From last few years, eCommerce sites and apps are expanding rapidly with huge success. With this payment gateways are also in demand. Nowadays making an online payment on a website is not a tough task for people. According to a recent study, around 60 percent people wish to be their favored payment method when making a purchase and 85 percent of people do payment via credit or debit cards. A payment gateway is a software application that bridges a gap between an eCommerce website and the bank that authorizes (or declines) a customer’s credit card payment. It simply helps in the processing of credit cards and assures the payment is done. Credit and debit cards, eCheck (ACH), and cryptocurrencies like bitcoin are all processed through payment gateways. It acts like a connecting pipe, through which transactions can be done automatically from the customer to the retailer. So, it is the final step of the sales process on an ecommerce website. Some recognized payment gateways are PayPal, BrainTree, Amazon Payments, PayU, Stripe etc.
When you’re setting up your e-commerce store, selecting the right payment gateway for your business is one of the vital decisions you make. It influences how much it costs you to do business, as well as how customers feel about buying from your eCommerce store. If it works well and gains trust, that in turn amplifies your bottom line. By implementing payment gateways in your eCommerce store, it becomes easy to accept several types of electronic payments. Finding the payment gateway which accurately matches your business will be a time-consuming process with a huge list of choices. As there are many factors to keep in mind when making your eCommerce Payment Gateway selection. In this blog, factors are described so that you can think through.
1. Support of eCommerce platform – Initially check the support of payment gateway with your eCommerce platform. All the factors are secondary if it is not supported by your eCommerce platform. So you need to check whether it supports customers’ preferred payment methods. Customers are likely to purchase when the payment method is of their comfort. Another thing to check whether they integrate via an Application Programming Interface (API) or not. If so, this integration ready to use or not (does it still needs to be developed)? You also need to check if they offer a full site Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate.
2. Implementation cost – Before you implement a payment gateway on your eCommerce site for making transaction easy, you have to pay to several different parties like payment gateway provider, merchant bank account provider and your website provider. Understanding the fee structure of the service provider is essential before you finalize the payment gateway, as the hidden fees can degrade your profit level. It is preferable to lower these charges as much as it inflates the business bottom-line. Every gateway varies when it comes to fees, some have a monthly subscription fee for a fixed number of transactions while some charge a fee per transaction.
3. Compatible on all devices - According to the research of eMarketers, over past 2-3 years, approximately 15 percent of e-commerce sales were conducted on a mobile device, and customers are increasing steadily. When you are selecting payment gateway, make sure that you are able to provide an active checkout experience that is responsive to different mobile devices, and changes according to the size and resolution of a selected device.
4. Countries and Multi-Currencies Supported – If you are dealing with your eCommerce business globally (in multiple countries) then your payment gateway must have a multi-currency option for your international shoppers. Customers are more likely to purchase a product from a website if it supports their native currency. Also, it allows the business owners to charge their clients in their native currencies.
5. Security - Security of card payment data is a key aspect while selecting a payment gateway partner. As more customers are turning to online shopping, it is important that you offer them an experience that feels them safe with their data. Payment Gateway service provider should be level 1 compliant with the PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard). This assures they have attained the utmost level of card data security. Also, make sure your platform provides robust security features.
6. Automatic Billing Support - If you are selling services or products which require subscriptions, then you should go for payment gateway having an automatic recurring plan. With this feature, you can set up an automatic billing cycle for customers who operate on subscription. It is essential for companies with monthly payment plans. Therefore, non-profits have found utility in recurring billing, because it allows organizations to easily collect funds easily from repeat contributors.
7. Customer Support – What if your payment gateway is having some technical problem and your customers are not able to do payment for products/services on your site. Then here comes the requirement of support. Several payment services are also available which do not provide any customer support. Then, users need to follow manual instructions to fix a problem. To avoid that situation, ensure whether the provider offers live technical support, at least within standard working hours, so that you can quickly resolve any technical problems.
Conclusion
The payment process is the final step of sales in eCommerce store. If it is not favored by your customer then you are losing your business. It is such a critical part of your business that you can’t afford to take a hit-and-trial approach. But selecting and implementing the right payment gateway is not that tough if you understand your eCommerce business needs. By selecting the right payment gateway for your eCommerce business can have an immediate and positive influence on your customer’s experience and your profitability. The bottom line is to do proper research and consider the above-discussed factors before choosing the right payment gateway.
We hope this blog will help you pick the right payment gateway. For more clarity on payment gateways or if you require any digital assistance, feel free to drop us a message in the comment section below or email us at info@ecomsolver.com
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