What is an Internet Payment Gateway?
An Internet payment gateway is a special technology used for real time processing of credit card transactions on the web. If you own an online business, using a payment gateway allows you to confirm the transaction for your customer immediately, so they will know straight away if the transaction went through or not.
Do you need an Internet Payment Gateway?
Is an Internet Payment Gateway the Same as a Shopping Cart?
No – having a shopping cart system on your website does not necessarily mean you have an Internet payment gateway. A payment gateway works in tandem with a shopping cart, but you can have an ecommerce website with a shopping cart without having a payment gateway in place. However, there are a few big advantages to having a payment gateway.
What Are the Advantages of an Internet Payment Gateway?
An Internet payment gateway serves several key functions when it comes to credit card transaction processing for online businesses. For starters, it verifies each credit card transaction with the credit card company within a matter of seconds. But this isn’t all that’s required for you to actually receive the funds – the Internet payment gateway also batches and sends all of your daily transactions off to your merchant account provider, which is a necessary step before you can actually receive the funds into your account.
All in all, a payment gateway can end up giving you access to funds that come in via credit card purchases much faster by speeding up the authorization and settling processes. There can also be some big advantages when it comes to accounting, as some Internet payment gateways can be integrated with accounting software for more automated tracking of transactions.
There are also big advantages for owners of high traffic websites. Large websites on which dozens, hundreds or thousands of users may be filling shopping carts and carrying out transactions at the same time require an Internet payment gateway because this allows for an unlimited number of transactions to be made at the same time. A gateway can also offer advantages in the form of manual transaction entering (when you take phone orders, for instance) and through safeguards and measures that help prevent fraudulent transactions.
To summarize, the key purposes of an Internet payment gateway are authorizing your customer’s credit card and making sure they have funds available to make a purchase.
How Do You Set Up an Internet Payment Gateway?
In order to take advantage of the benefits an Internet payment gateway can offer, you need to have an Internet merchant account. Be aware that there are different types of merchant accounts – if you own a brick-and-mortar store and are already accepting credit card payments in store, you may still need to set up a separate online merchant account. If you need help finding a bank or other merchant account provider that can offer you a good deal, contact us here at eMerchantBroker and we will search through our database and pair you up with the best services for your needs.