Why you need a payment gateway you can trust
If you are selling products or services online then you will need a Payment Gateway.
An essential component for any e-commerce site or site where the customer can make a purchase and pay online is a Payment Gateway. The Payment gateway acts as the seamless and secure method to accept fund and move them securely between the customer and your business.
The gateway is your middle man to ensure the transaction is taken securely and confirming receipt so you are able to process the order.
Gateway options
There are many payment gateway options available and it can be daunting deciding which is the best to go for.
PayPal is one of the most popular and supported payment options online. It is very easy to setup and running on a site, but it comes at a price. With an average fee of 2.9% per order this can soon build up and consume some of the valuable profit from your online sale.
Many banks also offer payment gateway options which range in complexity on setup. With a range of credit and debit card options available with added security and know that the fund are deposited directly into your bank account. Rates vary on the fees for individual purchases plus often a base rate or monthly fee.
Payment Gateway solutions such as Stripe, SagePay or Gr8Pay offer options of payment methods you can offer on your site. These options will allow you to offer most major credit card options as well as PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay and split payment options. But offering a selection of payment methods to your customers will help with order completion. Allowing the customer to choose which payment option best suits and they feel the most comfortable with. Fees for these can vary depending on the payment options chosen.
Split payments & Credit
Sometimes you might want to give the customer the option credit to allow the customer to pay by instalments. This is can be really useful for when a total order price is quite large and helps the customer split the payments into easier to manage amounts. These payment options will manage all checks and set an agreement up with the customer. Fees for these can vary as sometimes with a set fee, 0% grace period or with interested added. These costs are normally charged as extra to your customer.
When a split payment or credit option has been agreed then the funds for the order are generally released in full to your account with the payment provider managing the collection of the funds with the customer for you.
Klarna are a popular provider that can offer split payments on your site.
Refunds and Chargebacks
When you take payment online then you will also need the option to be able to refund and give chargebacks to customer for returned orders.
With a Payment Gateway provider you often get a simply user friendly interface when you can manage these and ensure the funds a paid back to the same card or payment method they were originally paid in.
Some providers will charge you a set see for initiating refunds.
Security
It goes without saying the security is essential when dealing with payment details. Without security you could be opening your transaction details to fraud.
Any website that takes customer details must have an SSL certificate to ensure all data is encrypted between your site and the customer.
Often Payment Gateways will offer you a secure platform where you direct the customer to where they input their details. These need to be PCI DSS Level 1 with complex algorithms to constantly monitor transactions and protect your customers.
Gateway setup
Wicko Design can offer to install and setup the Payment Gateway on your site and ensure everything is running smoothly.
Contact us to discuss adding payment methods to your e-commerce website and order process.