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6 Elements To Consider When Choosing A Payment Gateway

According to The Payer’s “Payment Methods Report 2019”, it was found that 86 percent of customers use both their credit cards and debit cards to make their online purchases. When it comes to making a purchase, more than 60 percent claimed that this same method was their preferred form of payment. 

The primary goal behind payment gateways is to make certain payment processing is secure, seamless, and streamlined. With the number of e-Commerce websites growing exponentially, there is no shortage of payment gateway providers. However, there are some important factors to consider before choosing a payment gateway. Take a look at these six elements before researching and selecting your payment gateway.

6 Elements To Examine Before You Choose A Payment Gateway

  • Ensure Your Customers Feel Safe And Protected.

It is now expected that your business, regardless of its size, should provide the highest level of security on its website. Therefore, an important consideration to look out for in a payment gateway is to ensure that it is certified in following the information security standards such as PCI-DSS. Administered by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council, the PCI Standard is a mandate required by major credit card brands. 

  • Consider The Fees And Your User Agreement.

Payment gateway prices vary widely and are based on a variety of factors including: the type of transactions the business carries out, the frequency of transactions, the consistency of revenue, and the type of markets the business targets. 

Equally important is determining how your particular business model corresponds with the payment provider. Specifically, take a look at the payment gateway’s fee structure. There are some that involve setup fees as well as contracts. They might even have clauses within their contract that charge transaction fees if a transaction volume or number of orders is not fulfilled. 

  • Efficient Transactions.

According to SalesCycle, the average rate of cart abandonment is 75.6% worldwide. This high average is seen across all industries. It has been a clear struggle for marketers to lower this number in the past few years. 

One of the best ways to reduce shopping cart abandonment is to give customers a clear, straightforward checkout process. If the payment process is clunky and inefficient, demanding that they register, or make it too obvious that they are being re-routed to a third-party site, they will go away. 

  • Simplify Checkout Across All Devices.

According to Barilliance’s research study, mobile phones carry the highest abandonment rate of all devices. The average rate is at 85.65%. Many companies are still failing to optimize their websites for the use of handheld devices. Therefore, make sure your payment gateway can accommodate different mobile devices as well as networks.

  • A Myriad Of Features To Choose From.

Depending on the needs of your business, a payment gateway provider may have a variety of features to offer. For instance, if your customer base is worldwide, your payment gateway should offer you a “global solution”. This entails accepting a variety of credit cards, debit cards, as well as currency.

Payment gateways, outside of just securely processing payments, should offer you more ways to support your business such as chargeback management, electronic invoicing, text/email reminders for customers, just to name a few. 

  • Simple Integration. 

Seek a payment gateway that is easy to integrate, is not time-consuming, or extremely complicated to set up. The right payment gateway should be one that does not interrupt or slow down your customer’s user experience on your website. It should facilitate the way customers make payments, based on their preferred payment method. 

Knowledge Is Power 

Choosing the right payment gateway for your e-Commerce business is an important step in ensuring that your customers’ payments are safe and secure, keeping both customers and your bank account satisfied.