If you want to accept online payments, you have to partner up with a payment service provider (also called a merchant account provider, a payment gateway provider or a PSP). This article will briefly list the most important features when choosing a payment solution for your online store.
Check the payment provider's licenses
If you intend to accept payments from multiple regions, pay attention to the payment provider's licenses. A PSP (payment service provider) should be licensed to provide payment services in all markets you intend to enter. ECOMMPAY, for example, holds licenses issued by the Central Bank of Cyprus and the Financial Conduct Authority of the United Kingdom, which allows accepting payments across the entire European Union and the UK. Basically, the PSPs' geographical coverage boils down to their licenses, so look for one that matches your business's profile.
Be boring; read the agreement for payment services
A typical agreement with a PSP might be up to 80 pages long, so it might be tempting to skip reading, sign it and get the business going. Never fall for it and pay the utmost attention to every detail. Look for hidden fees. Those could be hushed up by the PSPs marketing but will appear in the agreement. It should be crystal clear what you will have to pay and why. It is also a good idea to ask for an anonymised operational statement of one of the PSP's clients to see how every single monthly fee and commission is applied.
If you want to get more familiar with online payment system transaction fees and pricing models, dive into an article by ECOMMPAY product owner Deniss Gusakovs.
Check for local payment methods
Payment providers can offer a multitude of different payment options. The most common are cards, open banking, mobile and other e-wallets.
However, what you need is multiple payment methods specific to your target markets. Study the payment habits of your audience and ask for payment methods your business needs. If you're not sure which payment methods suit your business model best, the payment provider should be more than equipped to advise you whether you need a particular payment method.
Consider what type of integration to use
You can use a few different types of integration when it comes to connecting a payment gateway. Each comes with its advantages and disadvantages, so some might suit your business model better than others.
A few common types of integration methods include:
- Integration using an Application Programming Interface (API):Requires a PCI DSS certificate, more labour-intensive to set up and maintain and more flexible — your development team can change the design and additional functions like analytics whenever you want.
- Integration using your PSP’s checkout page:Does not require a PCI DSS certificate, no coding is needed to set up, stored and hosted on the PSP’s server. However, with this type of integration, you will not be able to change the checkout page design on your own.
- Integration using an encryption script: Does not require a PCI DSS certificate and offers complete control over the payment page design, however available only for credit cards. This method utilises sensitive data tokenisation to protect it from fraudsters.
Check what integration methods a PSP provides and consider how well that will suit your business before committing to one. And feel free to dive into our article about checkout page integration and design if you want to learn more.
Do you need recurring payments?
Another point to consider is whether or not you will need recurring payment capabilities. These types of payments are most frequently used for subscription services. If your customers purchase services or goods from you through a subscription, then recurring payments are the easiest solution.
Other examples of companies that use recurring payments include:
- Online education providers.
- Utility companies.
- Cell phone carriers.
- Digital content platforms.
- Gyms.
If you think that you will need recurring payments, make sure that's something a PSP can provide before you sign up for their services.
Do you need payouts?
Think about whether or not your company is likely to need to make payouts, whether as part of its business model or to process returns and exchanges on products. Freelancing companies will need to be able to make payouts, as will online businesses that work with suppliers.
If your business fits into these categories, or you think you might need payouts for any other reason, double-check that the PSP provides that service. Plus, check if you will be able to pay to the recipient's bank account or an e-wallet in their local currency.
Is the dashboard easy to use?
There is one final point you should consider when trying to select a payment provider, and that is its user-friendliness. How easy is its dashboard to navigate and use? Will you be able to control and oversee all the transactions from a single interface? If not, then it's hardly an ideal solution.
As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, it's essential to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to payment processing. You should ensure that whatever option you choose in the end helps propel your business forward and help it grow.
It will not be a good fit if you can barely even use it because it's so complicated. This may seem like an obvious point, but it's worth some serious consideration anyway!
Does the payment service provider offer high-quality client support?
Things don't always go as planned. Even if you and your payment provider are doing your best, you will sometimes need help from payment professionals. Moreover, those cases will most likely arise when you are least prepared. This is why you must be sure your payment provider's customer support can react quickly and solve problems on the go. Check if they speak your language, check their working hours and spend some time browsing client testimonials online — it is well worth it to be sure you will not be left without assistance when things go wrong.
Does the payment service provider have effective anti-fraud?
Payment fraud is a significant risk for any online business. High levels of fraudulent transactions may lead to sanctions from online payment systems like Visa and MasterCard. In the worst case, you can get blacklisted, which means you will no longer be able to accept credit card payments at all. So you should pay the utmost attention to your future payment service provider's fraud prevention systems. Look for a fraud prevention rate of at least 97%.
Check the PSPs uptime
None of the features mentioned above make sense if the payment service provider can't guarantee adequate uptime. Imagine it's Black Friday. You have that big sale going on, and suddenly your checkout pages stop working. You lose money with every minute of downtime, and that's the payment service provider's fault. So to feel safe, look for an uptime guarantee of about 99.99%. Moreover, that guarantee should be based on data centre infrastructure. ECOMMPAY, for example, has four data centres in different parts of the world.
Conclusion
This article has broken down some of the most important things to remember when choosing a payment provider for your website. Hopefully, after checking out what we have to say, you now have a better idea of what important factors warrant your attention when trying to make this decision.
But where should you look to find a PSP that can provide you with all of the above and more? Well, look no further than ECOMMPAY.
At ECOMMPAY, we offer a wide variety of payment methods for international e-commerce, as well as a range of integration methods, recurring payments, payout capabilities, 24/7 support and protection from fraud.
So, if you want to discover for yourself why ECOMMPAY is the right choice for your payment provider, get in touch today.
