Member Article

5 Tips for Getting Payment Gateways Right

Your multi-channel ecommerce success relies a great payment gateway – here’s how to pick one.

Multi-channel ecommerce is reliant on a good payment gateway to ensure that transactions are completed to the satisfaction of both buyer and seller. So how do you identify the right payment gateway for your company?

1. What level of fraud protection is on offer?

The Internet makes buying and selling very easy. Unfortunately fraud is also a whole lot easier to commit, creating major problems for retailers.

Any payment gateway under consideration must offer your multi-channel ecommerce operation protection against fraud and associated loss. The system should also protect your customers without getting in the way of their transaction.

According to new research commissioned by Accertify:

Consumers will change their shopping behaviour if they have a negative experience with a fraud protection system. One in three respondents (35%) said they would penalise the business responsible for an improperly delayed or denied transaction by moving or considering moving their business to a competitor. More than a quarter of genuine consumers (28%) have encountered a fraud protection system that unnecessarily delayed or denied their transaction.

2. Is the gateway PCI DSS compliant?

PCI DSS compliance is a legal requirement for any multi channel ecommerce system that handles credit card details. You must ensure that sensitive data is not stored by your company, or you could face fines of up to £500,000.

If the gateway under consideration cannot prove compliance, it is unsuitable.

3. Is multicurrency support on offer?

Selling goods abroad is simple. Accepting payment is not. Dealing with multiple currencies, exchange rates and handling fees makes a simple sale quite complicated if buyer and seller are located in different countries.

To make your multi-channel ecommerce platform open to the widest possible audience, your payment gateway must support multiple currencies.

4. How do the handling fees work?

Every payment processed online attracts a standard handling fee, usually based on the value of the transaction. However there are additional charges for different payment cards, currency exchange rates and other variables specific to the payment provider.

You must fully understand the cost implications of any charges, including international estimated sales volumes before committing your multi-channel ecommerce operations to any gateway.

5. Is there any mobile integration?

The growth of mCommerce is increasingly important, particularly for retailers looking to gain a competitive advantage. Your ideal payment gateway will therefore provide simple mobile integration, extending the potential of your multi-channel ecommerce operations.

“The m-commerce market is expected to account for 24.4% of overall e-commerce revenues by the end of 2017.“ ABI Research

The right payment platform for your business will depend on your specific multi-channel ecommerce offerings. However it will undoubtedly meet these five requirements.

Such advancements are making retailers ask: is e-commerce killing off the British high street? Brands like Tesco and Burberry have taken a new approach to their bricks-and-mortar stores by embracing the multi-channel approach. Find out more by copying and pasting this link http://bit.ly/1NpqJgM into your browser and reading: ’The Death of the High Street?’

This post first appeared on the Sanderson blog.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ian Newcombe .