Whether you know it or not, there are many different options for your payment gateway and, depending on the one you choose, it will have an effect on your users’ experience when using your e-shop and general business operations.
Your payment gateway is how and what your users will be used to purchase your products and/or services via your ecommerce website. Therefore, this needs to be not only trustworthy but seamless enough to make it easy for your customers to make purchases without any friction.
Choosing the right solution for your online store can be overwhelming and stressful, and not want to pick the wrong option. Therefore, there are a variety of factors that can help you make the right choice.
6 Factors you must Consider before Choosing a Payment Gateway Provider
When we take on an e-shop project, we put the following 5 factors to our client to find out some key information that can help them choose the optimal payment gateway for their website. These five factors are:
1. Location
Depending on the location of your company, and, more importantly, the location of your audience, there may be some specific payment gateway providers you can use. For example, in Cyprus, a common and local payment solution is JCC. Therefore, because it is local to the country, if your audience is based in Cyprus, they may already be familiar with this system, making it easier for your users to use your website.
However, we believe that you shouldn’t limit yourself to just this, we recommend that you should find a system that is the easiest for your users despite simply being familiar with it. See below for the pros and cons of common payment gateways.
2. User Interface (UI) & User Experience (UX)
This is most likely the most important feature for any e-shop payment gateway. It must be easy for your customers to use, and it should be branded on your website. We can use the JCC example again, one issue with this is that to make a payment, you are redirected to a separate URL, off of your website. This adds an extra layer of friction to the user’s journey, that can be removed with a more seamless system.
3. Flexibility
Depending on your business, you may need certain specific features for your online payment solutions. For example, you may want to accept monthly instalments, American Express or any other specific rules that you may have. Therefore, if this is the case, you need to find a company that can provide what you need and has the flexibility to meet your demands.
Alternatively, many e-commerce payment gateway systems can integrate with accounting software and other CRMs that may be necessary for your business operations.
4. Price
Price is always an important factor, with every payment solution, there will be costs. Therefore, in order to understand your business’s finances, you need to consider the costs of different solutions in order to run your business better.
Most providers have a % fee on each online sale, with various additional fixed fees depending on a variety of factors.
5. Security
There are many different solutions your online store can adopt, some of them are used globally, while others are smaller and local to your country. However, asking a user to input payment details is asking a customer to trust you with very sensitive information. Therefore, you must choose a payment gateway that has security features and protocols that make sure your customer information is always kept safe.
6. PayOuts
In order to make sure your accounting is up to date and that your company has regular cash flow, it’s important to understand the payouts of different payment gateways. Sometimes, when a payment is made, it can take a certain amount of time for your business to actually receive the funds. This is therefore something that should be considered.
The Top 4 Online Payment Gateways
While there are many different payment gateways, for the sake of this article, we have narrowed it down to our top 4 solutions available for your website. We will discuss the different options and weigh their pros and cons for you to make an informed decision.
1. Stripe
Stripe is one of the most popular online payment gateway solutions available for online stores. It is also our favourite due to its security, UI/UX, scalability, price, and ease of installation.
One of the main advantages of this payment gateway is that it accepts payments in 135 different currencies, it is available for businesses in 47 countries, including the likes of the UK, Cyprus, USA, and many more (See the full list here).
This payment gateway also supports and accepts both Apple & Google pay, helping your mobile users purchase and check out a lot quicker.
Stripe has its own dashboard for businesses to use, monitor transactions, control the pay-outs and a whole lot more.
Summary
- Available in 135 currencies
- Accepts Apple & Google pay
- Available in 47 countries
- Has its own dashboard
- Easy to install
- Secure and reliable
- 24/7 customer support
- Checkout flow on your website (internal)
- 1.5% + 0.25cent per transaction (for EU cards)
- 2.5% + 0.25cent per transaction (for UK cards)
2. PayPal
PayPal is a widely recognised payment gateway and has been in operation since 2002. From its brand alone, it is trusted and used by millions of people around the world. It is very easy to set up and is very common among startups and small businesses.
One major benefit of PayPal is that it is available in 203 countries with no startup costs. Additionally, they have an anti-fraud department, reinforcing the security of their systems.
Summary
- Available in 203 countries
- Instantly recognisable
- Easy to use
- 1.9% + fixed fee (depending on the country)
- 3.5% for American Express
- Support Apple & Google pay
3. Authorize.net
is a very developer-friendly payment gateway, it offers a lot of flexibility and can provide a customised solution for the user. It is also very secure; it has advanced fraud detection, and many add-on features available. However, this gateway does have a monthly charge in addition to a transaction fee.
Summary
- Secure and reliable
- Fraud protection
- Flexible and customisable
- Monthly fee of $25
- Transaction fees of 2.9% + 0.30 cent
4. JCC
JCC is a good provider to use, especially for companies located in Cyprus and Greece. The company is widely recognised across Greece and Cyprus, instilling trust and credibility in the user. It has a seamless integration experience to your ecommerce website, helping you sell your products online very easily. Some key features of JCC are that it is compatible with WordPress, has 3D secure authentication, is compatible across all devices, has easy integration and processes payments in real time.
Summary
- Integrates with WordPress
- 3D authentication
- Real-time transactions
- No technical setup required
- Cancellations and refunds authorisation
- Contact JCC for pricing
- External checkout page (not hosted on your website)
