Checkout

What is checkout?

In online shopping, checkout is a page or a set of pages that customers see as they proceed to the purchase. Once you've added all the necessary items to the cart and pressed "Buy" or "Pay", you see the checkout page that allows you to make an online payment and buy the goods.

The term comes from in-store shopping, where checkout means both the counter with a cash register and the purchasing process.

What is self-checkout?

While talking about the checkout definition, we can't miss mentioning the term self-checkout.

Self-checkouts are technological systems for brick-and-mortar stores that allow customers to complete a purchase without the assistance of store employees. Self-service checkouts let customers scan the barcodes and make a payment independently. The technology gained popularity really fast thanks to its ability to cut costs for retailers and improve customer experience.

And yet the primary focus of this article is a digital checkout for online payments.

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How does checkout work?

From the customer's perspective, the checkout process these days is fast and seamless. We add goods to our carts, confirm our orders, select the preferred payment methods, fill in the necessary payment data and press "Pay" on the payment page. Then, if it's a card transaction, we may be asked to confirm the payment with our bank, and that's it. The purchase is made.

However, things are much more complex under the hood. Multiple parties are involved in making card payments possible, including acquiring and issuing banks, payment processors, and payment gateways.

First of all, a merchant has to open a bank account and a merchant account at a payment provider. Then, they have to integrate the checkout solution into their website to enable cardholders to make purchases. Once the customer clicks "Buy" on the merchant's website, they usually get redirected to the payment page, where they can securely input their payment data. A payment gateway encrypts the data and transfers it to a payment processor or bank for authentication and confirmation. That's what it takes to make an online payment!

Why is checkout important?

The checkout is crucial for your conversion rates and, thus, your earnings. Why is this so?

Imagine you're in a physical store, have a cart full of goods, ready to buy them. You're nearing the counter, and the employee at the cash register starts asking you dozens of questions, being rude, messing with the goods you've chosen, and is unable to calculate the amount you should pay. The chances of a successful purchase in such conditions would be miserable.

The same is true for online shopping. The e-commerce market is highly competitive. If a customer faces a complicated or poor checkout process, they just leave without completing a payment, resulting in lost sales for the merchant. In fact, more than half of consumers report they have experienced some technical issue at the payment page, forcing them to abandon the cart.

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That's why just having a payment page is not enough. It must provide a streamlined and spotless user experience to ensure maximum conversions.

How to choose the checkout solution?

There are specific characteristics that a decent online payment solution should have:

• PCI DSS compliance. There is no need to explain that any solution used for payments must be secure and compliant. PCI DSS is the most comprehensive regulation in the payment industry. If you look for a solution to handle card payments, it should be PCI DSS-certified.
• Support for multiple payment methods. The more payment methods the provider supports, the better, but the best practice is to display several options that your customers really use. Check our article on how to select the payment methods for your business.
• Straightforward integration. Ask a solution provider about the integration process and options. It shouldn't be a lengthy process requiring considerable development efforts from you.
• Customisable design. The look and feel of your payment page should be adapted to the look and feel of your website. It's better if the provider allows not only design customisation, but also field and button configuration so that you can adapt the checkout as your business needs change.
• User-oriented features. Look for a checkout built with a consumer in mind. It should have an intuitive interface, descriptive error messages and hints, a minimum of fields, the "Remember me" option, etc. It is essential for your conversion rate.

Why choose Checkout by Corefy?

Our Checkout solution is based on the insights gained after 10+ years of experience developing and testing payment products. Our clients witness an average checkout conversion rate increase of 10-25% with it on board.

It supports hundreds of payment methods and flows, allowing you to handle one-click payments, donations with arbitrary amounts, delayed charges, recurring payments, OTP authentication, dynamic 3DS or CVV enabling and disabling, etc. Corefy's Checkout is highly customisable and supports numerous features for localisation and personalisation of user experience. Besides, you can benefit from our suite of conversion-boosting features, including intelligent routing, cascading, and dynamic currency conversion.

Instead of talking our Checkout up, we invite you to schedule a demo and see how it actually works. Our specialists will answer all your questions, analyse your business needs and goals, and provide optimal solutions.