How to choose a payment processor for your business

Key quotes:

• "Choosing the right payment gateway determines the currencies you can accept, the transaction fee, how fast money gets in your merchant account, and the payment methods you’ll offer."
• "Generally, there are four main methods to integrate a payment gateway: A hosted payment gateway acts as a third party, as it requires your customers to leave your website to complete a purchase."
• "The pros are that you have full control over the transactions at your website."
• "Like any service, a payment gateway requires a fee for using third-party tools to process and authorize the transaction."
• "Popular gateway providers offer multi-currency support processing with or without an additional fee."
• "Stripe accepts all major payment methods, including mobile payment providers such as Apple Pay, WeChat Pay, Alipay, and Android Pay."

Transcript: If your small business is looking to accept credit debit or online payments for the very first time or if you are business looking to switch from your existing payment processor consider a number of factors before making your choice some processors lure you in with rates much lower than their competitors while these advertised rates often seem attractive it's the charges and fees you don't see that can really sink your ship what should matter is the total cost of acceptance make sure you understand these terms and that they are clearly reflected in your contract before entering into any agreement in order to process payments your business will need a payment terminal which can either be rented or leased to own although leasing may seem attractive many times contracts contain harsh exit penalties requiring you to pay even if your equipment fails or grows obsolete make sure the provider has a terminal rental option as a small business owner we understand how difficult it can be to run your business choosing a processor with easy-to-understand monthly statements will save you valuable time and effort when it comes to balancing the books even when your business is running smoothly... See more →

Key quotes:

• "Every second thousands of users all over the world are making payments online on different ecommerce websites or mobile apps."
• "In today’s article: what do you need to know and what to expect when you are choosing a merchant payment processor (also known as a payment gateway) for your ecommerce website."
• "If you want to accept payments online you have two options: setup and customize every payment system yourself — to get approved for a merchant account by banks, figure out how to integrate a payment gateway into your shopping cart… or you can use services of third-party payment processors where everything is included."
• "Somebody gravitates towards a payment processor with a successful work of its call-center, somebody focuses on the lowest rates, somebody makes a choice randomly."
• "If your business entirely depends on your website with the payment processor that offers a limited number of choices you should think one step ahead."
• "It’s totally fine to have 2 or 3 options to accept payments online."

Transcript: How to own a payment gateway hi there this is Tommy he has been selling wool sweaters in his online shop but is struggling with the high fees of accepting payments I've got it I should just start my own payment gateway no more high fees no more endless support calls I'll just take matters into my own hands it looks like Tommy is on the verge of making a critical decision for his business he's going to make a change regarding his payment processor but is he on the right path I'm pretty sure that running a gateway isn't a very big deal I just need to buy some software get it hosted link it up to my website and I'll be up and running in no time but are you sure it's as simple as that well Tommy things are actually a bit more complicated you see payment gateways software is only one piece and a very complex puzzle the payment gateway must be deployed in a PCI compliant environment PCI what PCI compliance is a security standard defined by card brands when you make your sweaters for customers to buy they have to be of some agreed-upon... See more →

Key quotes:

• "The phrase merchant services is a technical term for the financial services that allow a business to accept credit card transactions, as well as other electronic methods like debit cards and mobile payments."
• "To thoroughly understand how merchant services work, it’s helpful to know how credit card processing works at a high-level: With the above in mind, the term “merchant services” refers to your merchant account."
• "Due to their critical role in the credit card transaction process, MSPs typically offer a variety of other payment processing products."
• "This reader will need to connect to the internet to transmit payment data to your merchant account and along to the rest of the parties involved in a card transaction."
• "Lastly, to future proof your business as much as possible, you’ll want to ensure that your hardware works with EMV chip cards, as well as NFC payment methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay."
• "Payment Gateway A payment gateway is a piece of software or a web service that sits in front of the merchant account in the credit card transaction process."

Key quotes:

• "Finding the best credit card processing for small business is one way to trim expenses."
• "You don’t need to be a new business to shop around for a credit card processing company."
• "In this article, we’ll walk through what you should consider when shopping for a new credit card processing solution for your company."
• "You want a processing company that has low rates, setup fees and a pricing model that aligns with your business."
• "Responsive customer service is a must when processing credit card transactions."
• "Let’s get into some of the specific areas to consider when looking for a new credit card processing solution."

Key quotes:

• "The gateway then sends the transaction data to the payment processor utilized by the vendor’s acquiring bank."
• "Authorization Request: The payment processor sends the transaction data to a card association."
• "We’ll show you how → Modern payment gateways, like Stripe and Braintree, are actually also merchant account providers."
• "More established payment gateways, like PayPal, don’t provide merchant accounts and also don’t require them for you to accept payments to your business."
• "In many countries, it’s legally required to have a separate bank account for your business finances and tax records."
• "Since all payment gateways deal with sensitive consumer data, it’s crucial they have the highest security standards to protect the consumers."