Secure Payment Gateways for Online Transactions
Online payments are a fast and easy way for people to settle transactions. The evolution of the internet has made it convenient for anyone around the world to buy and sell which includes businesses and organizations. Of all businesses, e-commerce organizations control a lot of online transactions. However, a lot of users tend to abandon transactions when there isn't a secure and trusted payment medium they can rely on. So our mission today is to introduce you to a few payment gateways you can integrate into your business platforms.
What is a Payment Gateway?
A Payment Gateway is a portal or software that authorizes payments for e-businesses and online merchants. It is a third-party liaison between merchant and customer that sends the customer’s money securely to the merchant’s bank account. Payment gateways are important as they secure payments while protecting sensitive user data; they collect payment details, transfers those and other details about the transaction to the merchant’s payment processor, and authorizes the payment, sending back a successful or failed feedback to both parties. They are the ideal middle-men.
But as much as payment gateways are meant to secured, it isn't always the case as some are unreliable, inefficient and even malicious! It is therefore important to know which ones you can trust. There are lot of legitimate payment gateways out there and this would turn into quite the journal if we reviewed them all, so we will look at few tested and trusted payment gateways for the regions of East Africa, West Africa, India and the United States.
(N.B: These reviews are in no way a form of advertisement or a sponsorship by CYCO)
Payment Gateways in Africa
1. Flutterwave
Flutterwave is an African fintech company that offers payment infrastructure to international merchants and payment service providers around the continent. Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and Olugbenga Agboola founded the company in 2016, and it is headquartered in San Francisco, California. It operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, and seven other African countries. With Flutterwave, website owners can easily accept credit/debit card payments in countries where the card types are valid. Flutterwave is changing how money moves and is expected to be the top payment gateway in Africa for many years to come.
2. Skrill
Another well known and trusted payment platform in Africa is Skrill. Skrill (formerly Moneybookers) is a digital wallet company that was founded in 2001 and provides a number of online payment and money transfer services. It is a reputable and trusted payment gateway as it is a premium partner to global payments solutions. Skrill supports about 40 different currencies and gives card privileges to all countries. Skrill is a leader in anti-fraud and risk-reduction technology. Another advantage of the platform is the Skrill MasterCard. This card lets you use Skrill funds wherever MasterCard is accepted. As a result, you can use it in almost any shop. It can also be used to securely buy cryptocurrencies. It is truly an all rounder and can’t be left out of this list.
3. PayU
Last but definitely not least is PayU. PayU is based in Hoofddorp, Netherlands, and was established in 2002. It enables online merchants to accept and process payments through payment methods that can be incorporated into web and mobile applications. The service was available in 17 countries as of 2018. The Naspers Group owns the business. PayU assists businesses in processing for shippers and customers. It focuses on aligning traders' needs with purchasers' shopping and payment habits, while also providing competence, creative goods, and a single integration to solve market issues. The software's over 250 payment methods are designed to make electronic payment simple, fast, and safe.
Payment Gateways in India
4. Razorpay
Razorpay is a very powerful payment gateway platform that was established in 2014 and has grown greatly with a customer base of over 800k. Razorpay is known for its instant activation and easy integration that lets you accept payments using a variety of tools, including credit/debit cards, net-banking, UPI, and wallets. This platform can be used as a payment gateway for a variety of websites, including WooCommerce, Magento, CS-Cart, OpenCart, and others. Its top features are its low conversion rate, as well as fast and secure payments with zero setup costs.
Payment Gateways in the United States
5. PayPal
PayPal Holdings Inc. is an American organization that operates a online payments system in majority of countries that allow online money transfers. The platform charges a fee to act as a payment processor for online retailers, auction sites, as well as a variety of other commercial users. PayPal customers in the U.S. can use a debit or credit card to pay with PayPal for free. There are no setup costs, recurring fees, or gateway fees to pay. It is safe and most importantly, secure.
All these payment gateway platforms are merely few to mention out of many, but they will hopefully help you make the best decision for your business and your personal transactions. Pay secure!
References
https://merchant.razer.com/v3/blog/the-basic-of-payment-gateway-what-is-it-and-how-it-works/