How to select a Payment Gateway [Part one]

Payments are the final leg of the e-commerce journey ⁠— and the final hurdle separating prospects from becoming converted customers. It’s a crucial step in the buying process. If it’s simple and convenient, customers will leave happy, return, and spend more. But, if merchants don’t provide users with a fast, economical, and secure payment solution, they’re more than willing to abandon their buying journeys and start over with another vendor.

To compete and meet rising customer expectations , merchants need to support a huge range of electronic payment methods ⁠— from numerous types of bank cards to third-party payment methods ⁠— all while meeting high security requirements and technical standards. 

That’s where Payment Gateways come in. Payment Gateways provide a simple solution for businesses trying to navigate an increasingly crowded and complex global payments environment, by handling payment authorization and processing for them, as a service. 

There are many Payment Gateways available to businesses that want to navigate these challenges and meet their customers’ high payment experience expectations ⁠— each offering different security levels and integration options. Drawing direct comparisons between these gateways isn’t always easy, so what can businesses do to ensure they choose the right gateway for them, their business, and their customers?

In part 2, 3 and 4, we will explore the critical considerations merchants need to make during this decision-making process, and provide advice to help you ensure that the Payment Gateway you choose meets all of your needs, from functionality, security, and integration perspective.

We will start with payment gateway functions from part 2. You can find part 2 under ‘related content’ below.