Whether you are a business owner or not, if you bought and paid for anything online at some point in your life then you were probably met with a plethora of payment methods.
Payment Gateways are in essence a service provided for online payments. It allows for both online sellers as well as brick-and-mortar to accept online payments from around the world.
As technology keeps reinventing itself and while customers demand for safe and easy payment solutions and you want your business to grow, it is quite important not to be left behind in what concerns exploring these new avenues for payment gateways.
So, if you’re looking for a safe and hassle-free solution for your business, read on to find our top 5 picks for Payment Gateway Providers in 2022.
What Is a Payment Gateway?
First things first, a payment gateway from a customer’s perspective can be seen as the webpage or place on a webpage where a shopper can securely provide their credit card information.
The payment gateway provider proceeds to verify the legitimacy of said credit card info as the transaction proceeds further.
Shoppers tend to trust payment gateways with a wide range of payment processing options, sleek design and easy customization features.
How Do Payment Gateway Providers Work?
Payment gateway providers work in 4 easy steps:
1. The customer will first input his payment information, such as credit card number, and so forth.
2. He or she will then proceed with the order and the eCommerce website will subsequently send the payment info through the payment gateway.
3. The payment gateway will expedite the request to the user’s credit card company who will, in turn, verify the payment’s authenticity and authorize it.
4. Lastly, the payment gateway will send the funds to the seller.
In essence, the payment gateway provider will act like a cashier or a middleman due to how it collects the money from the client and deposits it in the business owner’s bank account.
How Much Does a Payment Gateway Provider Cost?
If you are pondering on which payment gateway provider will cut less into your margins, that will depend on at least 3 different factors:
1. The rates which tend to vary for both the in-person and the online payments.
2. The costs for processing different credit cards.
3. The 'dimension' in which you are selling more.
How Do You Choose the Best Payment Gateway for You?
Given all the variables at hand if you’re wondering which payment gateway will suit your online business best, the best way to be absolutely sure is to do a pros and cons list between the lot.
List the most suitable features for your business and, obviously the prices involved.
Make sure to give them a call to further discuss their plans, the inherent learning curve, their features, how they handle sensitive data and, of course, potential subscription charges.
And Finance Magnates’ List of Top 5 Payment Providers Is…
These are our top 5 picks for Payment Providers in 2022.
1. Authorize.net
Based in | Foster City, CA |
Monthly Fee? | $25 per month |
Processing Cost | Depends on which plan you choose: Payment Gateway Only $0.10 per transaction + $0.10 daily batch fee Or All-in-One Option 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction |
# of supported currencies | amount |
Built-in Customer Security | Yes |
Fraud Prevention | Yes |
Best Overall
Website: https://www.authorize.net/
Authorize.net is owned by VISA and was established in 1996, making it one of the oldest and more experienced payment gateway providers out there. The added experience comes with a lot of benefits including partnerships with a plethora of merchant account providers, credit, debit and digital payment solutions.
It now serves almost half a million merchants and, given that it accepts transactions from all over the world, it manages an estimated one billion transactions every year, all while keeping data security at the highest level.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Authorize.net is known for its user-friendliness and its compatibility with pretty much any merchant account, making one of the preferred choices by new sellers and seasoned users alike.
Being owned by Visa boots the payment gateway’s flexibility to the businesses that adopt it, which is why it keeps getting featured in every single top payment gateways list.
Authorize.Net also features two distinct packages: the payment gateway package and all-in-one package which includes payment gateway as well as a merchant account.
Any of the two packages will include recurring payments, fraud prevention filters, mobile payments, customer information management systems, and there are no fees to set either of them up.
Authorize.Net also features a virtual point-of-sale system (POS). Accepting electronic checks is an option, however, it comes with additional costs.
Cons:
Even though Authorize.Net’s pricing is transparent, regardless of whether you are using it or not, you will be met with a $25 monthly fee.
In what concerns in-person transactions, the point-of-sale system may lack robustness.
Unique Features
In addition to accepting more payment types than most other payment gateways, it is also one of the very few to accept PayPal.
2. Paypal (Paypal Payments Pro)
Based in | San Jose, California |
Monthly Fee? | No |
Processing Cost | a flat rate of 2.90 percent + a $0.30 per-transaction fee |
# of supported currencies | 26 currencies from 202 countries |
Built-in Customer Security | Yes |
Fraud Prevention | Yes |
Best for Online Focused Businesses
Website: https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/paypal-payments-pro
Paypal has come a long way since its creation as a simple digital wallet in 1999 and following its acquisition by eBay in 2002, it has now been widely considered as perhaps the most versatile online payment processor.
Paypal soon became a trusted name and now, among the many payment types it features, the platform also offers the possibility of paying with Paypal which is why many more websites are featuring a 'Pay by Paypal' button.
It comes as no surprise that the company boasts a 44% increase in checkout conversions as it has been adopted by businesses far and wide.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Paypal Payments Pro gives its users great versatility in allowing them to accept payments from AMEX, Discover, VISA, Mastercard and, of course, Paypal Credit.
The platform integrates with major e-commerce players like Shopify, BigCommerce, Squarespace, Shopify, etc. Paypal boasts having bank-like security and fraud prevention due to its state-of-the-art data encryption technology.
It works on all types of electronic devices every operating system. Payments can be made by scanning the seller’s QR code. It allows for the creation of custom invoices within the platform itself.
Unique Features
Paypal Payments Pro features phone-based credit card payments, as well as online invoicing and even in-person payments.
Paying with crypto. The ‘Pay in 4’ feature allows customers to buy anything they wish and pay for it in 4 installments later.
Paypal allows for its users to send payments with an email address, meaning that bank details are unnecessary in this process.
Its One-Touch feature and credit card integration speed up transactions by removing redundancy in the checkout process, such as having to retype information.
3. Braintree
Based in | Chicago |
Monthly Fee? | No |
Processing Cost | 2.9% + $.030 charge per transaction |
# of supported currencies | 130 currencies from a global market of 40 countries |
Built-in Customer Security | Yes |
Fraud Prevention | Yes |
Best for Start-ups
Website: https://www.braintreepayments.com/
Braintree has been a part of the Paypal network since 2013. The online payment gateway effectively makes payments easier by offering the necessary tools for people to build their businesses up and accept payments in a fast and secure fashion from all over the world.
Braintree allows for accepting, splitting and enabling payments in more than 130 currencies with no exchange fees or cross-border fees being added to the equation.
It does so while protecting its users with settlement and fraud protection.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
Braintree’s Drop-in UI is perhaps one of the fastest ways to allow users to begin accepting payments.
Hosted Fields, Braintree’s security feature allows its users to control their web checkout without compromising in security and boasting its advanced fraud detection.
The ready-made and incredibly sleek payment UI is designed to immediately begin accepting Paypal credit and credit cards on apps and websites.
Unique Features
Users can tailor and experiment with their checkout flows and deploy their ideas onto the platform, all of this while maintaining the PCI SAQ A compliant status.
Braintree Vault allows for users to migrate their own data in or out of the platform’s system (sensitive data is kept in a secure system provided by the platform for PCI-compliance).
4. 2Checkout (now Verifone)
Based in | Alpharetta, GA |
Monthly Fee? | No |
Processing Cost | variable flat rate + variable fee depending on subscription plan 3.5% + $0.35 4.5% + $0.45 6.0% + %0.60 |
# of supported currencies | 87 currencies |
Built-in Customer Security | Yes |
Fraud Prevention | Yes |
Best for Businesses Focused on International Sales
Website: https://www.2checkout.com/
From Startups to Fortune 500 companies, 2Checkout connects over 20,000 companies in over 180 countries to their customers around the world.
One of the leading global payment platforms around, 2Checkout is ready for online and mobile payments as it is designed to maximize conversions by means of adapting to whatever local aspects one’s industry might have.
Its localized payment options aim to tear down conversion problematic elements, such as the language barrier or the payment methods themselves, which is why over 50,000 merchants have put their trust in 2Checkout.
Pros and Cons
Pros
Supports multiple payment methods including Paypal. Global availability (211 markets) while maintaining localized options and customizable settings for merchants.
Platform integration capabilities (over 100 invoicing systems and online shopping carts systems)
Recurring billing. Level 1 PCI security certification (the highest possible) assures transactions are safe and protects merchants and customers from potential fraud.
Unique Features
Inline checkout integrates with the merchant’s website, meaning it provides all benefits one has in a hosted checkout solution. Custom subscription plans can be created.
5. Stripe
Based in | San Francisco |
Monthly Fee? | No |
Processing Cost | Integrated plan: 1.4% + €0.25 for European Economic Area cards (+1.1% for UK cards) 2.9% + €0.25 for international cards Custom Plan: Costs will vary |
# of supported currencies | Over 135 currencies |
Built-in Customer Security | Yes |
Fraud Prevention | Yes |
Best for: All-in-one solution seekers
Website: https://stripe.com/
Stripe is a cloud-based payment platform which is designed to facilitate online transactions by giving end-to-end solutions for processing payments.
It specializes in processing online payments which is why web-based business gravitate towards it. Even small business payment processing is taken to the next level.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
In terms of infrastructure, Stripe is cloud-based, meaning that the payment gateway software allows for easy scalability.
Forge about having a third party. Stripe offers an all-in-one solution in what concerns accepting and processing payment, the settlement process, reconciling and, obviously, managing said payments, making it one of the best payment portals around.
Unique Features:
Stripe has various features and products which cater to the crucial stages of business’ payment processes from customer interfaces, billing models, fraud and dispute features, revenue optimization capabilities, and so forth.
Having a payment gateway online is crucial and Stripe’s cloud assures it will stay up.
So, if you’re looking for a payment gateway for website or payment systems for small business, Stripe might just be it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best at online payment processing for small business? Or a big one? What could the best gateway for developers be? And what about the best payment gateways for ecommerce or website gateways?
Picking the best payment gateway solution for your businesses isn’t always a straightforward process, especially when trying to figure out the best payment processor for small business.
Online payment platforms can greatly vary, this payment gateway list combines the best of the most common categories of online payment gateways.
To be fair, they might not suit all businesses alike as a payment system for a small business will differ from what a bigger player might want.
But, even if the list would double to the top 10 payment gateways, the premise behind picking out the best payment gateways is still the same: everything comes down to the nature of the business you’re trying to run and the strategy you want to implement.
Whether you’re going for online payment processing for a small business or you're thinking about the bigger picture in terms of gateway processors and business payment services, there are many online payment gateway providers to choose from, so take your time and due some proper due diligence to find the top payment processors.
● Is PayPal a payment gateway?
A payment gateway can be defined as a service which allows businesses to accept payments online. It acts as a middleman between a business and a customer.
Accordingly, Paypal can provide this service as we’ve described earlier in this article.
● What is the cheapest payment gateway?
There are several free payment gateways out there, however, the processing fees will quickly start to pile up.
In what concerns the paid ones, rates will vary immensely from one payment gateway as will commissions. The best way to make sure you’re getting the cheapest payment gateway is to browse and compare while remembering to factor in your monthly sales volume.
As such, there is no definite answer to this question.
● How can I make my own payment gateway?
Making your own payment gateway is certainly possible.
To do so, you will need to follow the necessary steps:
1. set up your infrastructure (hosting your gateway),
2. get your API documentation and integrate with your preferred payment processor (the financial institution which will take care of processing online transactions),
3. develop a CRM system for your customer database management,
4. implement tokenization (the process of keeping sensitive data safe on the gateway side and not on the website’s server),
5. obtain your 3DS certificate issued by EMVCo,
6. Apply for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI) as it is mandatory if you want to deal with online payments.
● Is a license required for payment gateway?
Yes. You will need a PCI as described above.
To do so and being the process, you can reach out to EMVco (https://www.emvco.com/).
● What is a white label payment gateway?
A white label payment gateway is one which allows a payment company to process the payments by resorting to third-party gateway providers.
Wrapping Up
Choosing the Payment Gateway should not be a daunting task.
Line up all the pros and cons, take into consideration elements like the nature of your business, your monthly sales volume, and so forth.
It will most certainly come down to a combination of those elements and what the focus of your strategy is (for example by focusing on accepting global payments you will want to have a platform which supports several different currencies from all over the world).
Integration plays a big role and, to no one’s surprise, having fewer options will only contribute to cart abandonment.
Accordingly, remember to keep in mind that you must provide your customers with ample payment options and top-notch security as it will greatly improve your conversion rates.
