How Does Gateway Payment Processing Work?
A payment gateway is a secure Internet service provided by merchant account providers to accept credit card payments online. It allows your online shop can accept credit card payments via your website at any time of day when customers place an order.
You have no input; just think of how much valuable time that saves you!
And offering card payments online can drastically increase your sales. The software runs 24 hours a day all year round, so customers can shop whenever it suits them and you don’t lose out on a single sale, whenever your customer is ready to pay you, day or night. Card payments are immediately approved or declined, and you will receive emailed reports of successful orders immediately.
How Does it Work?
The software is installed and integrated with the payment or shopping cart on your website. Once a customer is done browsing and selecting items for their shopping cart, the system will take them to the checkout option and then to the secure payment option. If the customer selects the credit card payment option their order is routed to a secure portal where they are able to enter their credit card number, expiry date, name on the card and the Card Security Code (CSC). This information is encrypted and passed on by the payment gateway to the traditional banking network. From there the data is passed to your bank and the cardholder’s bank until the payment request is approved or declined. This all happens behind the scenes and is practically instantaneous.
Of course, it’s not important to understand all the processes that happen at the back-end of your website. All that matters is that you choose a reputable merchant account provider to take care of any complicated technical stuff for you. They can ensure the integrity of your business and the security of your customers’ private and sensitive card information so that you can focus on increasing sales and service.
Of course, it’s important to choose a merchant account provider that is PCI DSS compliant and supports SSL certification. In addition to the option of having payment gateway software installed and integrated with your website, you also have the option of a virtual terminal that allows you to accept credit card payments over the phone, by mail, by fax, or face-to-face. You manually enter the card details, and transactions are processed in the same way. Using the virtual terminal, you will also know immediately if the payment is approved or declined.
For more details about how gateway payment processing works, or to sign up for a merchant account, please call (888) 924-2743 or go to Charge.com.