Top 6 Tips on Choosing a Payment Gateway for Your Online Store

As a business owner, if you are selling your products without using an e-commerce website, then you payment gateway for website is the best way to accept debit and credit card payments from your domestic and international audience.

In this article, we will share some top tips to help you choose the right payment gateway for your online business.

Fee structure
It is important to partner with a payment gateway provider that offers a flexible fees structure. Some service providers charge a fee per transaction while some charge a flat monthly fee for a fixed number of transactions every month. Before committing, ensure that you are aware of the fees structure. Select a payment gateway for website that meets your present needs and also which can help you in the future.

Reputation
There are plenty of payment gateway providers in the market. Choose a reliable and proven payment gateway provider with features that can help you and your business succeed. Also, choose a one which can offer a great shopping experience to customers visiting your online store.

Security
Security of your customer’s sensitive data should be the top-most priority of an e-commerce merchant. Make sure you partner with a service provider that is compliant with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).  Also, check if they have fraud protection tools and other advanced solutions to minimize fraudulent transactions.

Integration
For an online business to run, you need to integrate the payment processing with your e-commerce website. During the process of selecting a payment gateway, it is important to check if the payment gateway is supported by your website or not. Also, to make the payment process hassle-free and quick for your customers, ensure that the integration is simple.

Customer support
Before committing to a service provider, do not forget to look at the type of support that is being offered to the customers in case if any issue arises. Does the payment gateway provider offer telephone support or only email support? Are they available 24/7? Ask these questions beforehand to check on the type of customer support that is being offered.

Mobile optimization
Another important factor to consider while opting for a payment gateway is that if the payment gateway supports the payment method of your target audience. To run your business successfully, you need to have a payment gateway that supports the method of payment of your customers and offer them the convenience of shopping online. In today’s busy world, there are customers who prefer using mobile phones to shop, so it is important to check if the payment gateway gives the flexibility to customers to pay regardless of whatever device they use.

Conclusion
Payments are the lifeline of an online business, so it is important to choose the right payment gateway. Using the above-mentioned tips, choose an online payment gateway that will help your business to grow manifolds are missing out on something very big. Finding the right

Sell Global with International Payment Gateway Services

Planning to go International?

To sell your awesome products to international customers, you need an international payment gateway.
An international payment gateway allows online merchants to receive payments from customers across borders.

Let us discuss what is involved in online payments across borders and what to look for in when choosing international payment gateway services.

Payment Method
Payment methods preferred by customers vary by country to country, so it is important to learn the preferred payment methods of international customers and the market that you are targeting. Some prefer to pay online via credit cards while some do not. The best way to address this is by offering your customers multiple payment options.

Local currencies
By selling online internationally, you can expand your customer base, but at the same time, you should make your customers feel at home. Checkout is the place where most of the shoppers abandon their cart. One of the main reasons for this being a lack of trust and convenience. For this, you need to list your prices in their local currencies. One other way to offer comfort and convenience to your customers is by allowing them to pay in their local currency using their preferred payment method. Whenever you are choosing an international payment gateway service, find out if they give the option to you to accept payment in foreign currency. The main benefit of this is to a customer is better user experience and hassle-free checkout as they are paying in a currency that is familiar to them.  For you, this means higher sales!

Taxes and Duties

Apart from determining the preferred payment methods, you need to have a good understanding of the taxes, duties and customs of the country of your target audience. Each country charges foreign tax such as VAT on the goods sold. So, before selling internationally, you need to check the VAT rules and find out the steps that you need to follow.

Payment Options

Apart from accepting payments through credit and debit cards, wire transfer is another option to receive payments from your international customers. Another option is money orders, but for this, you need to accept only from customers with whom you have a history otherwise they can trick you.

Fraud and Risk management

When selling internationally, you should be prepared to handle risk and fraudulent transactions. To minimize risk, you need to beware of high-risk countries which are known for fraudulent transactions, suspicious email addresses and physical addresses. Anytime, if you are in doubt, it is always good to check with the customer and verify the transaction.

Conclusion

The success of your online store depends majorly on how well you sell your products to your customers.  To sell products, you need the win the trust of your customers. For instance, by displaying your products in local currencies and allowing them to pay using their preferred mode of payment will prevent uncertainty during the checkout and minimize confusion. Using the above tips, now you can sell internationally through your e-commerce store and boost your sales.

Top Questions to Ask Yourself While Selecting a Payment Gateway Service

A payment gateway service is undoubtedly becoming the need of every online business owner. With an overwhelming number of payment gateway service providers in the market, choosing a one that meets your business needs can be very daunting. In today’s article, we will list out the top questions to ask yourself before you partne

r with payment gateway service provider for your e-commerce website.

Question1: What are my business requirements?

This is one of the main questions to ask before you sign up with a payment gateway. It is very important to identify your business needs of having a specific payment gateway for your customers. You need to check what would be the impact of the payment gateway on your audience. The best payment gateway service supports multiple currencies and is available in the countries where your target audience is living.

Question 2: What would be the cost involved in opting for a payment gateway?

The next question to ask yourself is what would be the financial feasibility?  Different service providers charge different fees. Make sure that the transaction fee is not costing you much; in fact, you should ensure that it does not impact your business financially. You should know the overall fees structure charged by your payment gateway provider to avoid surprises in the future. Most importantly, the payment gateway that you choose should offer you the services as per your needs and most importantly at an affordable rate.

Question 3: Is the payment gateway secure for online transactions?

Security is the most important thing for an online merchant. If you want to retain your existing customers and want to attract new customers, you need to provide them with a payment platform that is safe and secure. For this, you need to check how secure your payment gateway for making online payments is. Partner with a payment gateway provider that is compliance with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which means they are well equipped to handle any fraudulent activities. Also, do check if they have the right fraud protection tools and measures to prevent any security breach.

Question 4: Do they offer the right customer support?

In case there is any issue regarding a transaction, how good is support system team and how quickly will they respond? If the payment gateway does not provide timely support, then the customers will have to follow manual instructions which can be quite frustrating for a user. Ensure that the payment provider offers a dedicated customer support service which is available both via telephone as well as mail and at the same time it should be quick and smooth.

Question 5: Will it integrate easily with your existing website?

You need to offer a great shopping experience to your customers, for this you need to choose a payment gateway that can easily integrate with your online store. The easier and simpler the integration, better it is for you and your customers.

Conclusion:

Once you are prepared with these questions, you can step out in the market and select the best payment gateway service that can answer all your questions.

How to Choose a Payment Processing Solution

The global payment processing industry has become dynamic in the recent years and with so many payment processing options, it can be quite challenging to find the right payment processing company for your business needs. A wrong choice can be costly, that is why it is important to choose the right payment processor.

If you planning to expand globally, you need global payment processing services that can help sell products to international customers and boost your sales. It will present your cart in the customer’s local language and currency and offer them a wide range of payment options.

Today, we will discuss the things you need to consider while choosing a payment processing solution for your business.

Payment Security
It is the responsibility of the merchant to protect and secure the customer’s sensitive data and payment information. So, it is vital to choose a payment processor that can safeguard your customer’s payments and sensitive data using the right fraud management tools and other advanced technologies. Ensure that the payment provider that you pick offers secure data processing and is PCI compliant. A payment processor that is PCI complaint employs the highest level of data security and ensures that your confidential information is secure.

Processing Fees
Look for payment providers that offer the most affordable rates. Be aware of the processing fees and do check for any hidden charges to avoid any kind of surprises in the future. The important thing is to check on all the costs before committing to any payment provider. You need to choose a provider that fits your needs as well as your budget. If you miss or exceed your budget, you will end up paying more than necessary and lose out on your profits.

Setup and Maintenance
You want a payment provider that offers the ease of setup and maintenance. The payment processor should provide the necessary support to help you set up your account and install any equipment that your business needs.

Customer Support
What if run into some technical issues or if you have any questions regarding the bills? If any time any such problem crops up, you need a provider that is reachable 24/7 either through phone, chat or via email.

Conclusion
As you can see, these are some of the factors that one needs to consider before choosing a payment processing service for your business. Choosing a payment processing service is not a simple task, so it is wise to compare different payment processing solutions so that you have a better understanding of the pros and cons of each service. As per your findings, choose the best one that fits your needs.

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.