A payment gateway is a software application that facilitates transferring credit card information from a website to a credit card payment network. It does this by interfacing between an ecommerce website and a customer’s preferred mode of payment: bank account, credit card, debit card, gift card, or any online wallet. Some of the more popular ones include Paypal, Amazon Payments, Skrill, Braintree and Stripe. Payment gateways are secure and a requirement for your ecommerce store.

With the right payment gateway, it becomes easy for your ecommerce store to accept several types of electronic payments. It gets better when you work with a payment gateway provider that offers an all-in-one solution. So how do you choose the right payment gateway? What do you look out for? We have put together 10 factors you should look for when trying to get a payment gateway that serves your ecommerce store.

Get A Certified Provider

Your ecommerce store is expected to offer the most secure payment option. To do that, you’d need a payment gateway provider that follows security standards essential in the industry. The Payment Card Industry administers industry security standards like PCI-DSS. The gateway provider you opt for should have the proper certifications. The bar for all ecommerce websites is continually being raised, and to meet up to standards set by companies like Amazon and Walmart, among others, you need a certified provider. It is imperative to confirm that they have the necessary certifications.

What Are The Fees and Service Agreement Requirements

The fees for payment gateways are often determined by the type and frequency of transactions involved, the flow of revenue, and the target markets.

Before opting for a payment gateway, consider how you intend to run your ecommerce store and how well the gateway’s fee structure matches it. Depending on your services, you might only require setup fees and contracts. In other instances, you might need to pay transaction fees if you don’t meet order and transaction requirements.

How Effective Are the Transactions

It would be best if you opted for a payment gateway that allows you to eliminate unnecessary form fields so that the checkout process is more effective. For example, your payment gateway should stop needless form fields like billing and shipping information, especially when the postal addresses are the same.

Checkouts Should Be Easy Across Devices

Most of your ecommerce customers will access your online store via a mobile device. So you need a payment gateway that offers a stress-free checkout experience that accommodates such customers. The ideal payment gateway should support various devices and network types so that different customers can shop at your online store without hassles.

Multiple Features

You’d need to be clear on your ecommerce store needs when looking to get a payment gateway. Do the features on offer match your business needs? It might be a great idea to opt for a payment gateway with a range of features like delivering global solutions, supporting electronic invoicing, enabling all payments types. Other features to look out for include text/email reminders for customers and smart chargeback management.

Seamless Integration

You need a payment gateway that allows for seamless integration so that customers can easily make their payments on your ecommerce store. You should avoid at all costs any payment gateway that messes up the user experience on your ecommerce store by having a payment process that is slow and disjointed. Customers should be able to get on your store and opt for a payment method that suits them.

Merchant Account Support

You need a payment gateway that works well with merchant accounts because of the extra security it offers you and your customers. Plus, a merchant account enables your customers to manage their funds better since their funds are temporarily transferred to a retailer account. That allows your customers to feel more secure transacting business with your ecommerce store since they know they can manage their funds better when your payment gateway supports a merchant account.

Recurring Billing

The recurring billing model allows you to set up an automatic billing cycle for your ecommerce store customers. Your payment gateway should enable this model so that you can access all its attendant benefits.

Mobile Payments

Mobile payments are fast becoming a thing for online stores, especially with the ton of digital mobile wallets currently revolutionizing the scene. Get a payment gateway that allows your customers to make payments using their phones.

Round The Clock Customer Services

No matter how great a payment gateway is, there are bound to hitches or glitches once in a while. Sometimes some support is needed to get over such situations, and if you don’t have the proper customer support, you might run into avoidable issues. That is why your chosen payment gateway should have round the clock services that cater to such situations. It is not enough to have tickets and emails, and support. There should be live customer support for instances when manual instructions are required.

Endnote

Your ecommerce store can only go so far without an online payment gateway. It is vital for your ecommerce store, but more importantly, you should get the right one. The factors we just described will go a long way in ensuring that you get a payment gateway that serves your ecommerce store.

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