People are not exaggerating when they say digitization will replace cash if it has not already done so. The e-commerce and online payment gateway boom have aided this in many ways. By providing a secure and easy way to transact, the payment gateway has paved the path towards a cashless society.
A payment gateway authorizes eCommerce and online businesses to process payment securely from the customer to the merchant. Instead of setting up manual payment methods, the payment gateway offers a complete all-in-one solution to accept several electronic payment types.
What are the Benefits of a Payment Gateway?
No doubt, payment gateways improve the overall performance of your business with an all-in-one payment solution.
Expanded customer base
Enforcing payment gateways allows you to connect your business with the whole world. It enables global customers to access your store, which expands your customer base exponentially.
Faster transactions processing
A payment gateway is much quicker than manual processing. Your customer can buy without any inconvenience and save time.
Added convenience
Your customers can shop at any hour from their comfort zone using a payment gateway. By having a payment gateway, your business operates beyond the traditional working shift.
What to Look for in the Best Payment Gateway
To ease the decision-making process, here are the factors that you should consider when choosing a payment gateway.
Fast processing speed
The payment gateway’s main intention is to make payment-processing fast, effective, secure and hassle-free. Keep an eye out for the payment processing time and the time required to transfer money from your customer’s account to yours. Likewise, make sure your payment gateway enables optimized checkout without creating a new account.
Easy integration
Online payment gateway integration on your e-commerce or website might be rough. An ideal payment solution should integrate seamlessly with your e-commerce platform and website. It should also be easy to customize the solution. Look for the payment gateways with well-documented integration guides, API references and 24/7 support.
Security
One of the biggest threats in online payment is security breaches or data theft. While choosing your payment gateway, double-check if the payment gateway offers unbeatable security, anti-fraud protection and PCI-DSS compliance. If your payment gateway offers a secure checkout and payment experience to the customers, it increases trust and revenue.
Multiple payment authorization methods
When your customers head towards check out, they want a hassle-free and convenient experience. To ensure this, payment gateway providers must authorize payment via multiple options: cards, digital wallets, fingerprints or even voice recognition. Look for a payment gateway that enables the customer to confirm a purchase via different methods.
The Best Payment Gateway
Here are the top picks of the best payment gateway based on their price, ease of use, integrations, customer support and more.
PayPal
PayPal is one of the most accomplished and recognized payment gateways with more than 200 million active users worldwide. It works with most e-commerce payment processors and accepts 26 currencies from over 200+ countries.
Pros: PayPal offers easy integration, simple checkout buttons, fully customizable options, online invoicing, buyer protection and One-Touch payment. Plus, PayPal provides a vast number of integrations with significant eCommerce to accounting software and shipping options. All PayPal plans come with no annual or setup fees.
Cons: The only negative is that Paypal charges more than a traditional payment gateway.
Pricing: It charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. For international payments, PayPal takes 4.4% plus a fixed fee based on the country.
Rating: 4.4 stars
Authorize.Net
Authorize.Net is one of the established payment gateways that work with nearly any merchant account and accept transactions from customers from every part of the world.
Pros: Authorize.Net accepts payments from major credit cards, phone payments and point of sale payments. It comes with advanced fraud detection and ensures secure customer information management. With this gateway, both new and experienced users can swiftly accept and transfer payments into any merchant bank account.
Cons: The downside of Authorize.Net is its pricing which might be more expensive with high flat processing rates for an all-in-one option.
Pricing: It offers a single flat processing rate for the All-in-one option with a $25 monthly gateway and 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction fee. It also provides tailored pricing for businesses processing more than five hundred thousand dollars per year.
Rating: 4 stars
Stripe
Stripe is another powerful payment gateway engineered for growth. It’s a third-party processor which provides flexible integration options with robust APIs that allow you to customize your payment processes.
Pros: Stripe is one platform for all your payment needs that scales with your needs. If you’re tech-savvy, Stripe will offer you an incredibly reliable and well-considered framework well suited to your needs. But that also makes it unsuitable for beginners.
Cons: Stripe has no automatic tax support and people have often complained about the difficulty in finding answers related to specific use cases of API functionalities.
Pricing: Stripe is a pay-as-you-go processor. A Stripe transaction fee is 2.9% plus $0.30, but it offers a clear advantage to merchants based in Europe with its 1.4% fee per transaction. It also provides a customized plan for more significant volume needs.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Amazon Pay
Amazon Pay is an online payment gateway introduced by Amazon that allows millions of customers worldwide to pay using their information stored in Amazon. It increases your customer reach and retains them by leveraging the trust in Amazon.
Pros: The easy-to-use services, Amazon fraud protection, integrations with major eCommerce platforms and use of Alexa or pay by voice function makes Amazon Pay stand out in the list of payment gateway solutions.
Cons: However, you need an Amazon account to make a payment. It has minimal support for in-store payments.
Pricing: Amazon Pay’s pricing structure is transparent and straightforward. It offers a flat fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
Rating: 4.2 stars
Braintree
Braintree is one of the traditional payment gateways owned by PayPal. This payment gateway offers the best consistency and affordability in comparison to the entire e-commerce processing industry.
Pros: Braintree is best for startups. It provides an enormous number of unique features and services without any additional charge. It also offers merchant service accounts, accepts all major credit cards, protects from fraud and has an encrypted vault.
Cons: However, it is not recommended to high-risk industries and its gateway-only option is expensive as it charges $49 per month + $0.10 per transaction.
Pricing: Braintree offers simple pricing with no hidden or monthly fees. It costs you 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction and offers tailored pricing based on your volume and business model.
Rating: 3.7 stars
Pave your Way to the Cashless Future
An all-in-one payment gateway can help you better connect with your customers. But not all of the payment gateway solutions are the best. If you are already searching for the best payment gateway, consider the above-discussed factors and see if the gateway of your choice checks all the conditions.
That being said, with payment gateways you can have an immediate and positive impact on your customer experience and profitability. By selecting and integrating the best payment gateway, you can achieve higher customer satisfaction, customer trust, recognition and business longevity. If you understand your business needs, your e-commerce will go a long way into the cashless future.
