Integrating a payment gateway into a website: the basics explained

The number of online shoppers keeps climbing each year – people prefer to buy on the go rather than wait in queues. This perk of the modern world means that more businesses now wonder how to integrate an e-commerce payment gateway into their websites and start accepting online payments.

What is a payment gateway?

In our previous articles, we've already described what a payment gateway is, why businesses need a payment gateway integration, and what criteria help companies choose the best payment processor for their needs.

Payment gateways work by securely transmitting transaction data between your e-commerce site, the customer, and the payment processor during online payments. They play a crucial role in facilitating digital transactions, including e-wallets, bank transfers, and card payments, ensuring seamless and secure online commerce. Acting as intermediary services, payment gateways process and authorise transactions on behalf of online businesses, automating and securing the entire payment process.

Why do businesses need an e-commerce payment gateway?

Accepting online payments is not the only aim of utilising e-commerce payment systems, which usually include several capabilities. Depending on your business needs, you can benefit from additional features and make the payment experience on your site more convenient and secure for your users. E-commerce payment gateways often help with the following:

Now, let's move to the next step – payment gateway integration. Imagine you've chosen the most relevant payment gateway for your website and now have one question: how to integrate it?

How to implement a payment gateway: integration basics

Integration implementation involves connecting the payment gateway to your website via APIs and backend setup, ensuring that both the front-end and back-end components work together to handle transactions seamlessly. First, you must choose between the popular payment gateway types: an integrated and a hosted or self-hosted payment gateway.

Integrated payment gateways

An integrated online payment gateway on the website allows establishing a connection with them via an API. Thus, buyers will make payments without redirection to third-party resources. On the one hand, this is convenient because it will not affect the conversion rate. But on the other hand, this payment acceptance method requires online businesses to take responsibility for the safety and security of customer data. Therefore, there will be a need to undergo the PCI DSS assessment and hire developers to provide such a payment system with the necessary level of security. There are several ways to integrate a hosted payment page: flash (modal), embedded (iFrame), and pay-by-link (redirect).

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Self-hosted payment gateways

A hosted payment gateway for websites processes payments either on its own or through a payment processor. Thus, it redirects users to a payment page on the third-party resource. Such systems provide a high level of security, so the client's banking data will be safe.

Hosted gateway connections also have downsides, as some customers don't trust third-party programs. Customers may leave the checkout page, leading to abandoned carts and negatively impacting conversion rates. As this issue is not new, payment gateways have developed a solution: a customised or white-label payment gateway that can be branded to match your website's look and feel. By choosing this type of payment gateway for your website, you eliminate the problem described above.

What payment gateway integration type to choose?

The choice of online payment gateway integration type depends on the size and needs of each specific business. Simple internet acquiring will work well for small businesses, but larger e-commerce players need more sophisticated solutions, such as payment aggregators or payment orchestration platforms. They usually provide holistic solutions that enable secure payment processing, along with additional useful tools and features.

How to choose a payment gateway that best suits your business needs? Should you opt for a specific payment gateway provider, integrate a hosted gateway, or choose a custom payment gateway? A deep analysis of your project, its turnover, and available resources, including time, funds, and human resources, will help you make the right choice. Contact us if you need some assistance. We'd be glad to help you define the best option and set up the payment acceptance for your business.

Payment gateway features to look for

The best payment gateways offer a suite of features designed to streamline payment processing and enhance the customer experience on your e-commerce platform:

• Ensure the payment gateway supports various payment methods, including credit and debit cards, digital wallets, and bank transfers. This flexibility allows you to cater to a wider audience and adapt to changing customer preferences. Seamless integration with your e-commerce platform is also vital, enabling you to set up and manage online payments efficiently without disrupting the existing workflows.
• Advanced fraud protection is another must-have. Features like address verification and card verification value (CVV) checks help prevent unauthorised transactions and reduce chargebacks. For businesses with subscription models or repeat customers, recurring payment support is essential for automating billing and improving cash flow.
• Advanced security features matter. Look for payment gateways that offer robust encryption and tokenisation, which safeguard payment data during transmission and storage. Two-factor authentication adds another security layer, making unauthorised access far more difficult. Additionally, a reliable payment gateway should include advanced fraud detection and prevention tools, such as real-time monitoring and machine learning algorithms that flag suspicious activity before it becomes a problem.
• Check if the payment gateway adheres to industry standards, such as the PCI DSS, which sets requirements for securely handling and storing payment information. Compliance with regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is also crucial, especially for businesses operating in or serving customers in the EU.
• Comprehensive transaction reporting and analytics tools provide valuable insights into payment trends and help with reconciliation. If your business operates internationally, look for multi-currency support to simplify cross-border transactions and offer customers the convenience of paying in their preferred currency.

By focusing on these features, you can choose a payment gateway that meets your current business needs and scales with your growth, ensuring secure and efficient online payment processing at every stage.

Is it worth creating a payment gateway from scratch?

Developing your own solution is one more way to become a payment processor. It implies starting from the very beginning, like hiring developers and other staff. This option of becoming a payment service provider has one huge drawback – it requires a lot of resources, both financial and time.

Before you accept the first payment with your own payment gateway, you should take a long path of hiring, developing, testing, tweaking, and testing again, and it may take you several years and around $200K just for an MVP.

How to integrate a payment gateway into your website: Corefy example

You may have heard that we at Corefy love simplifying complex things. Regardless of the gateway you choose, the payment setup configuration, payment management, and other tasks related to payment processing might be a real conundrum. But we believe that business owners should focus on business processes and development without distraction from technical matters. That's why we take all the technical issues and tasks and become your payment team as a service, helping you to configure the most efficient payment setup for your project and providing lifetime support and maintenance.

We provide all the necessary tools and data for you to quickly and with minimal effort start accepting payments on your site with our Checkout. It is hosted on our side and allows you to get started with just a few lines of code added to yours.

Here are the available payment service integration options:

We understand that you want to start accepting e-commerce payments as soon as possible without losing time going into details. So, we are ready to assist you and give additional information on payment gateway integration. You may opt for a live demo to see how Corefy works with your very eyes and decide on the following steps.