Important Features of an Online Payment Gateway

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Choosing the right payment gateway is crucial for online transactions as it serves as a digital bridge between the customer and the business.
• The best online payment gateway should allow for flexible integration and accept various payment methods and currencies, also from mobile devices.
• A payment gateway should also offer secure transactions and help you to build a trustworthy brand.
• You should be able to get valuable insights from your payment gateway and be informed about all the fees included for using it.
• A payment gateway is different from a payment processor.
• Payment Savvy offers you one of the best payment gateways you can find.

Successful business owners know that a web presence is needed to grow your company in the current economic climate.

Websites are now more complicated than only having a digital footprint, and organizations serious about being at the top of their game must have the ability to accept online payments in a manner that integrates easily with their current technology platform.

There are many online payment gateway options currently available, and selecting the right one can be confusing and time-consuming.

To make the right decision, it is advised to look for the best payment gateway features that will work most effectively for your current needs and expand as your business grows.

Choosing the best online payment gateway should also center around the user experience it creates for your customers. This includes ease of use, efficiency, and real-time payment processing.

Keep on reading to learn more about the most important features your online payment gateway needs to have!

YOUR ONLINE PAYMENT GATEWAY NEEDS FLEXIBLE PAYMENT INTEGRATION METHODS

Thanks to advances in payment processing technology, business owners do not need to employ a team of computer developers and programmers to engineer a web payment solution on their website.

To reduce the downtime in your business, it is essential to consider how quickly the payment platform will integrate with your existing software. The online payment gateway you ultimately select must have a comfortable and approachable user experience for your staff and customers.

If your online payment system is not working correctly, customers will abandon virtual shopping carts and purchase items from competitors, making you lose opportunities to earn a profit.

Your online payment gateway must also work seamlessly from the back end. If your employees have difficulty using the system, it leads to downtime and frustration.

Both negatively affect your bottom line, and that is something you certainly want to avoid.

Alt: A man using his laptop and holding a credit card

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YOUR ONLINE PAYMENT GATEWAY NEEDS TO PROVIDE A SECURE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

Consumers fully expect their personal and financial information to be safe and secure when submitting a payment online. Partnering with the right merchant service provider goes a long way to ensure your customers encounter a positive, safe, and secure experience when shopping on your website.

To show that you care for your customers, your organization should choose an online payment gateway that adequately protects their sensitive financial information. Always look for software solutions that include encryption technology, a secured card vault, and tokenization.

If you want to learn more about payment gateways and their benefits, check out our helpful payment gateway guide.

YOUR ONLINE PAYMENT GATEWAY NEEDS TO BUILD TRUST AND MEET THE COMPLIANCE STANDARDS

With so many data breaches and cyber-attacks happening nowadays, providing the best online payment gateway features plays a significant role in building a trustworthy brand.

Customers are aware and careful while making online transactions nowadays, so they are likely to trust you more if you inform them that you have applied advanced features of a payment gateway.

What’s more, they need to know that your business offers compliance with industry standards when it comes to secure online transactions. Any platform handling credit card payments is obliged to follow the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).

Apart from that, compliance with local data protection regulations reassures users that their personal information is handled with care, respecting their privacy rights and ensuring safety.

YOUR ONLINE PAYMENT GATEWAY NEEDS TO OFFER TRANSPARENT PRICING AND FEES

One of the important features of a payment gateway is undoubtedly its pricing. A good provider should offer transparent information about:

• Transaction fees
• Monthly fees
• Setup fees
• Any additional charges

Such transparency will allow your business to make an informed decision and contribute to your proper financial management. In this way, you will avoid unpleasant surprises and unexpected expenses.

YOUR PAYMENT GATEWAY SHOULD SUPPORT MULTIPLE CURRENCIES AND PAYMENT METHODS

If your e-commerce business works internationally, it should definitely provide flexibility in currencies. Moreover, even if you do not sell your products abroad for now, having such a payment gateway feature will prepare you for future possibilities of expanding your reach beyond the local markets.

Keep in mind that if customers from other countries are able to see prices and make payments in their local currencies, they may encourage them to make a purchase because it improves transparency and trust.

What’s more, it is also crucial to have an online payment gateway that supports a wide range of payment methods. Customers most often pay with credit and debit cards, but some of them prefer to use bank transfers, e-wallets (such as Paypal, Apple Pay, or Venmo), or even cryptocurrencies.

If you provide them with more possibilities, you will meet the needs of a diverse customer base, reducing the risk of losing sales because of the lack of the preferred payment method.

YOUR PAYMENT GATEWAY NEEDS TO OFFER ADVANCED REAL-TIME ANALYTICS AND REPORTING

In order to develop your business more consciously and effectively, you need to have access to as detailed data concerning your customers’ behavior as possible. For this reason, this is also one of the most significant payment gateway features.

The best online payment gateway should provide you with a dashboard offering insights into such data as:

• payment trends
• success rates
• customer behavior

With such analytics, you can make informed decisions, adjust your marketing strategies accordingly, and optimize your checkout processes to increase conversions and reduce cart abandonment rates.

YOUR PAYMENT GATEWAY NEEDS TO FULLY SUPPORT MOBILE TRANSACTIONS

More and more consumers shop for their goods and services on their mobile devices instead of using regular computers or laptops, so enabling mobile transactions is definitely one of the most significant payment gateway features.

In this way, you will not miss the opportunity to make a profit when a smartphone or tablet user wants to make a purchase on your website. Enabling them to make payments whenever they are and whatever device they use provides more flexibility and increases the probability of boosting sales.

WHAT FEATURES OF A PAYMENT GATEWAY MAKE IT DIFFERENT FROM A PAYMENT PROCESSOR?

While setting up online transactions on your website, it is also important to know the differences between a payment gateway and a payment processor.

To understand them better, take a look at the table below:

Feature	Payment Gateway	Payment Processor
Role in Transactions	Acts as a digital bridge between the merchant’s website and the payment processor.	Handles the actual processing of transactions, facilitating the transfers between banks.
Security	Provides encryption and security measures to protect data during transmission.	Provides compliance with financial regulations and standards, like PCI DSS, to secure transactions.
Integration	Integrates with online shopping carts and e-commerce platforms to provide a great checkout experience.	Directly connects merchants, issuing banks, and acquiring banks without direct integration into the merchant’s website.
Transaction Feedback	Sends authorization requests and communicates an approval or a decline back to the merchant’s site instantly.	Manages the settlement of funds and makes sure money from sales is deposited into the merchant’s account.
Fraud Prevention	Offers tools for detecting and preventing fraud attempts, such as AVS and CVV checks.	May provide certain fraud management services but mostly focuses on the secure movement of funds.
Functionality	Mostly aimed at securing and transmitting transaction data.	Mainly aimed at the financial aspects of transactions, including fund settlement and compliance.
Merchant Accounts	Typically does not provide merchant accounts.	Often provides or facilitates merchant accounts required for processing payments.
Payment Method Handling	Facilitates collecting payment details for a variety of payment methods.	Processes a wide range of payment methods, including credit cards, debit cards, ACH payments, etc.

INVEST IN THE BEST PAYMENT GATEWAY AT PAYMENT SAVVY

Payment Savvy specializes in providing businesses with the ability to accept safe and secure credit card, debit card, and ACH payments. Please contact Payment Savvy today to review your options regarding our online payment gateway solutions and obtain answers to your questions.

We look forward to hearing from you and working with your company. Start benefiting from the best payment gateway features and invest in the Payment Savvy solution to modernize and develop your business!

FAQ

1. What is the main function of online payment gateways?

An online payment gateway is a processing platform facilitating the exchange of funds between a customer and a company. It makes it possible to pay for your goods and services using various methods, such as credit or debit cards, mobile transactions, digital wallets, or cryptocurrencies.

1. What are the features of the best online payment gateway?

The best payment gateway should allow for flexible integration methods and various payment options. What’s more, it should be adjusted to mobile transactions and international payments. Apart from that, an online payment gateway should provide you with the necessary data and keep them secure.

1. Why are data analytics essential for making a payment processing platform more effective?

With data analytics, you will have access to helpful insights into your business performance and customer perception. As a result, you will be able to make better decisions, facilitating your company’s growth. Namely, it can help you verify such aspects as the historical performance of different locations and loyalty programs or other special offers.