Over the past few decades, e-commerce has become an integral part of the retail industry, while online shopping has entered the daily lives of most consumers in many countries around the world. And in order for online shopping to work seamlessly, there is a need for tools that allow merchants to get paid for the products purchased online. To achieve this, electronic payment gateways have been created that allow online payments in just a few “clicks”. Thanks to these payment services, buyers can effortlessly pay for their products and services while sellers can also receive payments without hitches and hiccups.
What is a payment gateway?
A payment gateway is a transaction processing platform that allows e-commerce merchants working in offices to process payments online or via cloud computing. These services serve as a gateway between the store and the shopper’s financial data to facilitate payments.
Without them, online payments are not possible whatsoever.
How they work
1. Authorization
Any payment made online via a debit or credit card must first receive authorization from the issuer for the transaction to be complete. The payment gateway verifies if the card is acceptable then proceeds to create a secure link between the shopper, the online store, and card processor. Moreover, it facilitates seamless and quick payments which have an impressive response time of fewer than 2 seconds.
2. Settling
After authorizing a transaction, internet payment gateways consolidates all the transactions and then sends them directly to your bank account as a single batch. This process of sending the transaction to your bank account is known as settling and it also the stage where funds are finally deposited to your account. After funds have settled, they reflect in your bank account after 2 days or so depending on the gateway you are using.
3. Reporting
Once funds are fully settled, they are all recorded by the payment gateway and. Most of them allow you to view and print these reports using payment gateway reporting features.
Other benefits
Unlimited Users
Unlike terminal only gateways which process only one transaction at a time, internet payment gateways allow an unlimited number of people to use it at the same time
Fraud Screening Tools
Besides authentication of transactions, these gateways also come with fraud detecting tools which minimize the risk of fraudulent transactions. Some of these tools include card code value (CCV) and address verification (AVS). By storing credit card transactions in the gateway, rather than on your website, you also reduce the chances of hackers getting your customers’ financial information which could end up being a liability to your business.
Virtual terminal
With most internet payment gateways, you also get a virtual terminal which allows you to manually enter transactions. This comes in handy more so when receiving orders through the mail or over the phone.
At Creative971, we keep our Shopify knowledge and training up-to-date in order to offer our clients quick, beautiful and user-friendly e-commerce sites. To discover how optimized your Shopify store is, or to get started on a shiny new site today, get in touch.
SHARE
About the Author:
Julia Jackle
Julia is the co-founder and CEO of Creative971 and has written blogs in the past for the Entrepreneur Magazine UAE. Her extensive knowledge in the E-Commerce industry in the UAE and GCC is widely appreciated.
ONLINE TRAINING
Have you ever looked for online Shopify Trainings or E-Commerce Blueprints for the UAE? Look no further. As the leading Middle Eastern Shopify expert agency, we have gathered all there is to know.
This training is not a tutorial on how to set up your Shopify store, but a mentorship with first hand agency insights what you need in order to understand and run your E-Commerce business on Shopify successfully.
Creative971 hosts multiple events, Shopify meetups and conferences all around E-Commerce on Shopify in Dubai and the Middle Eastern region.
Follow us @creative971 through social media and stay updated so you can meet us at one of our events.
NEWSLETTER
Stay up to date around Shopify E-Commerce in Dubai and the Middle East.
ONLINE TRAINING
ONLINE TRAINING
Have you ever looked for online Shopify Trainings or E-Commerce Blueprints for the UAE? Look no further. As the leading Middle Eastern Shopify expert agency, we have gathered all there is to know.
This training is not a tutorial on how to set up your Shopify store, but a mentorship with first hand agency insights what you need in order to understand and run your E-Commerce business on Shopify successfully.