Hidden Fees to Watch Out for When Dealing With a Payment Gateway

When you are involved in an e-commerce business, you may come across certain unnecessary or hidden fees which can take away your businesses overall profit. However, at times some merchants may even fail to notice these hidden fees. To run the business smoothly for you and your customers, it is important to understand what exactly these hidden fees are. Whatever the fees you pay, your goal should be to ensure that you are not drowning your business with it.

So, here is a list of 2 hidden fees that merchants should watch out for. These are PCI compliance fee and transaction fee.

·      PCI compliance fee- PCI means Payment Card Industry. It is set of rules that all companies handling card and payment information is expected to follow, to minimize fraud and data breaches. You should be PCI compliant if your business accepts any form of card or check payments. The payments can either be online using a virtual terminal or can be using a credit card machine at physical store. There are some payment processors who can impose a PCI compliance fees for offering you resources and tools to help with PCI compliance but in case they don't offer this service, you should not be charged for this. Paying a PCI compliance fee can either come with benefits or lack of benefits. It all depends entirely on the type of processor you choose to work with.

·        Transaction fee-Transaction happens when you swipe a card or when you put your card details into a virtual payment portal or shopping cart. So, when you are charged for each of these transactions, it is called transaction fee. No matter which processor you chose, but you will always be charged a transaction fee. This transaction fees varies from one processor to another based on the amount of transactions every month. The transaction fee should not eat up your profits that is why it is recommended to first understand the charges associated per transaction and then choose the payment gateway solution which fits your business needs and most importantly your budget.

Conclusion

Understanding of these hidden fees will ensure you a high profit margin and help run your ecommerce business smoothly.  If you want to avoid paying hidden fees, you need to research and opt for the right processing company offering the best payment gateway solutions. Similarly, always review the agreement to get a clear understanding of the hidden fees. When signing up with a payment provider, clarify all the points. Careful understanding of the terms and conditions will help you avoid surprises in the future and help your company to be profitable.

Top 3 tips to help you find the right payment gateway for your ecommerce website

Choosing the right payment gateway is a vital part of running an online business. Any merchant, who has an ecommerce website, should have a good e-commerce payment gateway integrated to his business portal for best results. Choosing the right payment gateway is a hassle for many decision makers. There are some gateway providers with great features but transaction charges are very high. So, how do we choose the right one? What factors to be considered while choosing a payment gateway provider?

If you want to make sure that the payment gateway that you are choosing is the right one, then this blog will be helpful to you. Follow the tips mentioned below to choose the right payment gateway for your ecommerce website. 

Determine your needs 

The top priority for any ecommerce merchant is that the payment gateway should satisfy all of his business needs. There are some payment gateways that charge a fixed monthly fee while some charge based on the number of transactions done on your website. Secondly, if you run a global business, the payment gateway that you choose should provide the option of collecting payments done through international cards like Visa and MasterCard and support multiple currencies. Also, a worthy payment gateway should offer numerous alternative payment modes to customers for making online payments. So, before you close the deal, analyze your basic needs and then choose the one that fits your requirements and is affordable too. 

Research

It is necessary for merchants to spend time and do a lot of research to determine which payment gateway to go for. Ensure that the payment gateway is transparent on pricing and mentions price structure upfront. Transparency in pricing will help you identify the expensive payment gateways. There are some payments gateways that have some hidden charges so choose wisely otherwise you will end up having bad surprises down the road. Do not forget to compare the fees structure of the payment gateways and opt for a provider that fits in well within your pricing structure.

Security

We all know how important is safety and security when it comes to online payments. The payment gateway that you are trusting on should provide you with SSL security and should comply with the PCI DSS standards. It is very important to check and double check the safety and security standards before you commit to a payment gateway provider. 

Conclusion

The tips mentioned above will help you identify the right payment gateway provider for your e-commerce business. In a nutshell, the best payment getaway is a combination of multiple factors. So, choose a e-commerce payment gateway that best suits your business needs and of course your budget. 

Controlling security risk and fraud in online payments

With the fast growth of e-commerce, cyber crimes have also been on the rise. Security is the top priority for ecommerce businesses and in order to protect their customers from any kind of fraud or risk when shopping online, payment gateway service providers are taking strict safety measures. In this article, we will provide you with five safety measures, which can help protect the payment data from fraud.

1. SSL- One of the safest measures to protect the transmitted data is by using SSL. SSL is a standard security protocol that protects data transmission and provides a secure channel for communication between the web server and browser. You can verify if the website has been secured with a SSL protocol by two-ways- check if a padlock icon is displayed, or check if the URL shows https instead of http.


2. Encryption- Encryption is highly effective when we talk about storing secure payment information. During the encryption process, the electronic data is converted into a coded message which can be understood only by the receiver and the sender. Third parties can only access the information with the encryption key.

3. Tokenization-Tokenization is a security measure to strengthen the security of online transactions. It is a process in which the customer’s data, like for instance credit card number is transformed into a random combination of characters which does not have meaning. This token acts as a reference to the original data but if in case a breach happens; no one can derive any value from it.

4. PCI-DSS Compliance- Customers data security is the top most priority for a business owner. A payment gateway that you choose should comply with the security standards. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is a set of standards and policies to ensure secure online payments. To check if the merchant or the ecommerce website is adhering to the PCI standards, look for the PCI-DSS symbol on their website.

5. 3D Secure- 3D secure known as 3 Domain Server is a protocol that provides an additional layer of protection to ensure secure online transactions. This protocol provides the customers with a code called One Time Pin. This pin is provided by the issuing bank for a particular transaction and cannot be used for any other transaction. The customer receives this code by e-mail or SMS, and once this code it entered, only then the acquiring bank authorizes or declines the transaction.

These are some of the safety measures taken by ecommerce companies to secure the customers information but remember not always all of them follow the best practices. It is recommended to always check the reputation of the payment gateway service providers before making the final choice. As a customer, if anytime you have a doubt about the credibility of the merchant while shopping online, do not go ahead with the transaction. 

Essential Security Features of Payment Gateway Services to Help You Sell, Manage and Grow Your Ecommerce Business

According to a study done by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in the year 2015, the number of online shoppers will grow to 1.623 billion in 2018. 

With a growing percentage of people using the internet, the demand for online businesses is also rising. This makes payment gateways absolutely essential for online transactions as it acts as the intermediate between the merchant and the bank. But with the rapid growth of online transactions, threats of security have also increased. Security is the top most concern for customers. So, a payment gateway should ensure they use various standards, protocols and encryption mechanisms to provide a secure and seamless shopping experience to the customers. 

Data Encryption

Whenever a customer enters his payment details like credit and debit card information, the payment gateway passes this sensitive information securely between the customer and the merchant using the method of data encryption. When the payment details are entered, the payment gateway will encrypt this information using the payment gateway’s public key. Data encryption protects the customer’s information from unauthorized parties. In short, some of the best payment gateway services use this method to prevent the customer’s information from being stolen or misused.  

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)

SSL is used in payment gateways to securely transfer private data over public platforms using a certificate of authentication. SSL, which is a secure network protocol, makes use of two encrypting methods- asymmetric and symmetric encryption. In asymmetrical encryption, RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adelman) algorithm and DSA (Digital Signature Algorithm) are used while in symmetrical encryption, AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), DES (Data Encryption Standard) and others are used. Most of the payment gateways make use of this protocol to securely transfer the data between the customers and the merchants. 

Secure Electronic Transaction (SET)

SET is another standard protocol which helps to communicate information between the customer, merchant and the payment gateway in a secure way using a digital signature. SET makes use of the customer’s digital signature and this prevents the merchant from seeing the customer’s payment information. When a payment gateway receives the payment information, it encrypts the data using its public key and verifies the primary account number. SET offers a high level of security and privacy to the customers and fulfils all the security requirements like data integrity, authentication and confidentiality by making use of public key certificates and digital signatures. 

Wrapping Up

Ecommerce payment security is very important, so if you own an ecommerce website, you need a secure payment gateway which can reduce the fraud and prevent the security breach of personal data. The best payment gateway services make use of the above mechanisms to protect the sensitive information of the customers from unauthorized parties. 

Ecommerce Security is At The Core of Payment Gateway Solutions

The success of any ecommerce business depends majorly on the customers and the ease of transaction experienced by them. In short, a payment gateway is the best way to ensure hassle-free payments.

Business when implementing an online payment gateway solution, should first consider the level of security offered by the payment gateway. Security in ecommerce is a high priority for the merchants and customers alike. Before entering the financial details, the customers should research how secure the site is. On the other hand, merchants should have multiple layers of security in place to protect sensitive data of their customers.

So, how can an online merchant ensure that the payment gateway is secure? Is there a way to strengthen the security of the website?

Even though most of the ecommerce platforms have built-in security features, but here are some ways by which an online merchant can bolster data security.

The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Standards and SSL Certificate 

In order to be PCI compliant, the ecommerce platform must adhere to a strict set of policies and procedures that guarantee the security of payment via credit or debit card. Anti-malware software, encryption, extensive monitoring and risk analysis are some of the measures to ensure the security.

Apart from this, use SSL certificate to authenticate the identity of your business and to facilitate a secure connection at the time of checkout. Both of these are vital for protecting your company as well as your customers from any fraudulent activities.

Multi-layered Security

Ensure that the ecommerce platform you choose has multi-layered security to keep your business safe from any fraudulent activities.

CVV Requirement

Card Verification Value is a three- or four-digit code at the back of a credit card. Even though retailers can record customer’s names, addresses and credit card number for future transactions but they are not allowed to store CVV number under any circumstances. A CVV requirement makes it extremely tough for any fraudulent transaction to take place.

Address Verification System
Address verification system is another way to facilitate safer payment processing. This can be useful in verifying if the billing address entered by the customer is same as what the credit card issuer has on records. In short, AVS can be used to identify if the transaction is legitimate or fraudulent. 

Apart from these, it is important to monitor all the transactions and deploy PCI scans at regular intervals to check for any suspicious activities that may be targeting your online store. 

Wrapping Up

Make sure you choose the most suitable online payment gateway solution for your online store and build up the security of your store by following the security measures discussed above.

Are You Using The Right Payment Gateway For Your Ecommerce Business

In the recent times, Ecommerce has become the fastest growing market segments. The competition is all time high and a wrong choice can be catastrophic for your Ecommerce business.

The success of your online endeavour depends mainly on how well your products are being sold to your customers. Most of the entrepreneurs will review their product or service quality from time to time, but what about the types of payment options available to your clients?

If you are running an Ecommerce business, you should know how to choose the right payment gateway so that it will fulfil all the needs of you and your target audience.  Implementing the right payment gateway can ensure long-term success of your Ecommerce business.  Here are some of the options when it comes to Ecommerce payment gateways. Choose the one that is the best fit for your business.

Traditional Payment Gateways

Traditional model is the most commonly used option by merchants. In this model, the payment gateway partners with a merchant acquirer like an Independent Sales Organization (ISO). The gateway just provides the software for conducting transactions and does not interact much with the clients. Most of the interaction is done by the ISO but if anything goes wrong and if the clients wants to make some changes, then ISO has control over the platform that is being used.

White Label Payment Gateways

This is a technology solution that serves payment providers and enables them to use third party technologies. They even support payment acceptance for their customers. White label payment gateways allow merchants to set up multiple IDs and separate accounts for specific locations for their business without increasing the number of parent accounts and login profiles. In this, ISO has more control over the quality of service that is being offered to the clients.

Payment Facilitators

Payment facilitators use a multi-tiered system and merchants that sign up under them are given sub-merchant accounts with a separate account and merchant ID. The best part about payment facilitators is that their cost structure is of flat rate and highly transparent.

In order to get your Ecommerce business up and running, Ecommerce payment gateway is one thing that you cannot do without. There are many payment gateway providers in the market. Even though each of the payment systems may seem equal but the quality and features of its each of them vary. Choose a gateway that guarantees you seamless and easy transaction and secures sensitive data of your customers. Make sure you find out all the options as a wrong choice call be fatal for your business.

How The Choice Of A Payment Gateway Service May Decide Your Success in Ecommerce

As a business owner and particularly an e-commerce vendor, you must know how money gets transferred from your customer to you. Payment processing involves two phases and these phases include the authorization phase in which the sale is approved and the settlement phase where in the money gets transferred to your account.




How A Transaction Takes Place

Let's go through the entire procedure of how a transaction takes place:

1. A shopper visits your site and purchases an item on it using a plastic card.
2. The information is transferred through the payment gateway, where it is encrypted and transferred again to the payment processor maintaining extreme privacy.
3. Your payment processor sends this information to the issuing bank along with an instruction to release the payment in order to complete the transaction.
4. The issuing bank can either approve or reject the request.
5. In case it's approved, your payment processor confirms the transaction and instructs your merchant bank to transfer the money to your account.

This sounds like too much work -- a flow diagram of too many activities, but in fact the entire procedure takes not more than one or two seconds.

The settlement part is the last and final part of the entire payment transfer process and you get paid at this stage.

The issuing bank will release the money, which gets transferred to your merchant bank first and in turn credits this money into your account.

What is Important?

Now you have the funds available in your account. Your merchant bank reserves the right to keep a part of the money transferred, which you cannot use. This is done to safeguard the interest of the customers in case they are not satisfied with the product and decide to return it.

Choose The Right Payment Gateway

In that case, the entire money has to be returned to the customer by your E-Commerce company. The entire settlement process might take a few days. This way, your selection of a payment gateway service is extremely important because it decides how a transaction is conducted on your website. It also affects the entire sales procedure, wherein you offer additional transparency and a better experience to your customer.

It also involves the role of technology in the entire process. If technology used is not able to support these operations in a timely manner, it would reflect badly on the entire customer experience. Your brand loyalty may go down and your revenues might get hit in a big way. No wonder, most of the business coaches and consultants say that customer experience is a crucial part of the success of your eCommerce venture.

Your failure to provide good customer experience may ultimately backfire on you and sabotage all your efforts to increase your revenues and grow your brand.