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Everything You Need to Know About Payment Gateways

• Posted by John Driver July 19, 2021 Filed in Business #Online  #website payment gateway  #e-commerce  66 views
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  Payments gateways are what keep the payment systems rolling smoothly, as they enable online payments for consumers, as well as businesses. A payment gateway is the technology that captures and transfers payment data from the customer to the acquirer. If you are an online merchant, you don’t need to be an expert on payment gateways, but it is a good idea to understand the basics of online payments and how the money flows between accounts.

  What is a payment gateway?

  As mentioned, it is the technology that captures and transfers payment data from the customer to the acquirer and then sends the payment acceptance or decline back to the customer. Payment gateways are used to validate the customer’s card details and ensure that they have enough funds available for the payment and eventually enables merchants to receive their money. It acts as a “middleman” between a merchant’s website and its customer. It encrypts any sensitive data such as card details, ensuring that information is passed securely from one account to the next.

  Why do we need payment gateways?

  As you can imagine, online payments are processed as a card-not-present transaction due to the fact that the customer cannot physically swipe their card as they would at a brick-and-mortar shop. Therefore, a person can only rely on the card’s information that the customer enters within the payment page. But how does one know if the information is legit and actually their own card? This is where payment gateways come into play. They are like the gatekeepers to your customer’s payment data. For online merchants, a payment gateway relays the information for you, the merchant, to the customer and the issuing bank using data encryption to keep any unwanted threats away from the sensitive information. The gateways can also protect merchants from expired cards, insufficient funds, closed accounts, and even exceeding credit limits.

  Can a multi-channel payment gateway help with cross-border sales?

  If you get your business a multi-channel payment gateway, it enables you to accept payments in various different currencies and enables you to process payments and accept online payments from customers worldwide! International gateway services can help your business offer multiple currency options so that international customers can pay in their choice of currency. This offers dynamic currency conversions, as well as simplified international payment authorisations and settlements.

  How to choose the best payment gateway for your business:

  Payment gateways and merchant accounts may sound like a challenge, but they do not have to be as hard as you may think! When you are searching for a provider for a website payment gateway, there are a couple things that you should look out for. Try and find a one-stop-shop provider, where your payment service provider offers you a flexible and easy to use payment platform that includes the gateway, popular alternative payment methods, shopping cart integration, as well as fraud screening services. Make sure that the company you choose is a certified provider of payment gateways.