In this article, we will be offering advice on choosing the right payment gateway for your online store.
One of the most important decisions you’ll make for your e-commerce business is the payment gateway that processes your transactions. This choice needs to be secure, trusted and an enjoyable experience for your customers. You also want it to be cost-effective.
It’s important to choose a respected and well-known payment gateway as this helps build trust and credibility with your customers. While other options could be more affordable, you risk potentially losing customers if they’re sceptical of your chosen method.
For example, we recently launched a new e-commerce Starter Site, Athletic, in Managed WordPress Hosting that uses recommended payment gateway plugins to offer a trusted, hassle-free experience for shoppers. Athletic comes with the proudly South African Yoco payment solution ready to install out of the box. The reason we chose Yoco is because it is trusted by over 200 000 small businesses and their payment gateway has a 5-star rating on wordpress.org. Athletic is also compatible with most recognised payment gateways like those mentioned below.
This is just our own example of how we looked at payment gateways for our product. For this article we sought out an expert in the field to help you make an informed decision about picking the right payment gateway for your store.
With more than a decade of experience building over 400 websites, Felix Norton has some helpful advice to share about choosing the right payment gateway.
Over to Felix.
First things first, what is a payment gateway?
It’s the software your website uses to process payments securely. These interfaces make it easy for customers to pay for your goods and services online. Different providers offer different payment options and you should take this into account when choosing your preferred provider.
Even though many processes are working in the background, you want to give your customers the impression that their transaction is quick and hassle-free.
If this process takes too long or involves too many steps, your customers may abandon your website at the most crucial stage in their buyer’s journey. Some shoppers may be hesitant to share their payment information online, so it’s also vital that you meet important security standards, including installing a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate.
Make sure the payment option you choose can scale as your business does.
Ready to shop? Here’s what to consider:
- Which payment methods your customers prefer to use.
- Transaction costs.
- How your e-commerce platform and payment gateway work together.
- Security. This is non-negotiable.
- A good customer experience. Also non-negotiable.
An important e-commerce decision
Customers are more likely to abandon their online shopping carts if you don’t offer their preferred payment methods. In South Africa, customers use a debit or credit card to complete 41% of all e-commerce transactions, according to Statista.com. Electronic Fund Transfers (EFT) account for another 20% of these sales.
Many popular e-commerce platforms support EFT and card payments, including WooCommerce and Shopify.
“Choosing a platform that supports these gateways (straight out the box) will save some time and effort when launching your online store”.
Felix Norton
Commonly used providers*
- Yoco charge a transaction fee capped at 2.95%
- Payfast charge a flat percentage and a fixed fee per transaction
- Peach Payments charge 2.95% and R1.50 per transaction (for SME merchants).
*Please note that these prices were correct at the time of publishing and may have changed.
Alternatively, you can process payments using a mobile solution like SnapScan. This popular app removes the need for cards and EFTs, which can positively impact your conversions and cart abandonment rates.
Make sure your payment partner suits your business
When choosing a payment gateway, it’s important to find a provider that works well with your business and the type of products you sell. Choosing a set-up that isn’t suited to your business could end up costing you. Literally. Some transaction fees can end up costing you between 3 to 18% of your sale price. This can mean the difference between making a profit or not.
Wherever you are on your journey to finding the right payment gateway, we’re always here to help.
About Felix Norton
With nine years of experience building over 400 websites, Felix is a professional web designer who runs a WordPress focused digital agency called Woww.
