Online shopping has become almost an order of the day if I can say that. Starting from your clothes to even your daily grocery, just through a few taps on the payment gateway of your choice.
However, you would be surprised to note that until the pandemic struck, these payment gateways, though popular, were not such a craze, to say the least, but, after the pandemic saw a gradual halt, it came to be realized that one needs to incorporate these tech stacks into their daily use so as to make their lives easier.
Look at the graph below to understand this growth better:
Image source: financesonline.com
When you look at this graph, you can actually get an idea that how from the year 2015 where the volume related to mobile payment transactions in the US was around 8.6 billion dollars, became close to around 274.4 billion dollars. In other words, the volume exponentially skyrocketed.
Thus, it became somewhat like a requirement for almost every business, particularly those engaged in the eCommerce business to empower themselves with a payment gateway.
In this post, I will highlight this area, explaining payment gateways, first, followed by, the reasons why they are popular, some of the popular payment gateways, and the features they have that have made them a hot favourite among online merchants as well as shoppers. Finally, I will give you an insight into the steps that you should follow during the course of mobile app development when performing the task of payment gateway integration for the eCommerce platform.
Introducing You to Payment Gateways
In very simple words, a payment gateway is a technology that helps in capturing, and, transferring payment data from the customer to the acquirer or the online merchant.
This makes tasks such as making and receiving payments a seamless process.
All that the customer has to do while using these mediums is fill in some necessary details, which include, their credit or debit card number, the expiry date of the card, and, finally the CVV. Once all these details are filled, the payment gets processed and made, after which, the amount gets transferred to the account of the online merchant.
So, you see, these mediums make it convenient for customers to perform payments. Additionally, it assists the eCommerce business most importantly to get a name for its reliability due to the secure nature of the payment process that it encompasses as a whole.
Still, wondering why it is so beneficial after all? Have a look at these points below.
Reasons Why Payment Gateways have Gained Popularity in the Recent Years.
Image source: lyra.com
In the image above, I have highlighted the advantages of these mediums for the customer, and, the online merchant.
Below I will explain the same in detail to you.
Provides a Swift Checkout Experience
Think about it. Your customer is interested in your product and wants to purchase it. So, what they do is they enter the details, and finally get a really swift checkout experience. This is something that can be possible only if you have a payment gateway for your perusal. It will ensure that the online shopping experience on a whole becomes seamless.
Increases Sales
According to statistics, close to around 40% of customers cancel their purchase in a situation wherein they witness a very complex method to make their payments. However, if the payment option is easy, you can be assured of one important thing, that is, impulse purchase. This means increased sales, which means, immense revenues for your eCommerce business.
Helps to Achieve Secure Transactions
Security is a prerequisite, especially, when it comes to online payment platforms. So, when it comes to payment gateways, in particular, you can be assured that the transactions will be absolutely secure, to say the least. This is due to the compliance these mediums have with security standards, such as PCI, DSS, to name a few.
Other than the reasons that have been listed above, the other reasons why payment gateways are popular include-
- Easy integration feasibility with the shopping cart
- Accelerates pace of payment processing
- Makes it convenient for customers to get access to multiple payment options
- Chargeback prevention provided
- Fraud management is made possible
- Recurring billing is made easier
So, in totality, looking at these points, you can understand that indeed it is a good idea to get a payment gateway integration for an eCommerce platform.
It will ensure that customers can purchase products from your online shopping app at a lightning-fast speed with utmost security maintained.
Understanding these benefits, I am sure that you now want to gain knowledge on the payment gateways that are currently popular in the market.
So without much ado, let me introduce you to them.
Popular Payment Gateways that Customers Use Currently
Stripe
Coming first on the list, Stripe is known for providing support to startups and large enterprises in tasks such as accepting payments, sending payments, and, most importantly, managing their payments online. Simultaneously, it assists customers in tasks like managing their different activities such as bills, and, subscriptions, for instance. Finally, the assistance they provide in managing frauds, sending invoices, issuing both virtuals as well as physical cards, performing the task of financing, and finally, keeping track of the business spending, makes it a favourite among businesses at large. Here are some businesses that are already using its services. This includes Lyft, Instacart, Booking.com, to name a few.
PayPal
Already being used by brands like GRUBHUB, POTTERY BARN, Spotify, etc., PayPal is a payment gateway that closes to around a million users use for making their day-to-day online transactions. Consists of features like giving customers the ease to store their cards, bank accounts, etc., within their digital wallet, apart from the flexibility to receive their payments before the day they are supposed to receive their paycheques, followed by the ease to manage their different subscriptions, etc, all at one place, make it a payment gateway that customers and businesses both recommend for online transactions.
Braintree
If you are a small eCommerce business or a large one, Braintree is a payment gateway integration that I recommend.
Owned by PayPal, it is known for its overall flexibility. Provides users with the ease to manage their cards, and use them, along with providing them with the convenience to use different payment methods like credit, and, debit cards, apart from PayPal, Venmo, etc, and recently if you are a bitcoin fan, then you get the power to use Coinbase too.
So, altogether, if put short, you can use Braintree for making any sort of payment within an app, across any device, for that matter.
Currently, there are several businesses already utilizing their services, like Uber, Airbnb, American Airlines, to name a few.
Along with these gateways that I listed above, some other popular ones present in the market are, Amazon Pay, Skrill, 2Checkout, among others.
All of these gateways have constituents that are common among them. This includes:
- Multiple payment options
- Customized checkout options
- Multiple currencies and language support
- Account Updater
- Integration support with 100+ online carts and systems
After going through all this, I am sure, you want to get your eCommerce app empowered with a payment gateway integration. It is however recommended that you remember these tips first.
How To Integrate Payment Gateway For eCommerce Platform – Points to Remember
Research Research Research
Before anything else, make sure that you do your research well. This means, understanding the market needs first. Next, get an understanding of how the app payment works in these locations. This is because every location has a unique set of rules and regulations when it comes to finances. Thus, when you perform this step, it will go on to assist you in selecting a payment gateway that is appropriate for you.
Create an Easy to Understand Design
This is a point that you should remember at all times. It is necessary that when you select a payment tool for integration, you should also be able to modify it, at the same time. Simultaneously, it should also appear organic as well as harmonious. All these areas will help you make improvements if necessary in a flawless manner and assist customers to use the solution regardless of any form of technical understanding.
Find Features That Could Take Your eCommerce Business Far
Though a very interesting area to take into consideration, make sure to also take legalities into view. Once you have checked on this area, you can go ahead with adding features that can help your app become a hit. This can include features such as giving customers the feasibility to make payments through cryptocurrencies.
Perform a Security Audit
As I explained earlier when you have a payment gateway you obviously cannot be wary of safety and security. This is because in case the area is ignored your customers would no longer be using your app. Hence, make sure that when you perform the task of mobile app development during the course of payment gateway integration, you pay equal focus on performing a complete security audit. This also includes keeping one important point, that is, keeping adherence to the PCI-DSS standards. The same will help you keep any possible security issues under strict check.
Maintain Transparency
This is another point that you should keep in mind. When you are selecting a payment gateway, make sure that you also place equal focus on the ways these solutions share information with their users. This includes details related to the payment process, followed by the overall authorization as well as the verification process.
Reputation is a Must
Reputation is something that you cannot ignore when you embark on having a particular payment gateway integrated with eCommerce app development. This will support you to get an idea of the performance of their products in the market at the moment.
Identify Products You Want to Sell
Identification is a very important point that you should take into due consideration when you are embarking on the journey of payment gateway integration for an eCommerce platform. For example, if you want to sell physical products or services it is recommended to integrate payment processors such as MasterCard, or, Stripe. But if you are selling digital goods, Google Play Store and App Store are recommended. You can also get in touch with a mobile app development company in case you want to gain more insight into this area.
Is Payment Gateway Easily Integrable?
Your developers should take considerably less time when they integrate a payment gateway. Therefore, make sure that the process is as seamless as possible. Additionally, also take into consideration the SDK size, along with researching the size of the user’s mobile device where they will be using it, apart from looking into the coding platforms these integrations will support, and so on. All this and much more will help your payment gateway integration become a hit among developers and users alike.
Research on the Merchant Account Kind You Want to Include
There are several forms of merchant accounts that are quite popular for catering to the different business requirements. However, the ones that are most in prominence include aggregated as well as dedicated seller accounts. Both despite having their miscellaneous pros and cons are quite a trend anyway. Therefore, it is recommended that you choose the merchant account wisely.
For instance, if you are considering a faster fund process, then a dedicated seller account is what will help you in this regard. Simultaneously, one that is focused on cost, in other words, one that is known for charging huge funds, is a dedicated seller account. Hence, make sure to understand this area well.
In addition to this, it is also recommended to follow the steps listed below when you embark on getting a payment gateway integration.
- First understand, then integrate the server and client-side SDK. This will prevent occurrences of errors completely and ensure a safe payment mechanism as well as data sharing for your users.
- While building the application checkout system check on the API too. It will help maintain safety during the course of transactions, apart from encrypting the data of card users, making payment authorizations simpler, and confirming the transactions, as well.
- Work towards becoming a certified merchant and ensuring the protection of all necessary payment data. Through strict adherence to the PCI-DSS standards, along with validation of application security through the Assessment forms you fill up for Level D, you can be able to successfully serve the different payment requirements for your users.
Concluding Lines – Select Your Payment Gateway Wisely
With payment gateways, the overall shopping experience for your users becomes easier and more convenient, along with giving the necessary support to the merchants as well in getting their products live on the platform.
However, it is recommended to select the medium wisely. Focus on the products that your online shopping platform will sell, apart from the integration ease the payment gateways will provide, along with its overall reputation which can be checked through the customer reviews and feedback, and, the clients that are already using it. All these areas will help you get access to a payment gateway that brings wonders for your eCommerce business, in addition to supporting it in making enormous revenues as well.