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Things to consider while choosing a secure payment gateway for your online business

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Ebridge
Things to consider while choosing a secure payment gateway for your online business

As an online store owner, you have to manage multiple tasks at once. From product images to blogs and from marketing strategies to shipping there are so many things happening behind the scenes. While it is a profitable venture in today’s age, it does bring a lot of risks with it. 

 

Security is one such risk, and with your time, reputation, and money on the line, you must keep your website secure. A secure, safe and efficient payment gateway can be the solution. If you are looking into payment gateway options and don’t know what to look for, then we have some tips for you. 

In this article, we will take you through 7 things you should consider while you hunt for the right payment gateway. 

 

What is a payment gateway?

When a customer makes a purchase online, he adds his information which is sent to the merchant’s bank. That entire process is carried out by a cloud-based software we call a payment gateway. 

Along with the payment gateways, payment processors handle funds transfer from the customer’s bank to the merchant’s bank.  With a payment cards processor, transactions become faster and easier. 

 

How do payment gateways work? 

We can break down the steps taken by a payment gateway to the following:

  1. Payment gateway collects order info
  2. It checks with the customer’s bank
  3. Sends encrypted card info to card schemes 
  4. Once approved gateway sends info to the seller's website and the customer's bank

 

8 Things to consider while choosing a payment gateway 

Below we have listed 8 key factors you should take into account before choosing the right payment gateway for your business. 

 

  • The cost and agreements 

Cost is a very important factor that can limit your choices. The cost for the service primarily depends on the type of business but other areas can influence the price. These areas include:

  • Revenue consistency
  • Served market
  • Transaction frequency etc. 

 

Set up fees and contracts might be needed for certain services, therefore make sure to take into account the above aspects while you make the decision. 



  • Security

If a customer feels that a payment method isn’t secure, he won’t make the purchase and will lose trust in your website. That can be very harmful to sales and brand reputation. Thus, make sure to choose a payment gateway that makes the customer feel safe and secure from frauds and undue charges. 

Through data encryption, payment gateways convert user data into a coded form. That coded form can only be read by someone with a decryption key. Another security feature can be 2-factor authentication. With 2-factor authentication, the user needs to give additional information along with his id and password. That helps to avoid someone misusing the password and id of a customer. 

 

  • Ease of use 

A difficult payment procedure is a very common reason why many customers abandon their shopping carts. With multiple steps and a lengthy sign-in procedure, many choose to leave their carts to avoid inconvenience. 

Therefore, you should look into a payment gateway that provides users with the best shopping experience. The entire process should be smooth and fast on both desktops and mobile phones. Another thing to consider is speed. If your payment gateways capture information fast, that can help you get faster payments. 

 

  • Compatibility 

While you are looking for a payment gateway, make sure to consult with your website developer. Every payment gateway won’t be compatible with your website. Therefore, talk to your developer and discuss the available options. 

 

  • Limitations of region and orders

The payment gateway you choose comes with certain limitations. The first is the region it can operate in. Taking the example of PayPal, it doesn't work in many countries including Lebanon, Libya, Syria, etc. Amazon pay also works in certain countries which are listed on their website. 

If your business was established outside those countries, you won't be able to use their service. Thus, when you are looking at various options keep in mind that every payment gateway won't facilitate you. 

After you have checked the availability of the service in your region, you need to see the limitation of orders. While you choose a payment gateway, you should choose a package that suits your business. Depending on the number of orders you get and the pricing schemes, you should choose a package that works for you and also allows you to scale your business freely. 

 

  • Complies with your business goals and scalability 

Certain payment gateways do not support certain businesses. Therefore, while you are looking at various options, check their website to see if your business is supported by the providers or not. Also, check their features to see if they can help you scale up your business.

If you choose to provide your services globally you may need to accept multiple debit and credit cards along with various currencies from users. So do analyze your chances to scale up 

 

  • Customer service 

As your business grows, you will encounter multiple issues and payment hurdles. To make sure things go smoothly, you should opt for a payment gateway that provides efficient customer support. Make sure to check if they provide live customer support. Also, see if the technical support is within working hours or not. 

Through good customer service, you will be able to tackle issues faster and serve your customers better. 

 

Conclusion 

In this article, we went through 8 things you should look into while choosing a payment gateway. The first things to check are their packages and cost. Then look into its security features to make sure it can be trusted by your clients. 

Then look into the ease of use, compatibility, and availability of the service in your region. You should check if it complies with your business goals and offers room for scalability or not. Lastly, check their rules, regulations, and their customer service. You should make sure the service providers can be accessed when you run into an issue. 

We hope this article was useful. Make sure to check more articles like this one on our site. 

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