Global Payment Gateways for E-Commerce: What You Need to Know

Cashless transactions are why any small business today can seamlessly expand beyond a brick-and-mortar setup. Even the big-shot names have gone global due to the ease of secure financial transactions facilitated by the payment gateways.

The diverse changes in the business landscape and the growing need for seamless cross-border transactions have paved the way for the payment gateways to rescue the day. The thing is, in a digitally dependent world like ours, a faulty payment gateway can break or make your business.

A payment gateway is a secure path through which you can facilitate digital transactions between two parties. As a small or established business, you must understand its concept and realize how it adds value to your business. It reduces the security risks and improves the overall credibility of your business.

What is a Payment Gateway?

Any purchase that you make online is through a payment gateway. You can consider it as a safe vessel that helps transfer your financial information securely from one end to the other.

When you initiate a purchase on an e-commerce platform, the payment gateway acts as an intermediary. It encrypts your payment details, such as debit or credit card information, and sends them to the business. Once the payment is verified by the bank, it processes the information back to the business, marking the payment as successful.

It is nothing but an added layer of security in the ongoing transactions to get rid of any potential fraud risk or malpractice. You will find every renowned business these days has a payment gateway to ensure the entire financial cycle sees its fulfillment without any hassle.

Currently, however, there are one too many options to choose from when it comes to payment gateways. In order to understand the perfect one for your business setup you can take a look at its features and some top names that offer more than they promise.

Key Features to Look for in a Payment Gateway

The main reason why a business should opt for a payment gateway is security and to ensure a good customer experience. So, an ideal Payment Gateway network should include some advanced features as listed below to get the job done.

• PCI DSS Compliance: Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard is the security policy that helps protect a customer’s financial information. The payment gateway follows the set standards by the card brands and tries to facilitate a secure transaction.
• Encryption: The gateway scrambles and hides your codes to ensure it is not misguided to any unwanted location and results in huge financial loss.
• Fraud Prevention: Calling out any suspicious transaction and protecting from financial irregularities is another feature a payment gateway is supposed to offer.
• Mobile optimization: Your preferred payment gateway should offer an optimized mobile experience to ensure the salability of your products on every platform.
• Easy Integration: Another important feature you must look for in your preferred payment gateway is effortless setup and easy integration with existing e-commerce platforms, such as Shopify, WooCommerce, and others.

Top Global Payment Gateways for E-Commerce

Currently, to ease the distress of E-commerce website owners and businessmen, we have a varied range of options for a payment gateway. They all preach to the same cause in varied packaging offering the same high-end solutions for your needs.

• PayPal: It is one of the most renowned names when it comes to payment gateways. The tool is available in 200 countries/regions and supports 25 currencies. It has always been known to cater to small and big businesses equally with its optimized pricing plans and features.
• Amazon Pay: Another trusted payment gateway from the house of Amazon, offering a secure environment for your transactions. The tool is not limited to the Amazon setup and allows you to make third-party transactions too. With no hassle of prior sign-ups, it paves the way for a smooth online transactional experience.
• Braintree: Currently a subsidiary of PayPal this fintech giant currently operates in 45 countries and regions. It is designed to ensure the integrity of both mobile and web payments and is trusted by all equally. It currently allows merchants to accept PayPal, Venmo, and credit or debit cards seamlessly.
• Ayden: Ayden allows merchants to accept electronic payments using payment methods including credit cards, debit cards, wire transfers, and real-time bank transfers based on online banking. It is a payment gateway and a service provider all in one. It is currently associated with big names like Meta, Uber, H&M, eBay, and Microsoft among many others.
• Stripe: It is estimated to be the biggest fintech company, with a valuation of about $65 billion and over $1 trillion in payment volume. It offers easy and variable solutions for online payments globally and supports credit and debit cards, digital wallets (like Apple Pay and Google Pay), and even bank transfers, making it highly versatile.

Payment Gateway Integration With E-commerce Platforms

It is of critical importance in recent times that you facilitate a smooth integration of the payment gateways with your business. It will not only ensure transactional security but also provide the shoppers with a smooth experience.

Nobody wants to see the carts getting abandoned due to a frustrating payment experience out of everything else. Choosing the payment gateway that works in the favour of your business needs to tick the below boxes for a fruitful operation:

• Checking if the selected tool is capable of supporting international payments.
• Make sure it supports all the popular methods of payment like credit/debit cards, digital wallets, etc.
• The exact charges it levies on your business and if there are any extra hidden charges.
• Taking into consideration the fraud protection factor and encryption should be your other criterion.
• Lastly, you have to make sure it is compatible with your website for better performance.

Challenges of Using Global Payment Gateway

The integration and usage of global payment gateways are not always fun and games and pose some serious challenges for a business. While trying to keep the customer’s best interest in mind you might have to encounter certain pressing factors like:

• Exchange rate fluctuations
• Cross border restrictions
• Security threats
• Payment delays
• High transaction costs and others.

UAE: A Growing Hub for E-Commerce

The Gulf market is presently being flooded with online shopping platforms or e-commerce platforms. Owing to its widespread connectivity and almost 99 percent of the population being able to browse the net, a digital storm has swept over the UAE.

Its commitment to promoting e-commerce as part of its broader vision to diversify the economy, alongside initiatives like the UAE Golden Visa, has paved the way for it to become the new digital hub of the world. It has seen a massive upgrade in the payment solution, which has led to a successful foundation of the e-commerce giants.

Moreover, the rise of niche online stores, such as those specializing in fashion, beauty, and electronics, has further expanded the diversity of the e-commerce market. In fact, as per Statista the revenue in the e-Commerce Market is projected to reach US$6.98bn in 2024.

How to Choose the Right Payment Gateway for Your Business

Choosing the right payment gateway for your business is a piece of cake if you can create a clear picture of what you plan to offer your customers. It is critical for you to understand beforehand that, there are certain challenges involved in opting for an integrated payment gateway system. But navigating through its challenges can be easier once you consider the below factors:

• Understand your transaction volume and business type (international or national) to shortlist a tool that will help you navigate smoothly.
• You must decide what payment methods you wish to offer (credit/debit cards, digital wallets, etc.)
• You must check for PCI DSS Compliance in order to decide on a gateway that will work in your favor.
• Opting for paths that support both local and international payments can be the best way to decide on an option.

Future Trends in Payment Gateways

The payment gateways are only going to evolve from now on, and we are going to see some advanced and favorable changes in the coming future.

• Biometric Authentication: With an increased use of mobile devices the integration of biometric authentication will take over the payment gateways. For an easy and smooth operation, the customers won't have to verify their credentials as often as they have to now.
• Contactless Payments: Customers are on the lookout for a faster payment option these days. So a setup that facilitates the quick payment cycle both online and offline will be another major aspect of the payment gateways.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML): With AI coming into the payment scene we will be able to achieve smart fraud detection and automated payment dispute analysis for a faster resolution.
• Cryptocurrencies: Payments gateways will, in time, absorb the blockchain technology into making it possible to pay via cryptocurrency. Once this payment means becomes widespread, companies will be encouraged to leverage it to gain an access opportunity to more crypto holders.
• Voice-Activated Payments: with voice assistants like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple Siri, becoming a more significant part of the payment landscape we can see a fruitful collaboration of the gateways with the voice assistants for a flawless shopping experience.

Conclusion

The world of payment gateways has a lot to offer and for you to discover as a business. It is one of the most preferred ways to conduct business in the present times and this dependency will only see an increase.

With multiple options available, choosing the right payment gateway involves considering various factors like security, transaction fees easy integration and others. As the e-commerce industry continues to grow, staying up-to-date with the latest trends and technology will ensure that your business remains in touch with the preferences of your customers.