A payment gateway is an online payment service that when integrated with an e-commerce platform is devised as the channel to make and receive payments. The procedure to receive payment includes the customer requiring to fill in details like credit/debit card number, expiry date, and CVV.
The process of integration of payment gateway is not an easy task. But if you want your website to accept online payments it is important to integrate a payment gateway. The exact steps for payment gateway integration will depend on the gateway that is chosen. If you prefer going with hosted payment gateway, you will need to connect your website to a gateway and get an SSL certificate. Also, you will need to obtain the credential of the gateway including the ID of the merchant, MWS access key, and the secret key. There is required to have a great deal of customization to make the payment process that the merchant desires.
There are 4 main methods to integrate payment gateway. They are:
PCI DSS compliance: In case you need a payment gateway solution and do not plan to store or process credit card data, as all the regulatory burden will be carried out by the gateway or payment service provider. Here as you will have to deal with sensitive data, you need to adhere to some industry regulations. The payment card industry data security standard is a mandatory element for processing credit card payments.
Hosted gateway: A hosted payment gateway acts s a third party. So it requires your customers to leave your website to complete the purchase. This is the case when the customer is redirected to a payment gateway web page to type their credit card number. The customer is redirected back to the merchant’s page when the transaction data is sent. They finalize the checkout where the transaction approval is shown.
Direct post method: Direct post is an integration method that allows the customers to shop without leaving your website as there is no need to obtain PCI compliance. The direct post assumes that the transaction data will be posted to the payment gateway after the customer clicks a purchase button. The data instantly gets to the payment gateway and processor without being stored on your server.
Non-hosted integrated method: An integrated payment gateway means there are no third parties involved at the payment checkout stage. Companies using integrated gateways obtain PCI DSS compliance that means they are in charge of storing, securing, and conducting initial verification for each transaction. The payment gateway solution is installed on the merchant’s website.
Integrated payment gateways use an application programming integration API to connect your online store to gateway services. It includes a pleasant gateway to customers for they are not redirected outside your store. Such gateways are mobile-friendly.
By using some of the extensive APIs and modules make sure that your security measures are adequate else you may have to depend on custom payment gateway development to integrate payment gateway into your website.