Payment gateways are the on-demand engines that enable e-commerce businesses to accept customer payments. They are essential for any e-commerce business as they give customers a simple, secure, and fast way to pay for your products or services using their credit card or other payment methods. Without payment gateways, you can’t sell anything online because your potential buyers won’t be able to pay you. If you're in the e-commerce business, you most likely will need a payment processor to process online transactions.
If you are running an e-commerce store, you must be aware of the significance of the payment gateway in the success of your business. A poorly set up payment gateway will lead to numerous issues with processing transactions and handling customer inquiries about orders. This article will help you understand what a payment gateway is, explain the various kinds of payment gateways, and also walk you through how to set up a payment gateway for your e-commerce website accordingly.
What is a Payment Gateway?
A payment gateway is a third-party service that enables you to accept card and mobile payments for your products or services. Payment gateways connect you with your customers and allow them to pay for your products or services online.
To accept payments from customers, you will need to integrate the payment gateway with your e-commerce website through an API, a merchant account, or tools and apps provided by the payment gateway service. Payment processing is an important part of any online business.
As an online business owner, you must understand the importance of payment processing and be familiar with several popular payment gateways you think can benefit your business.
Types of Payment Gateways
Basically, there are two payment gateways: hosted and non-hosted. Hosted payment gateways are provided by third-party providers such as IntaSend and Stripe, while non-hosted payment gateways are developed in-house by e-commerce businesses themselves.
Non-hosted Payment Gateways: Non-hosted payment gateways can be further classified into custom-built, open-source, and off-the-shelf solutions.
Custom-Built Non-Hosted Payment Gateways: These types of non-hosted payment gateways are developed in-house by IT companies and then integrated with e-commerce websites accordingly. Custom-built non-hosted payment gateways can be used by both small and big businesses alike since they can be customized according to their unique needs.
Open Source Non-Hosted Payment Gateways: Open source non-hosted payment gateways are created using open source software such as Java and PHP
How to Set Up a Payment Gateway for E-commerce
An e-commerce business needs to set up a payment gateway before accepting customer payments and processing online transactions. Setting up a payment gateway is not as complicated as it seems. Businesses can easily set up their payment gateway using the following steps:
Define the requirements for the payment gateway: Defining the requirements for the payment gateway is an important step in the overall process. In this step, businesses must decide on various factors, such as which currency they will accept, what kind of customization they require, and so on. Once all these factors have been decided, you can start looking for a suitable payment gateway that meets your requirements. Some requirements to create a merchant account are constant, including your business name, business registration number, business address, and many more.
Design Website: Businesses should design their eCommerce platform accordingly after setting up a payment gateway. Ecommerce websites should be designed to be user-friendly and provide value-added services to customers such as free shipping, free returns, etc.
Add SSL for information security: An SSL certificate is an important component of any e-commerce website as it secures all sensitive information and personal data between the website and the payment gateway service. Once an SSL certificate has been installed on your online store, businesses need to install their payment gateway and integrate it with their website. This process may differ depending on the type of payment gateway being used by the business. Protecting your customers' payment information on your eCommerce platform should always be a priority, which is why you must not skip this step for any reason.
Set Up Payment Gateway Integration: After designing an e-commerce website, businesses need to integrate their new or existing store and the third-party payment gateways they want to use for accepting online payments from customers, such as IntaSend.
Set Up Support Desk: Ecommerce businesses should set up support desk services on their website so that customers can contact them with any issues related to shopping online on their website. Businesses should be able to respond quickly and effectively via email and phone calls from customers on the issues raised by them via the support desk services provided on their e-commerce website.
Transaction fees: Another thing you must consider when choosing a payment gateway is its transaction fees. You don't want to get involved with a payment gateway with high transaction fees; you'll only end up losing your profits as a result.
Conclusion: If you have decided to start an e-commerce business, you should follow the steps above to succeed as an e-commerce business owner in the long run. As soon as you complete these steps, your newly launched e-commerce business will be ready for launch, and you can start selling products online from your new e-commerce store.
How to Choose the Right Payment Gateway for Your E-commerce Business
By now, you know that choosing the right payment gateway provider is the key to success. But how do you choose the right payment gateway provider? There are many things to consider when choosing a payment gateway provider, but here are a few things to look for in your search:
- Look at their reputation – is it solid and trustworthy?
- Check out their processing fees – do they charge more than others for similar services? You can't afford to choose a payment gateway that charges high processing fees. You should also find out if they charge any setup fees.
- What level of support does the payment gateway provide?
- Can you use an application programming interface (API) with your e-commerce business?
- Do you have any special requirements that must be met by the payment gateway, such as those that process international transactions or work with certain types of credit cards?
- How quickly can you get set up with a new payment gateway if needed?
- Is it easy to use for merchants and their customers alike?
- Can you customize it to meet your needs and those of your customers?
- Will it integrate into your e-commerce website seamlessly, or will you need additional programming assistance to set it up properly?
- Does this payment gateway work with software programs that help run your e-commerce business, such as inventory management programs and shopping carts software packages like WooCommerce and Shopify?
- For small businesses, you must determine whether your preferred payment gateway is tailored for small businesses.
- Does this particular payment gateway meet all of the standards required by the PCI (Payment Card Industry) Security Standards Council? If the payment gateway does not have PCI compliance, it's better to look elsewhere.
- Does this particular payment gateway offer any other features that might be useful to you?
- Does this payment gateway offer any special services for businesses just starting out?
- What are the fees and charges for this particular payment gateway?
- How long does setting up an account with this payment gateway take?
- What types of products can you sell using this particular payment gateway?
- Does the company provide a dedicated support team or an online knowledge base?
- Do they offer a money-back guarantee on their service?
- Are there any special restrictions on the types of items that you can sell using this payment gateway?
- Who should you contact if you have any questions about using this particular payment gateway?
Using IntaSend payment gateway
IntaSend Payment Gateway Features
No-code payments: Say goodbye to conventional online payment systems that require codes to request payments, making it challenging for business owners to accept payments online. Without having to deal with codes, you can quickly generate payment requests on IntaSend from your dashboard. You can give the link to your customers or clients and start receiving payment right away.
No maintenance fee: Create an account and get going as soon as possible without paying any fee. It costs nothing to register for an IntaSend account. IntaSend is your best option if you want to stay in business long enough without spending significantly on maintenance because you'll never be charged any maintenance fees.
24/7 Customer Support: Reach out for support whenever you want with our 24/7 customer support. Never be left in the dark, as our customer support agents are always available to help you with any problem you may be facing with our services. Whether through email or phone calls, you can always be confident of getting a response within minutes after reaching out. You can also use the “chat” feature on our website, albeit you may have to wait a while if you’re reaching out outside our working hours.
Instant and scheduled payouts: IntaSend offers flexible payouts. You can request that your payment be sent instantly, which will reflect instantly if you use M-Pesa and may take up to 2 days to withdraw into bank accounts. You can also schedule your payment to be sent at your convenience.
Safety and Security: IntaSend adopts bank-level security and is PCI-DSS-compliant, so every transaction you perform on the platform is strongly secure. You can also trust IntaSend to protect your customers' credit card information and transaction data.
Managed Service and Notifications: Focus on only the things that matter while IntaSend handles the complexities for you. Knowing that you don’t have to worry about unnecessary notifications that could distract you will put your mind at rest and allow you to channel your energy to bring the best out of your business.
IntaSend plugin for WooCommerce
Suppose you’re a developer or business owner. In that case, you don’t have to struggle to integrate a secure payment gateway to your website, as the IntaSend WooCommerce plugin will help you achieve that almost effortlessly. Add payments to your websites with these easy steps below;
Download the IntaSend Plugin: The first step is downloading the latest IntaSend WooCommerce Plugin, which you can get here.
Upload the Plugin: Go back to your WP-Admin (WordPress), and locate “add plugins” under “plugins” to add the IntaSend WooCommerce Plugin you’ve just downloaded.
Activate the Plugin: As soon as the plugin uploads, you can activate it by locating the “activate plugin” below. You may have to confirm the plugin has been installed correctly by checking if it’s properly listed in the plugins section.
Round-Up the Payment Settings in WooCommerce: Go to “settings” under your WooCommerce section, click on “payment,” and enable the IntaSend plugin. Once it’s enabled, click “manage,” which will transfer you to your IntaSend account dashboard, where you can get your API keys for live integration.
Test the Integration: You’re just one step away from rounding up at this point! Go to your website, add some items to your cart, and proceed to checkout. You will see IntaSend as your payment method, which will appear as “Pay with IntaSend.”
Enjoy Your Payment Integration: Now that everything has been set up, you can start enjoying the IntaSend plugin for WooCommerce on your website.
IntaSend Shopify Integration
IntaSend has forged quite a formidable reputation as the best Shopify payment gateway in Kenya and the whole of East Africa. As a business owner, the best thing you can do to ensure your business survives the competitiveness of your industry is to give your customers the best payment experience. IntaSend allows your customers to pay using their local currency in the most convenient of ways, which will, in turn, earn you their trust. So, how do you set up the IntaSend gateway for your Shopify store? Let’s find out!
Create An Account with IntaSend: Take the first and most important step by creating an account with IntaSend for free using your phone number and email address for free. You can get started here.
Add the IntaSend Shopify App To Your Shopify Store: Go to your Shopify store and install the IntaSend Shopify app. Click here to get started and select the “Add” button. You will be notified of an app installation. Click on “Install App” to install the app on your store.
Complete Setup: Once you’ve installed the app on your Shopify store, you will be redirected to a setup page. Click on “Click Here To Complete Setup” to kick start the process. Your phone number will be needed to set up your InstaSend account. At this point, you’ll need to enter your public key and API token to continue. These can be found in “account>>settings>>API keys.” Remember that your API key can only be revealed once, so save it in a private place once you generate it. Go back, enter the information where necessary, and click “submit.”
Activate: Before clicking on the “Activate” button, you’ll be asked to select your preferred payment options for your Shopify store. Once this decision has been made, you can proceed to click on the “Activate IntaSend Payment Gateway.”
How to signup on IntaSend
Signing up on IntaSend is a walk in the park. All you need is a phone number for the verification process and a valid email address. You also have to choose from several business categories, non-profit, unregistered, sole-proprietor, partnership, and limited company. To get started, click here.
IntaSend pricing
As a business owner, having a payment gateway with simple and fair pricing should be considered a blessing. While other brands offer outlandish fees for their services, IntaSend only charges a little so your business can continue to thrive. It's safe to say IntaSend offers the best payment solution for small and large businesses.
On local cards, IntaSend charges up to 3.5% per transaction with a list of features that are way above the fee. Some of these features include 24/7 customer support, 2 days payout period, invoicing, transaction reports, fraud management, 3DS2 support (CBK requirement), API access and payment SDKs, Visa, and MasterCard support, and payment notifications.
IntaSend charges up to 4.5% per transaction on international transactions with features like multi-currency settlements, Visa and MasterCard support, invoicing, round-the-clock customer support, fraud management, transaction reports, payment notifications, and API access and payment SDKs.
For mobile payments, IntaSend only charges 1% per transaction with several benefits including immediate access to funds, no maintenance fee, M-Pesa STK push, API access and payment SDKs, no complex paperwork, transaction reports, and fraud management.
On disbursements, IntaSend charges 1.5% per transaction with benefits such as KES 25 minimum charge capped at KES 70, multiple providers (Orange Money, M-Pesa, Airtel, and Equitel), API access, flexibility liquidity plan, fraud, errors, and duplicate checks; managed service, 24/7 customer support, and transaction reports.
Conclusion
Setting up the perfect payment gateway for your e-commerce website can be daunting. Between the cost of a gateway, the complex configuration, and the potential for error, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. To make things easier for you, we've highlighted how the best payment provider in Kenya and the whole of East Africa can help you receive payments effortlessly on your e-commerce website and make things easier for your customers.
