing.
6. Decide if you need a hosted or a non-hosted gateway
A hosted gateway takes a customer off-site for the checkout, as BlueSnap does. While it's an additional step in the payment process for the customer, external checkout offloads the sensitive buyer data from your website.
With a non-hosted gateway, the customer can stay on the website while entering their payment details. If speed and simplicity matter, you might want to take a closer look at non-hosted gateways like Braintree.
7. Pay attention to security
To conduct any operations involving card data, the merchant must be PCI compliant in the first place. Additional security features won’t hurt; moreover—they will make the customer confident that their payment is in safe hands.
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8. Think of device and infrastructure compatibility
Ideally, the selected payment gateway should integrate well with your website platform. Other things to consider are the range of devices your gateway should work on and their compatibility with each. Testing the technology on each platform is a sound option.
If you’re looking for a champion in providing popular payment methods, in 2022 it’s Braintree.
The next step: integration
From the top-dwellers like PayPal and Stripe to the next-height PayU and BlueSnap, each payment provider requires special attention when it comes to integrating it. Security should be the main priority with payments, so abiding by PSD2 customer protection and other PayTech regulations is crucial.To integrate with popular gateways seamlessly and securely, we have accumulated a vast knowledge base that includes detailed API documentation. This allows us to implement perfect data transmission, exchange, and access technology.
Get that payment story straight with the right integrations.
→ Learn how