A few years ago when eCommerce websites were just beginning to set up shop, online payment gateway providers struggled to keep up. However, in recent times, with many platforms and new technologies available, setting up online payment has never been easier.
With a payment gateway, it is easy for businesses to accept electronic payments, so more people are putting away cash in favor of the convenience of online payment options. If you’ve been searching for a payment processing Canada provider to help set up a payment gateway system for your online e-commerce business, here are some things to consider.
1. Choose an Appropriate Payment Flow
Whatever eCommerce payment gateway you choose should effortlessly scale as your business grows. Therefore, it is essential that you select the one that suits your business the most. You can do this by:
- Integrating a payment form that sends information to a secure payment gateway.
- Embedding an inline frame on the website for customers to enter their information or to redirect customers to a secure hosted payment page.
- Using an escrow system, which holds funds and only releases to the right authority when granted by the admin.
2. Assure Your Customers of Safety
Customers expect to feel safe during the buying process whether they are buying from a big company or a small business. They want to buy from a business that implements the most secure payment options.
Some payment gateways push this further by customizing the payment experience to include the brand’s logo, color palette, and typeface, but temporarily redirect to a third-party website to safely process transactions. All of this puts the customer’s mind at ease. Ensure your chosen payment gateway provider is certified for following information security standards like PCI-DSS.
3. Keep Fees and Service Agreement Requirements In Mind
Payment gateways are priced based on the type of transactions a business conducts (whether online or in-person), consistent revenue, even business sales, frequency of transactions, and the markets served. It is important that your business works with the fee structure of the payment provider or gateway. Some services may request setup fees and contracts, and others may charge transaction fees if specific transaction volumes aren’t met.
4. Ensure Effective Transactions
A recent survey found that up to 25 percent of customers will abandon their cart if they have to register an account to complete their purchase. If you use a third-party shopping cart with enrollment in your checkout procedure, ensure you include a “guest” checkout as an optional factor. In the same vein, your payment processing gateway should allow you to remove unwanted form fields to make your checkout process easier.
5. Offers Multiple Features
Depending on your business needs, online payment services provide several features. For example, if you are looking to sell your product and services across Canada, your platform for payment processing should have credit cards, debit cards, and fiat currencies as acceptable modes of payment. Payment gateways can boost efficiency by providing services like electronic invoicing, text/email reminders, ability to accept all payment types such as e-transfer request money, and more.
6. Merchant Account
It would do you a world of good to have a merchant account through which you receive funds. A merchant account allows customers to make an online payment and have the money transferred to intermediary account temporarily. This is not the same as your actual bank account.
The cash remains in a merchant account until it’s approved by the processing bank of the customer. After it is approved, the money is then transferred to your bank account. While this may seem tedious, merchant accounts provide an extra level of security for seller’s and buyer’s funds.
