OK, now you have started an e-commerce project. Or at least thought about it. Among the first things to think about (like, what you are to sell and how you are going to advertise it), there’s quite an important one too: how will you accept payments? That’s where merchant gateway services step in. It’s definitely a great way to aggregate payments and let your customers pay the way they want.
Ease
Connecting to a payment gateway makes transactions easier for both the customer and the merchant. The customer can use any payment method supported by the gateway, including Internet payment systems (like PayPal or Skrill).
You can try this way if you create your store on an established marketplace, like eBay or Amazon. But the percentage you pay for this convenience may feel overrated. That’s why you may want to create your standalone online store when your business grows large enough but still enjoy this easiness. Everything it requires is connecting a payment gateway.
By the way, you don’t have to connect just one. You can find several payment gateways with various pros: one is the most popular and reliable, another is the easiest to log in, alternative payment methods, and so on. It won’t be a problem if your business is large enough.
Safety
Gateways do not just make the transaction possible; they also make it clear. Thanks to their functionality, it’s easier to connect anti-fraud systems that prevent friendly fraud, fraudulent chargeback claims, stolen identities usage, or BOPIS (buy-online-pickup-in-store) fraud schemes. These modules use cloud-based technologies based on device fingerprints, behavioral analysis, CVV matching, and so on, to detect potentially fraudulent transactions and decline them. At the same time, they use your merchant data to keep the customers informed and thus prevent unintended friendly fraud.
Of course, these features are paid, but, given the loss they help to prevent, they areworth the money spent. Choosing the right gateway will make your online trade incomparably calmer and smoother than when you accept payments to your merchant account directly.
Support
A good payment gateway is meant to be functioning 24/7 and do its job with no delays. It’s the sort of enterprise where nonstop support is crucial, so even a minute of downtime is a disaster that’s better avoided. Systems like gateways are not installed once and left to do their job; they need constant maintenance. The upside of this is that they are always being watched and controlled on the gateway’s side. The most common issues, though, won’t require even contacting anyone: they are covered in the instructions.
In addition, if you have any specific questions, you can contact the support which is usually available 24/7. If the question is too hard for them to answer immediately, they are likely to connect you to someone competent to solve the problem. Last but not least: when the new feature is implemented, you get a detailed explanation about what it does and how it works.
This Is the (Gate) Way
When you start the e-commerce website, there is no try. Do, or do not. And if you do, make your choice wisely. You may like this or that payment gateway, but you definitely need one for safety and comfort. And the sooner you integrate it, the more familiar it will be to you, saving time to learn and figure out in the future.
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