When creating an online store, deciding which eСommerce payment gateway to use in advance is essential. The first thing that comes to mind is, of course, PayPal, the undoubted leader in its market of gateway payment services. However, there are many alternatives, successful start-ups like Stripe that are breathing down the leader’s neck. In addition to these, there are many local, popular payment gateways.
Whichever option you choose, you will need to integrate a payment gateway into your online store. You can also do this yourself. If you are not good at programming and setting up sites, it is better to leave payment gateway integration to experts. When trying to connect the gateway yourself without the appropriate knowledge, you risk wasting much time with zero results.
How the e-commerce payment gateway works and why it’s necessary
To begin with, an e-commerce payment gateway is a technical solution that authorizes and processes debit/credit card, e-wallet, and even cryptocurrency transactions for online stores and traditional offline retailers. A payment gateway facilitates the smooth flow of such transactions by encrypting sensitive data and transferring it between the payment portal (website or mobile device) and the bank/payment processor. To incorporate it, you definitely need to hire eCommerce development team members.
In general, payment gateway integration is necessary to facilitate communication between your website, the payment processor, and the bank that issued the credit card used to make the purchase. When accepting Visa and MasterCard payments from a site, you must consider security an integral component because the payment gateway handles sensitive information such as credit card numbers and personal information. The Card Industry Data Security Standard (DSS) (PCI) prohibits storing credit card numbers in a merchant terminal or its databases after a transaction.
Although the transaction process only takes a few seconds, there are various steps during this short period.
1. Filling data by the customer
On the site, a customer enters the payment details: card number, expiration date, and CVV, or chooses to pay in another convenient way.
2. Receiving encrypted data by the gateway
The payment gateway receives information about the customer and information about the store and purchased product or service.
3. Sending data to acquiring bank
Through Visa, MasterCard, and other payment systems, the request for payment goes to the bank, which services the customer.
4. Checking the validity of the card and the availability of funds on it
Gateway, payment systems, and acquiring bank exchange information and decide whether a transaction is possible.
5. Withdrawing money from a bank card
The owner of the online store receives a payment to the merchant account. In the future, this customer can quickly provide transactions because of storing card details.
How to choose a gateway for your e-commerce website
When choosing an e-commerce payment solution, consider the following parameters:
- Security level
Customer data must always be safe. The selected payment gateway must be as secure as possible against hacking and fraud and comply with Official PCI Security Standards.
- Countries where the service operates
For international online stores, the geography of the gateway payment service must coincide with the location of all potential clients.
- Payment methods
Gateway payment service has to work with all popular payment options. It includes different types of debit and credit cards, mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. Over time, the list of customer-requested cloud methods may change. Don’t neglect new trending options.
- Commission
It’s essential to understand the final percentage, including the bank commission, charged for Gateway payment services.
- Conditions for withdrawal of funds
Withdrawal conditions vary from country to country, so make sure that the payment service allows you to cash out your account before choosing one. It is also essential to pay attention to the withdrawal terms.
- Requirements for documents
Many services do not work with individuals. You will need the papers of a private entrepreneur or a legal entity to integrate with the site.
- Technical requirements
If the site is developed on a CMS, the payment gateway integration is accessible in most cases. For projects without a CMS, API or independent integration with the service with the help of code is required. Given that we talk about Magento payment gateways, you will not have any issues
- User-friendliness
The interface of the Magento payment gateway should be intuitive and straightforward for customers. The long process of authorization and entering payment data may scare the client away, and he will choose another online store.
Top payment gateways for Magento stores
Let’s list the best payment gateways and briefly highlight the advantages of each of them.
PayPal
Today, you can hardly find a person who has not heard of PayPal. It is one of the best-known, most trusted, and preferred gateway payment services globally. The system still has room to grow as the company adds new features for user convenience.
- 400+ million active customers
- 200+ Markets worldwide
- 20+ years of experience
- Over 100 different currencies
- Accepting payments from American Express, Visa, Mastercard, Venmo, and PayPal Credit in 26 leading currencies.
Stripe
One of the best payment gateways, Stripe solves all card payment problems, including card data storage, recurring payments, and withdrawals to the bank account. The Stripe system is characterized by the high speed of payment processing and security.
- Fast integration with any CMS
- Reliable anti-fraud protection. Reliable anti-fraud protection. Stripe Radar is the ability to customize payment terms for buyers flexibly. 3DS request, risk-score, as well as Stripe is one of the first to introduce Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)
- Instant cashback and refunds
- Stripe commission is 2.9% + 30 ¢ per transaction
- Convenient payment window directly on the site (without going to other pages and registering a personal account)
Braintree
Suppose you have a U.S. business model and need to manage payments online and offline. In that case, Braintree is a good e-commerce payment solution to consider. The processing fees and fixed price are accessible to schedule, and the interface is excellent. You also get a wide range of integrations. However, it may not be suitable for you if you just require a gateway-only solution.
- You can accept all types of customer payments from American Express to PayPal and quickly transfer money to your bank account.
- There’s no monthly minimum to adhere to and no additional customer support fees. There are no PCI compliance fees, early termination fees, gateway fees, or statement fees.
- Braintree’s rate of about 2.9% plus $0.30 is competitive when you consider no additional fees.
Authorize.Net
The company accepts various types of business and provides services to both merchants and individual users with a universal card reader that can be connected to a computer or mobile device to accept payments “on the go.” Authorize.Net also provides payment gateway integration for dozens of pre-integrated third-party sales systems.
Likewise, the company provides MO/TO payments. This feature is ideal for merchants who take orders from their customers by mail or phone.
Authorize.Net makes payments for the US, Canada, UK, Australia.
Our experience in Magento payment gateway integration
The experts at ITDelight have extensive experience in creating and upgrading Magento sites. We have expertise in integrating all modern Magento payment gateways and in e-commerce implementation services in general. We will be glad to help you with any questions related to online store development.
