Whether you are a local merchant who owns a coffee shop, an e-commerce merchant, it is very important to integrate a payment gateway into your business to make sure all your financial and personal information is safe and secure. A payment gateway is software that connects the merchant account to the card association. At CloudBanking we handle the complicated paperwork and mechanisms to allow credit card transactions to go through and accept payments in minutes.
The Payment gateway acts as a bridge between the merchant and the acquiring bank, that handles all the payment transactions. When your customers enter their credit card number, the payment gateway handles the authorisation, receives the settlement, then deposits the money to the merchant’s account.
How does a Payment Gateway Helps to Keep your Payment Transaction Safe?
A Payment Gateway is equipped with the highest security setting and same-day settlement for your payments to continue growing your business. The significant benefit of a payment gateway is its build-in security to keep your customers’ information safe. They securely encrypt data and help pass sensitive information between a merchant store and a bank. It acts as an online version of POS (Point of Sale), which stores use for taking payments from customers.
PCI-DSS is designed to add up a security layer to the Payment Gateway. Known as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, it is a set of procedures and policies that is designed to optimise the safety of debit, credit, and card transactions and protect cardholders’ personal information from unauthorised access.
A Payment gateway enters the transaction at a number of stages. They are:
When a customer places an order and click the Check-out button, they are directed to the payment page, where he/she has to provide credit/debit card details.
Once they provide their card details, the web browser encrypts in information via its encryption protocol, which sends the data to the merchant’s web server.
The merchant further processes the data to its payment gateway server using encryption.
The Payment gateway forwards the information to the payment processor used by the merchant’s bank.
The payment processor sends the details to the card association, which acts as the issuing bank, and responds “approved” or “declined” and sent to the payment gateway.
The credit card-issuing bank gets an authorisation request and checks the credit and debit balance. It transmits a response to the payment processor with some code indicating the state of the response, such as approved or denied. If the transaction is denied, then the reason for the denial (such as insufficient balance or bank link not available) is also attached to the code.
The payment processor sends the response to the payment gateway. If the response is positive, it will be added to the merchant’s other approved transactions.
The payment gateway delivers the authorisation response to the website to complete or reject the transaction.
CloudBanking is a hosted payment gateway, where a customer is directed away from their current website to the payment gateway website page. At the payment page, the customer is asked to enter the transaction details or credit card details on the payment service provider page. Once the customer makes the payment, he/she is redirected to the merchant’s website.
Moreover, with an innovative API tool, the CloudBanking payment gateway provides a checkout option via the merchants’ website. Customers can directly enter transaction information on the payment page where it is controlled by CloudBanking’s payment protection with complete safety assurance. Once the customer has entered the card details and other important transaction information, he/she is taken back to the merchant’s site. This type of payment gateway can save customers time as they are not being redirected to another website.
How to choose the Right Payment Gateway?
The market offers many secured server hosting payment gateway plans ‒ each with its own advantages and drawbacks. Here are some important criteria to consider while choosing the ideal payment gateway for your business. Check out the fees of each gateway plan you are considering. Some payment gateway service providers demand a percentage of the total monthly transactions, whereas CloudBanking has a transparent pricing model with a flat rate or interchangeable. It depends on your business’s geographic location and how many transactions you see each month.
A properly secured gateway plan promises profit in the long run. Research the security of the plan you are considering, looking at whether it uses SSL certification for data encryption or has any other security benefits. Not every gateway may support the type of products your business sells.
Choosing the right payment gateway is a must for taking payments from your business in-store or online. Consider the safety structure that’s right for your business – while CloudBanking has solutions tailored to both small and medium-sized businesses, we will work with you to ensure you’re equipped with the best payment gateway for your needs.
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