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16 Checklist on How to choose a Payment Gateway in 2023?

Taking a business online is the best way to increase its reach to potential customers. Most young entrepreneurs have given shape to their dreams online. With the rise in the number of users of broadband connectivity, e-commerce has risen to a new pedestal. This article will help you how to choose a Payment Gateway.

Getting paid for your time and services ensures quality on both the merchant’s as well as the customer’s ends. But, it is equally important for you to look into secure payment options for your customers. A user-friendly interface with a seamless payment flow helps in increasing traffic to your site.

Most recent reports show that most times if customers abandon their carts, it’s because of choosing a user-friendly payment gateway. Thus, before investing in a Payment Gateway, certain essential factors need to be considered.

15 Factors To Choose Best Payment Gateway

Here are the fifteen factors to consider to select the best payment gateway in India for personal and business use.

1. Payment Methods

Before starting any business, always know your target audience. Customers of the older generations like sticking to conventional methods of payment. This may include credit/ debit cards or options like pay-on delivery. Newer generations are more comfortable transacting online and freely. A rise in the use of PayTM/ PayPal wallets was seen. Select the payment gateway after careful consideration in this field.

2. Transaction fees

Choosing a payment gateway doesn’t mean only paying to the payment gateway provider. If you opt for a merchant account, that will include a separate cost. Sometimes, even your website provider might charge some extra money to integrate the plug-in into your site.

Initially, the setup cost is zero for most of the payment gateways. But, an annual maintenance charge is always calculated. Sometimes, getting a paid upgraded version might include more security features and easy access.

3. Locations supported

Location is a factor that can often create trouble for growing businesses. If you are an Indian merchant, then your site will also get registered with the Indian payment provider. If you want to operate from multiple countries then you might have to look for payment gateway providers that work from multiple countries.

9 Factors to Consider before choosing a Payment Gateway | BizApprise

4. E-Commerce platforms’ support

Your e-commerce site should be able to integrate the payment gateway that you choose. Certain issues need to be addressed before making the final decision of purchasing a particular payment gateway.

  • Get sufficient information to confirm if your e-Commerce site will support the customers’ payment methods.
  • Know the type of gateways that can be supported by them and if the site will support multiple gateways, if necessary.
  • The Application Programming Interface (API) is one of the keys to integrating the payment gateway. It is important to know if the site’s API is ready to integrate the payment gateway chosen by you.
  • Get information on all the kinds of Web page security certifications that are provided by the site (e.g.: Secure Socket layer Protection).

5. Security and fraud policies

Online security is a major area of concern. Make sure that the payment gateway you choose, abides by all the PCI Guidelines. If possible, choose gateways that make use of biometric information to authenticate a transaction. This will remove the need for storing sensitive data like CVV numbers.

There are many anti-theft and anti-fraud policies available by recommended institutes. Understand if they have been implemented in the gateway of your choice.

Payment Gateway Security | BizApprise

6. User-Interface

Customers are familiar with bigger online shopping platforms. So, try to provide a similar experience on your business platform. Matching up to bigger enterprises will bring more traffic to your work site. Make sure that all necessary payment information is available to the customers. In case, they get redirected to another page for payment processing, they should not get confused.

7. International Solutions

Most entrepreneurs start off small but later on plan to expand their businesses accordingly. In this case, it might be possible that payments may be made in foreign currencies or from foreign banks. The International payment gateway fees are higher and there is also the cost of paying for currency conversion. Weigh all the pros and cons before consolidating on a particular choice.

8. 24/7 Technical Support

Some of the high-risk industries include Dating, Gambling, Gaming, Travelling, and Adult Entertainment. These businesses require high-risk processors, which also implies more involvement from the payment gateway providers. So, it is always better to protect your business and look for providers with 24*7 technical and customer support.

9. Reputation and Service Agreement

Agreements should be handled by leading law experts. They should be air-tight and free of any loopholes. Get a trial of the gateway’s services. Ask around from the gateway’s users and make sure that all their security policies are intact and have not been breached in the past. Get feedback from reputed businesses before employing their services. The payment gateway that you choose should be well-known and trusted in the industry. Do not take a chance on your dream and hard work.

How to choose a Payment Gateway | BizApprise

10. Storing Payment Information

The payment gateway stores the payment information that a customer has entered at the time of billing. This saves time for customers in the future. All the data is encrypted to ensure that no fraudulent activities can put it at risk.

11. Encryption of sensitive data

The payment gateway encrypts all the required information before transmitting the data to the payment processor. This makes sure that the data does not land in the wrong hands. Secure Socket Layer Protection techniques are used to assure the same.

12. Recurring billing system

Before subscription-based pricing was mostly used for newspapers and periodic magazines. However, in recent times, many businesses have started implementing this payment feature in their ventures. Adopting subscription-based pricing shows the loyalty and trustworthiness of the customers. The recurring billing feature helps to automate this process.

13. Virtual Terminal

A virtual terminal is a secure web page to process card payments online. It processes the transaction directly through the merchant’s web browser, once the necessary card details have been entered. There is a significant drop in the processing rates when the card is present.

14. PCI Compliance

As a merchant, if you accept payments via credit cards then you need to abide by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards or PCI requirements. Make sure that the payment gateway that you integrate with your business should comply with the PCI guidelines and certifications.

15. API Tools and Developer Information

Most of the well-known and trusted payment gateways give the freedom to the merchants to customize their gateways to fit in with the sites. The user interface is also taken care of in the process.

16. Integration

Integrating with popular tools, like QuickBooks, is easier than ever. Most companies dealing with payment gateways on their sites have multiple other plug-ins for better reach. Companies like ‘Shopify’ are providing a better than-ever shopping cart experience.

Conclusion

Selecting the right payment gateway for your e-commerce site is an important decision to make. Do not rush through the whole process. The above-mentioned factors have often hidden details, intricately woven into the agreement. Get leading, trusted law experts to go through the service agreement.

You are looking for a long-term commitment with the payment gateway provider. Have technical experts look into the security policies. Also, it is always advisable to get feedback from companies employing the gateway’s services. Be safe online.

Aditya Goyal
Aditya Goyal

Author, Researcher, and SEO Expert with over 6 years of experience in Writing Content on Money Making Ideas, Startup Resources, and Business Growth. With a background in Marketing and Operations, I love to help individuals/businesses to create their own success stories.

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