Before you even think about which payment gateway to go with, you need to know what to look for when making this decision.
There are a few key areas to focus on, including SSL certification and PCI compliance, e-commerce reputation and reliability, tracking and reporting capabilities, the responsiveness of the service team, and how much does it cost?
By assessing each of these areas, you can make a more informed decision about which payment gateway is right for your eCommerce store.
SSL Certification and PCI Compliance
A payment gateway’s SSL certification and PCI compliance are probably the two most important areas to focus on. If a payment gateway doesn’t have these areas in check, you will most likely get hit with fines from credit card companies.
PCI compliance refers to a standard set of guidelines that all e-commerce businesses must follow in order to protect customer credit card data. By complying with PCI standards, you can make sure your payment process is secure and your customers can feel safe when buying from your online store.
SSL certification refers to the encryption method used to protect the transmission of data during the checkout process. By using this method, your customers will be able to see a green padlock in their web browser.
This will let them know the checkout process is secure and encrypted, which they generally look for when making online purchases.
ECommerce Reputation And Reliability
The reputation of a payment gateway plays a big role in how your customers perceive your store. If you select a payment gateway with a poor reputation, you could be hurting your conversion rates and sales figures.
Why? Because the majority of your customers will find out about your payment gateway’s reputation online. If you see negative reviews and feedback, it will be hard to convince new visitors to trust you and buy from your online store.
That’s why you need to make sure you select a payment gateway with a positive reputation. That way, you can build trust with your customers and boost your conversion rates.
A payment gateway’s reputation can be determined based on the following areas:
E-commerce longevity – This refers to how long the payment gateway has been in business. You want to select a payment gateway that has been around for a decent amount of time. If a payment gateway just started taking payments, it probably hasn’t gone through the necessary steps to become PCI compliant.
Customer satisfaction – This refers to how customers rate the payment gateway on a scale from 1 to 10. The lower the score, the more dissatisfied customers are with the experience of using the gateway. The higher the score, the more satisfied customers are with their experience.
Online reviews – This refers to the number of online reviews a payment gateway has received. You want to make sure the payment gateway has received a decent number of reviews from customers over the past few years. If the payment gateway has a low number of reviews or they’re all negative reviews, you have to ask yourself why.
Tracking And Reporting Capabilities
If you want to track your business’s performance, you need to make sure you choose a payment gateway with tracking and reporting capabilities.
This will give you access to valuable information like sales reports and data analysis, which can make running your online store much easier. It will also help you make better marketing decisions and give you a better idea of how to make your store more profitable. The more data you have, the better you can understand the needs and wants of your customers.
So, make sure you select a payment gateway that offers the tracking and reporting features that you need.
There are two main types of reporting features that you should look for:
Transaction reports – This refers to an analytics report that shows you how many customers have made purchases over a certain period of time. It will also show you how much each transaction was for, along with other important details such as the coupon code that was used.
Chargeback reports – This refers to an analytics report that shows you the number of chargebacks (or payment cancellations) that have been initiated against your business in a given period of time. This can help you identify where you’re losing money and where you need to make improvements in your business.
Responsiveness Of The Service Team
No matter which payment gateway you decide to go with, you need to make sure they have a responsive service team.
This will help you have a smooth transition into using the payment gateway and answer any questions you might have. It will also give you an idea of how responsive the service team will be when you need help troubleshooting issues.
You don’t want to be stuck in a pickle because you chose a payment gateway with a service team that doesn’t respond to emails. You also want to make sure the payment gateway has a robust knowledge base that you can refer to if needed. This can help you find the answers to common questions quickly so you can get back to business.
How Much Does It Cost?
Finally, make sure you select a payment gateway that fits within your budget. All payment gateways charge some sort of fee for accepting payments.
However, there are some that charge more than others. When comparing payment gateways, you want to make sure you select the one that offers the features you need at the lowest rate possible.
You also want to make sure the payment gateway is upfront about their fee structure so you can make an informed decision. The last thing you want to do is get stuck with hidden fees down the road that make accepting payments more expensive than they should be.
Choosing a payment gateway can be a challenging process. That’s why it’s important to choose the right payment gateway for your eCommerce store. By assessing each of these areas, you can make sure you select a payment gateway that works for you.
