7 Best Payment Gateways for eCommerce Website in 2021's

The internet, technology, and smartphones have changed the way businesses operate. With more and more people preferring to buy online, the eCommerce industry is drastically exploding.

Nevertheless, eCommerce benefits both brands and customers. Yes, it enables businesses to reach global audiences and allows customers to buy things anywhere from the world, right from their homes. The rise in the use of mobile phones has also contributed to the growth of eCommerce.

With outpouring support from the customers, almost all businesses have a dedicated eCommerce website for their brand in 2021. Amidst cut-throat competition, the entire eCommerce industry sets new standards and benchmarks. Thus, you should have a flawless eCommerce website to generate revenue and drive customer engagement.

Though many factors determine the success of an eCommerce business, payment gateways play a crucial role. Yes, above all, your eCommerce website must ensure secure and hassle-free transactions and without integrating a payment gateway, you cannot process payments. Hence, integrating a payment gateway into your eCommerce website is mandatory.

Today, people prefer paying with their debit/credit cards, online wallets, or net banking to buy online rather than COD (Cash On Delivery). Thus, you need to have the best payment gateway integrated into your eCommerce store to increase conversions and sales.

What is a Payment Gateway?

Payment gateway is the technology that enables businesses to accept debit/credit card payments from customers. It sets a well-managed, secure

platform for your business and supports all multi-channel processing simultaneously.

So, you need to integrate the best payment gateway into your eCommerce website to provide an optimal user experience to your customers.

A recent study says around 86 percent of customers shop online through their credit/debit cards. It saves their time and encourages easy shopping. Thus, it is the most preferred shopping mode for almost all online shoppers.

So, a payment gateway is crucial to run a successful online store. Let’s learn about the role and function of a payment gateway for an eCommerce website.

How Does Payment Gateway Work?

(Source: Mxicoders)

The customer enters the credit/debit card details and places the order. The payment gateway verifies the data entered by the customer and authorizes the payment.

The gateway uses encryption to protect all the credit card data of the customer. Thus, it assures a secure payment process, exchanging personal details safely between the customer and the merchant.

A payment gateway is responsible for safe and smooth transactions on your online store. Whenever a customer places an order, it sends the payment details from the eCommerce website to the payment processor and returns the transaction details to the website.

Furthermore, payment gateway enables the customers to pay in different online payment modes like debit/credit cards, net banking, UPI transfers, e-wallets, etc.

Hence, a payment gateway encourages customer engagement and assures secure payments effectively on an eCommerce website.

Things to Consider to Select a Payment Gateway for an eCommerce Store

Many payment gateways are available in the market. It could be a daunting task to choose the appropriate one for your eCommerce store. We are here with a few points to consider before finalizing your payment gateway.

⨀ Research and discover the popular payment gateway in your targeted country.
⨀ Pick the payment gateway with minimum transaction fees.
⨀ Find the payment gateway that supports multi-currency. It will help you reach the international marketplace.
⨀ Take time to know about its features and whether it works properly on mobile devices.
finalizing one.
⨀ Know if the payment gateway accepts money from various payments like PayPal, Master, and Visa cards.
⨀ Last but not least, ensure that the payment gateway provides an excellent shopping experience to the customers.

Best Payment Gateways for eCommerce Website

1. Stripe

Stripe is a leading payment gateway widely used in the eCommerce market. Founded in 2010, Stripe quickly gained popularity.

One can develop the payment API for their business effectively with Stripe. It works like a charm when you have to integrate it with Shopify. Additionally, Stripe works in several countries and accepts various currencies. Thus, the customer can use their cash, and you can receive payment in your money.

Pros of Stripe

⇒ Easy integration.
⇒ Customization over the site is simple and easy.
⇒ It is ideal for merchants who target an international audience.

Cons of Stripe

⇒ The gateway is not ideal for high-risk industries.
⇒ You have to subscribe for recurring payments.

2. Braintree

Braintree is one of the ideal payment gateways that offers flexible and secure transactions. Started in 2010, PayPal acquired Braintree in 2013, seeing its efficiency.

Similar to Stripe, Braintree also allows easy integration. eCommerce websites that require accurate payment transactions and want to improve their order management can go for Braintree.

Pros of Braintree

⇒ It provides flat-rate pricing.
⇒ It encourages various extensive integrations.
⇒ It allows multiple currency options.

Cons of Braintree

⇒ You cannot use the API of Braintree without developer resources.
⇒ It demands a long duration for account setup.

3. PayPal

PayPal is one of the oldest and reliable payment gateways that gained acceptance across various brands and industries. It is well known for its secure transactions.

Buyers are free to use with no transition fees. Even for merchants, they need not pay any additional charges like setup expenses, gateway fees, or monthly charges in PayPal. Thus, PayPal dominates all other gateways, with millions of people using it in more than 200 countries.

Pros of PayPal:

⇒ It is one of the most trusted, accepted, and reliable payment gateway.
⇒ Ideal for all sizes of businesses.

Cons of PayPal:

⇒ Inconsistent customer support.
⇒ It is not suitable for high-risk industries.

4. Skrill

Skrill is a UK-based eCommerce payment gateway that is ideal for eCommerce businesses involved in high-risk industries. The connectivity to any global bank account is simple with Skrill.

It enables a platform for secured international transactions. Thus, it allows customers to buy products/services from anywhere regardless of the location. Skrill does not charge for creating an account, but you need to pay for every transaction.

Pros of Skrill

⇒ Skrill supports multi-currency payment processes.
⇒ Easy integration with third-party shopping carts.

Cons of Skrill

⇒ Expensive charges.
⇒ Account stability issues.

5. Google Checkout

eCommerce business owners in the western regions like Europe and the US prefer Google Pay. Also, they use Google wallets to store money.

Most online shoppers use Google checkout to opt for seamless payments. It is more reliable and faster compared to other popular payment gateways. The transaction charges are also reasonable.

Pros of Google Checkout

⇒ It is simple and straightforward that you can set up an account effortlessly.
⇒ The processing charges are much lesser than the other payment gateways.
⇒ Most secure and trustworthy payment gateway.

Cons of Google Checkout

⇒ It is not as popular across the world as PayPal.
⇒ It accepts payments limited only to debit and credit cards. It doesn’t support other net banking, UPI, etc.

6. Apple Pay

Apple Pay is a gateway that is easy to use and works with Apple devices. It is ideal for making purchases in-store, in apps, and also over the web.

Apple Pay encourages easy money transactions. It is one of the payment gateways that accept payments from all cards like American Express, Master/Visa card, Suica, and Quick Pay.

Pros of Apple Pay

⇒ Accepts most credit cards like Visa, MasterCard, American Express.
⇒ It assures secure credit card transactions by using a device account number.
⇒ Apple Pay uses NFC technology to prevent fraudulent/illegal activities.

Cons of Apple Pay

⇒ Apple Pay is restricted to iOS users who own iPhone 6 or higher versions. Plus, on iPads, Apple Pay is available with iPad 2 or above versions.
⇒ We are not sure that every retailer uses a mobile payment terminal.
⇒ It poses a possibility of software-related issues that can affect the payment gateway functionality that can hamper transactions.

7. Authorize.Net

Authorize.net is another popular payment gateway which is quite popular in the eCommerce industry since its launch in 1996. Many merchants use this payment gateway via electronic checks and credit cards.

Furthermore, it saves a lot of time and money as it lets you transfer funds immediately into the bank account. Thus, Authorize.net is ideal for small and medium-sized businesses.

Pros of Authorize.Net:

⇒ It prevents fraudulent activities and ensures safe transactions.
⇒ It provides very beneficial features like recurring payments and invoicing.

Cons of Authorize.Net:

⇒ It is available only in a few countries like the USA, Canada, UK, Europe, and Australia.
⇒ It is not ideal for small businesses.

Final Thoughts

In today's reality, we all will agree that eCommerce is the future. It is exploding in every other industry. The success of an eCommerce business relies directly on quick, easy, and safe transactions.

Nevertheless, the payment gateway is responsible for secure transactions. Hence, it plays a crucial role in the functioning of an eCommerce website. Yes, as your eCommerce website represents your business online, you need to provide the best customer experience and secure payments.

So, are you looking for a reliable partner for building an eCommerce website for your business? Professionals highly recommend going for a reputed website development company for your eCommerce project.

Cypherox Technologies is a leading software development company with extensive experience in eCommerce website development. Our experts can ensure you with the best eCommerce website by integrating an appropriate payment gateway.