How to select the best payment gateway for your needs

With numerous payment gateway services available in Australia and New Zealand, it can be tough to find the one which suits your needs. Look no further.

The first thing you need to keep in mind is that a payment gateway provider is often confused with a merchant service facility.

That’s OK, it can be confusing.

There’s a lot of jargon which gets thrown around in the world of payments, so we’ll try to make it as simple as possible.

READ: The difference between a payment gateway and a payment service provider

What’s a payment gateway service?

A payment gateway is specific to websites processing payments online, such as e-commerce websites, online booking websites and so on.

It transmits data and authorises the data the same way a payment processor does, but without the physical point of sale terminal.

In an online payment scenario, a payment gateway is the software that processes the transaction on behalf of the merchant.

A payment gateway will require merchants to obtain a merchant service facility, generally from one of their acquiring banks.

Once merchants are set up with a merchant service facility, you will then be able to accept online payments and receive daily settlements.

So, which payment gateway service should I choose?

Think about the following questions when assessing the best payment gateway for your business:

1. How soon do you need to start accepting payments from your customers?

Setting up a merchant account and payment gateway may take some time if you’re looking to use different vendors.

Luckily, MYOB PayBy offer businesses a payment gateway and a merchant service facility so you can get set up right away.

2. How soon do you need to receive funds from your sales?

While you’ll usually know a payment has been approved straight away, it typically takes a little while for the payment to be settled into your account.

Some gateway service providers may hold onto your funds for a few days while others can settle your funds as quickly as the next day. 

3. How much do you want to spend on a payment gateway? 

Cost is a concern for every business. Before committing to any payment gateway provider make sure you are aware of their fee structure. The most important thing to think about is:

• Are there any setup costs?
• Are there any admin costs?
• What are the per transaction costs?
• What are the chargeback costs?

4. How secure is the payment gateway?

Security is obviously a key concern when taking payments.

You should make sure you only use a provider which is level 1 compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and that offers built in security capabilities such as tokenization.

MYOB PayBy is certified as PCI DSS v3 Level 1 compliance.

5. What types of payments are accepted by the payment gateway?

Payment gateways typically accept VISA, Mastercard and most accept American Express.

Think about alternative payment types your customer wish to pay you and see whether the payment gateway supports these payment types.

6. Does the payment gateway offer hosted or non-hosted payments?

A hosted payment gateways redirects a customer away from your checkout page to a securely ‘hosted’ payment page.

Once a payment has been made then your customer will be returned to your website and the order will be confirmed.

Redirecting to another site reduces the risk around storing and transacting credit cards and helps you to meet PCI requirements.

Non-hosted payment gateways allow your customers to enter their details without leaving your site.

To take payments onsite you typically need an SSL certificate and to comply with certain legal and technical PCI requirements.

To accept payments online, visit MYOB PayBy for more information on a merchant service facility and a payments gateway.