Offering a safe and easy solution when paying online is becoming a business essential in the modern world. Whether you are an ecommerce business or not, you’ll need to offer your customers the best payment solutions that protects them from fraud and is convenient to use. If not, they may go elsewhere.
To avoid customers leaving their products in their online basket (one of the most frustrating ecommerce woes!) you’ll need a solid online payment software provider. In this article, we’re running through how a payment gateway software solution works and how you can choose the best one for your business.
What is a payment gateway software solution?
First things first, what is a payment gateway software solution anyway? Well, a payment gateway service authorises and processes payments is a portal that allows transactions to be carried out between the merchant and the customer.
In order to move money around safely, a payment gateway provider will encrypt the data and ensure that security measures are in place to transfer the payment data from banks to the website and back.
They are essential for businesses that are taking transactions and can be used online and in physical form. Many businesses opt to create tailored solutions that fit around their specific business needs.
How does international payment gateway software work?
Payment gateway software works internationally by processing card details from foriegn currencies. A classic example of an international gateway is PayPal, who process multi-currency payment.
International payment options mean that you can offer customers a choice of currencies and therefore makes it more likely for them to purchase with ease.
The way payment gateway software works internationally is:
- A business will apply for a payment gateway from a payment gateway provider
- The API will be integrated into a booking service or product payment page at the merchants end
- The customer will pay using their card, either by filling in a secure page online or paying in person
- The payment gateway will then securely process the payment for the merchant by dealing with the payment to/from the card network, issuing bank, acquiring bank, and the settlement of payment gateway provider fees.
- Once the customer has authorised payment, the business will receive the money in a time frame agreed between them and the payment provider.
What should payment gateway software be able to do?
Payment gateway software will have differing capabilities depending what the business needs are. However, they should be able to:
- Authorise payments: a payment gateway provider will need to be able to check that a customer has the funds to pay and authorise that payment quickly.
- Make sales: the gateway will need to be able to process the payment so that funds are sent to the merchant’s account in a capture format, and they also need to be able to make immediate purchases.
- Refund and void payments: give the money back to a customer in cases where the funds have been both captured and not yet captured.
How to choose a payment gateway software provider?
There are certain factors you need to consider when choosing a payment gateway provider. These could be:
- How they integrate with your existing systems
You will need to look for a provider that uses an API to connect to the payment systems you already have in place.
- How they bill you
All payment gateway software will have some price for the merchant, however these can be split in different ways. Payment processing will come at a cost, usually this is the fee for third party costs involved in processing the transaction across lots of different financial institutions.
Look at what you will be charged based on location, order value and payment method to make sure you don’t get caught out by big fees.
- What payment methods they accept
Consider what payment methods you want to support and the kinds of methods your customers will be using. If you would like to support apple pay, this will need to be mentioned too.
- Do they serve both physical and digital products
Make sure that the provider you’re considering will support all the types of payment that you need, this will usually be either physical or digital.
For more information on the kind of services and sectors that we work in get in touch. You can also learn more about who we are for more information.
