Making an online purchase, putting a deposit, or getting a mortgage online are only possible because of one element: the online payment system.
When starting any business (like fintech, e-commerce, and even a mental health app), chances are high that you will have to integrate a payment system for your business website. If you refuse to do it, you will likely lose many customers to competitors, and Google will not show your ads in the search results.
But how to do it? Should I pay for the payment service? And what if I want to integrate several payment systems? These are just a few questions that plague the minds of startup cofounders when they turn to software development.
In this article, I will highlight what an online payment system is, how to choose the right type of payment system for your website and how to make online payment app.
Let’s start!
What is a Payment System?
A payment system is a complex of software and telecommunication technologies designed to process cash-free payments. The structure of the payment system includes:
All these elements interact with each other under specific protocols, agreements, and legal regulations.
The most extensive international payment systems are Masterсard, Visa, American Express, Diners Club International (US), UnionPay (China), and JCB (Japan). All these payment systems began their activity inside their own country but now operate worldwide. These are payment systems of the first generation.
The second generation of payment systems includes non-banking payment systems like PayPal. These providers operate via the internet and work with electronic money or cryptocurrencies.
Digital Payment Trends and Statistics in 2022
The digital payment domain has been gaining more and more value over the years. Here are the statistics that speak to this fact.
By 2025 the total transaction value is expected to reach up to $10,715,390 million. With such compelling numbers in mind, big businesses have no choice but to adapt. As of 2021, 38% of eCommerce businesses reported expanding their digital payment options. In 2022 this number has already reached 53%.
Where do such numbers come from? Here are some trends that are pushing the statistics up.
Consumers want to have more control over their spending. The global economic crises and pandemic force users to shift to digital management of their savings.
Cash is going digital. Currently, consumers need to have instant access to their savings at any moment. 47% of users already use the digital payment method to pay for their online purchases. And those, who are using cash more, are expected to turn to digital in about two years.
The biggest concern for digital payment users is security. Thus, 70% of users prefer not to share their personal financial information online, and 62% feel worried when the system does not request any security information before confirming payment. This fact should be considered when building a website with a digital payment system.
However, for 57% of users, traditional banks are still a preferable way of making transactions for personal attitude and service. So it can be concluded that customer service is the most significant advantage that your digital payment website can provide to a user.
4 Types of Payment Systems
As a business owner, you have a wide range of options among the formats of payment platforms. For example, online payments on your website can be processed via:
Which payment system to choose will depend on your business’s requirements and your target audience’s needs.
Internet Acquiring
Internet acquiring is a classic payment by a money transfer from the buyer and the seller via a protected processing center. The main feature of this method is that the payment is carried out via a plastic card, without the cash withdrawal. This method is used in both traditional banks and also fintech companies.
Payment Gateways
Payment gateways are intermediaries who redirect the transaction to the bank for processing.
Example: Opayo – one of the most popular payment methods in the UK and Ireland, EU. The service uses the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) to provide maximum data protection.
Payment Aggregators
Payment aggregators are intermediary services, which unlike the gateways, firstly receive the customer’s money, and then transfer it to the point of destination.
Operators of Digital Money Transfers
A digital wallet is an alternative to a banking account. Yet, the concept of operation is quite similar. You will have to contract with the operator and integrate the payment system into your website.
Example: Wise is the most popular payment system based on the technology of e-money. Integrating Wise to the website is much easier and includes most of CMS’s functionality.
How to Choose the Payment System for Your Website?
Before jumping right into how to create an online payment system, you should choose the one to work with. So here are 4 points to check when selecting a payment system for your website:
Check your target audience
The main goal of payment systems is to alleviate the payment process for customers. So to bring value to users, you need to take into account two factors:
To the end of bringing value to your users, you need to carry out marketing research. Which payment provider is popular in your regions and supported by the banks in the targeted country? For example, the Amazon Payments service is gaining momentum in the US right now.
Even the lifestyle of your target audience can be a decisive factor in choosing the payment system. Despite the region, your customers can be more comfortable using the classic PayPal or Masterpass – the perfect option in case your customers have to manage many cards simultaneously.
To understand your users’ needs better, Discovery Stage should definitely become the main part of the website development process. During the Discovery the team usually:
To learn more about what value Discovery Phase can bring for your business, read our blog post What “Discovery Phase” Actually Means For Your Project”.
Count potential expenses
This factor is probably more apparent. Before integrating a payment system, you must first assess all potential expenses. In this sense, different platforms offer different formats: some payment systems take a fixed percentage of the payment while others can be free under certain circumstances.
Moreover, the payment policy of all services tends to change quite often, so before choosing one, check out the details on the official website.
Asses the complexity of payment systems integration
Almost all payment services have modules for connection to popular CMS or APIs. Many payment providers, especially big ones, even offer their professionals the benefits of integrating online payment systems.
However, you can expect constant technical support from your provider. You may be disappointed when working with smaller companies. The fewer customers a provider has, the higher possibility that the process of integration will be troublesome.
Think of the speed of payments
This is very pleasing when customers can pay for the order with a click. And it is even better when you can withdraw this money. For example, it may be effortless to withdraw money from your local payment providers, but it may be harder to do it working with international systems. So this research is vital.
However, when your business starts scaling, that’s where the problems can begin. My recommendation is to choose a single payment system that will be comfortable for your customers and expand the website’s functionality with a few online payment methods.
How to Create a Website With Online Payment in 4 Steps
Now that we know what a payment service is and how it operates, let’s figure out how to create a website with online payment. Here are 4 steps to take when integrating the payment system into your website:
Step 1. Clarify Your Requirements
Make a list of what you expect from the payment system before integrating it. For example, these can be the following points:
Step 2. Explore Legal Regulations
Get your website ready for the payment system’s integration. Make sure your website follows the rules of international payment systems and trade standards. This is very important before beginning any collaboration with a payment system.
For example, there can be requirements like:
Step 3. Register On the Payment Platform’s Website
The next thing you should do is register on the payment platform’s website and leave an application for the integration. At this stage, you might be ready to provide all the basic information about your company:
Step 4. Choose the Method of Integration
The payment platform you are about to use provides a list of such methods. For example, these could be:
Providing Security in Online Payments
As mentioned above, security is the top concern among users of payment system methods. So when we create a website with payment options, we ensure that user data is solid and secure. So before integrating a payment system into your website, make sure the payment system follows the data protection rules. For example:
PCI Standards
PCI standards are the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) recommendations that a payment system should follow. Among such standards are the requirements to:
Tokenization is a popular method of ensuring data security. It works the following way: once the user fills in some card info in the app, it is automatically deciphered into some symbols and codes which do not make any sense to a third party. This combination of characters is called a token, and it is designed to keep the user’s info from the eyes of merchants.
SSL Protocol
SSL protocol is one more instrument designed to keep user data from fraud. SSL Protocol is an internet protocol that secures all the operations on the website, including those that process payment information.
Whether you are building e-commerce, fintech, or even a healthcare app, the chances are high that you will have to deal with integrating an online payment system. It is not complicated but requires precision and collaboration with a skilled team of developers.
Uptech is here to offer a helping hand to you in building a website with an integrated payment system. We know how to set up an online payment system and have ample experience integrating payment gataways to the products. For example, in cases like Sprent and Rivaltz, we chose the proper payment system and provided as many payment options for the user as needed.
Contact our Sales Manager to learn what it takes to integrate a payment system for your website.
This content was originally published here.