Life has become simpler with the use of cashless payment methods like debit cards or credit cards, these tiny cards allow us to spend enormous amounts without any struggle and thus have become an addictive process. Being a convenient method, it has now moved to mobile apps and websites concurring the entire online business. Without a doubt, mobile phones are the leading edge of technology in this revolution. Customers find it handy to shop from mobile thus having a mobile app for your business can help increase revenue. If you want to have a mobile application involving payment operations and you know nothing about payment gateway then you are at the right place, continue reading till the end to find out what is a payment gateway. In this blog, we talk about what is a payment gateway and how it can be integrated into your mobile application.
What is a Payment gateway?
Well, payment gateway services are the only way in which you can accept payments through a website or mobile application. They act as a bridge between the transaction that the customer wants to make and the payment processor. The app cannot directly connect to payment processors for security reasons thus payment gateways are required.
How does Payment Gateway work?
Firstly internet connection is required to access the payment gateway service. While proceeding with the payment you need to choose the payment mode like Credit/Debit card and fill in the details.
Once you finish filling up the details the data is sent to the payment gateway system which then transfers the data to a bank associated with a card. Bank creates requests with payment systems like visa or master card depending on the card used. These payment systems check if the customer has the required amount on balance to pay for the purchase, if yes the bank directly connects with the merchant and the amount is transferred to the merchant’s account within several days
What are the things to consider before Integrating Payment Gateway?
- Merchant account: A merchant account is a must for a seller as it temporarily holds the amount received from the sales in the app and then transfers it to the regular bank account. If a payment gateway is integrated into the application then the provider will first verify the transaction and send it to the merchant account. There are two types of merchant accounts.
- Dedicated Merchant Account.
- Aggregate Merchant Account.
A dedicated Merchant Account is custom-made for business transactions, it is suitable for individual business owners or merchants. But implementation of a dedicated merchant account requires an additional expenditure which causes difficulties for someone tight on budget.
A user can easily manage funds and expenses but the disadvantage is that it takes a longer time for the purchase process and does a deep inspection of the credit check.
Aggregated Merchant Account is where all the money from other businesses is stored altogether like a bank which is shared among several people. To connect with an aggregate merchant account you need to provide so information about your company and the type of product you intend to sell. The process is far less complicated compared to a dedicated merchant account. The disadvantage is that it gives less control over how long it takes to get your money.
- Ease of Payment Gateway Integration: The process of integrating the payment gateway has to be simple which is possible if the developer SDK is simple and takes minimum developer time for integration and the updates are easily handled by the merchant.
The SDK must be light to ensure it occupies minimum space in the user’s mobile.
- User-friendly UI: User Interface of the online payment gateway must complement the overall brand language. UI must be such that customers can make a transaction without any conflict. The bank pages should be mobile-friendly. There should be the least number of steps for completing a transaction.
- Payment Analytics: Analytics helps to figure out actual problems, this helps to optimize the payment experience in the app. There are several aspects of online payment such as payment failure, Double payment, refund, and more. Analytics helps to identify all of them and thus should be considered while integrating a payment gateway in the app.
- Customer Support: Customer Support helps in addressing issues related to payment integration and post-integration. Merchant overlooks for customer support, A payment gateway should provide an effective solution to all payment-related queries. For instance, the best payment integration service providers offer customer support for all payment-related queries and ensure that they are resolved in the shortest possible time.
- Payment Receipt: After every transaction, the customer must receive a confirmation mail regarding the transaction, this helps in building customer trust. The payment gateway has direct access to transaction status and thus status should be shared with the customer. Payment receipt helps in building brand engagement for the merchant.
- Features and Plugins: All the payment gateways have different features and plugins which differentiate them from each other. These features help in optimizing the payment experience to provide a better payment interface for customers. Card saving is one of the features where customers’ card details are saved for future purchases. Another feature is auto OPT reading wherein customers need not have to type in the OPT manually the payment gateway automatically reads the OTP from user’s mobile thus reducing the chance of manual error.
When it comes to choosing a payment gateway for your mobile app, consider all the factors from customer support, and analytics to features, and choose the one that is closest to your business needs.
Digital Payment Guru is a team of payment gateway experts having years of experience of years with several banking institutions. Our target is to bring all MSMEs online by implementing the best digital payment gateway integration system and providing world-class experiences that are easier, quick, secure & affordable, thus generating innovative opportunities & sustainable living. We assume every business design deserves to be on the Internet to flourish.
