Payment Gateways – Guard to Defend Sensitive Information

A payment portal is a service that retailers and service providers use to process credit card transactions. When a customer scans a credit card at a terminal in your establishment, the card data is electronically and securely transmitted to your payment gateway company. The payment processing services serves as a communication interface with the issuing bank of the presented card. The bank receives the details of the transaction and either approves or denies it. The bank then communicates this information back to you through the payment gateway. Approved transactions will result in the issuing bank depositing the correct amount of funds into your business account at scheduled intervals.

There are currently many companies offering this service and choosing from the myriad of options can be confusing for a new business owner. Multiple factors must be considered prior to contracting a company to process your credit card sales and a reliable payment gateway is able to protect sensitive details by using encryption technology. You need to know or estimate the number of transactions that your business will process on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. If you are opening a new business, you will need to project your sales for those time periods. You will also need to know an approximate dollar value.

You will need to determine which types of credit cards you wish to accept. Be aware that Visa and MasterCard are the most commonly accepted. They are also the most commonly carried cards. Other card options are available. Your costs may be dependent on the list of accepted cards. Therefore, it is a good idea to ask potential services to give you rate information for the different types of cards. You need to determine if you will be processing card transactions through an e commerce application. If so, you may have a more limited selection of services. Some businesses have a different payment gateway for their online transactions. That decision should be made in advance whenever possible. Accepting credit cards is a necessity for modern business to facilitate the clients and business.

Finally, reporting and access are critical for financial management. You must know in advance what information you will require from the payment gateway company and in what form. You can then provide potential services with a list of your requirements, asking if they can meet them. If you take the time to make decisions prior to searching for a payment gateway, you will save time and money in the process. It is definitely easier to add services to a contract than it is to remove them. As you review the service offerings of a payment gateway company, be certain to ask about their client service policies and whether they are available around the clock should you need assistance. Also, make sure to ask a potential company for references and call them to ask about their experience with the company.

This writer has considerable knowledge about electronic payment methods and new business trends. He has written many informative articles on topics such as merchant account providers.