How To Choose The Right Payment Gateway For Your Business

If you’re an online business or organisation that accepts (or wants to accept) online payments, you’ll need a payment gateway. Not only does this allow you to convert more customers by offering more flexible payment options, but the right payment gateway will also keep both you and your customers safe from cybercrime, fraud and privacy breaches. You also need to choose one that suits your needs, makes it easy for customers and allows you to grow without headaches.

The big challenge is... there are a lot of different options out there! In this blog, we’ll help you decide how to choose the right payment gateway for your business, the important factors you need to consider, and the common mistakes people make when choosing.

PS - there are lot more factors than just the transaction costs! 

What is a payment gateway?

Just before we dive into choosing one - what actually is a payment gateway? In simple terms, it’s an application that facilitates the payment from a customer to a seller. It uses a safe and secure encryption process to make sure all that data is transferred safely and securely. When a customer clicks order it will automatically verify their billing info, authenticate the payment method, approve the request, send a confirmation number and transfer their funds to you. 

Now that you know what a payment gateway is, here are the factors you should consider.

The payment gateway is PCI DSS compliant.

This is first because it’s an absolute must. PCI Compliance is a security protocol that makes sure a business safely accepts, stores and processes the customer’s credit card info. Why do you need it? Well, If a customer’s credit card info is stolen from a third party, this is a serious problem for you and the customer. Any business that accepts cards is legally required to follow these regulations to keep your customer’s payment info safe. You need a PCI DSS Compliant payment gateway.

By the way - you can’t just start accepting payments and storing the information somewhere yourself. If you aren’t using a PCI compliant gateway and you store your data incorrectly, not only is this very time consuming and manually intensive, it’s actually illegal. You can get stung with very big fines as well as putting your customer’s data or credit card details at risk.

You can become PCI compliant yourself, but it’s time-consuming and unnecessary. By using an existing payment gateway like PayChoice, it already has it. In fact, we have Tier 1 PCI DSS Compliance, which is the highest security available. In summary - make sure the provider you choose has this!

Choose an Australian payment gateway.

If you’re reading this and you’re an Australian organisation, it’s a good idea to use an Australian payment gateway to make your life easier. There are a few well-known names that are based in the US or overseas. This can be a challenge for Australian businesses for three reasons:

1. Sometimes the big names are so big that it can take a long time to hear back from customer support. If you run into problems with your payment gateway you usually need to fix it fast, and waiting days to get through the system can be costly and frustrating.

2. The time difference can be a pain. The business hours are almost opposite to Australia, so once you do get support it will usually be at strange hours of the night and by the time you can reply, they will now be offline too.

3. International companies often don’t understand the nuances of our local market, industry and regulations. By working with an Australian payment gateway you’ll have someone who understands what you do, and works with a bunch of other Aussie organisations. Plus, it’s always good to support local businesses!

One added bonus — you'll also be billed in Australian dollars, so you don't have to pay any extra in conversion rates or fees for international payments.

The payment gateway has reliable support.

Choosing an Australian payment gateway is a good start - but that doesn’t mean they all offer good support. Your payment gateway is a super important part of your business so if you ever experience issues it can be a real challenge. Choose someone with a reliable support team who:

1. Has real people on their support team. Some companies send you to a robot or an automated customer support process which is more time consuming and more frustrating.

2. Replies quickly. At PayChoice we offer same-day support and during work hours, normally respond to your query within the hour. 

The payment gateway offers credit card payments and direct debit.

Some payment gateways offer direct debit and some offer credit card payments, but not many offer both. Not only is this annoying for you, but you can also lose customers. Some customers only want to use one or the other, and you need to offer both if you don’t want to miss opportunities. 

If you choose someone that only does one and you later decide you need both, you’ll have to use two or three extra third party tools and link them all together, just to give your customers the payment method they prefer. That’s obviously a hassle (not to mention extra costs). By using an Australian payment gateway like PayChoice you can get access to both, right away

PS - if you choose the wrong one and want to switch providers later, some of them charge very expensive exit or switching costs. More on that in a moment!

The payment gateway offers recurring billing and subscriptions.

Choose a payment gateway that allows you to set up recurring payments and subscription payments. This automates the entire process to save you countless hours, lowers your costs and keeps it simple for your customers by saving their payment details. With PayChoice you’re able to set up recurring payments on a customisable schedule by amount and frequency. Even if you don’t currently have recurring revenue in your business, it’s one of the best ways to increase your profitability so you may want to consider it in the future and use a payment solution that supports it.

The payment gateway has low transaction fees.

This is probably the most common thing people look for when considering a payment gateway (and rightly so, it’s very important). Review the provider’s fees per transaction - but keep in mind, there’s often more to the story. Some payment gateways advertise a low transaction fee but there are hidden fees elsewhere (more on this below) or they have limited functionality, poor support or other potential risks.

The payment gateway has no hidden fees.

This is so important - when choosing an online payment gateway make sure they have transparent pricing and no hidden fees. Unfortunately, we’ve helped a lot of clients who think they are paying a really low transaction fee (e.g $0.49 per transaction) but when they check their statement, they find a shocking amount of other fees. Some payment gateways charge monthly account keeping fees, very high dishonour fees (costing both you and your customers a lot), high setup fees for new customers, and other bizarre fees. If you’re reviewing the website of a payment service provider and they have confusing pricing... run away!

At PayChoice we have transparent pricing with low transaction costs and hidden fees. On top of that, to avoid you having to pay for features you aren’t using, we don’t use a one-size-fits-all price like large corporations. Our payment solutions are tailored to your specific needs, all with affordable pricing and a fixed fee (depending on the service you need). To find out how much you could save, contact us today.

The payment gateway doesn’t have expensive exit or transfer fees. 

It’s quite common for a payment gateway to have a minimum term with some level of commitment - however, some companies charge really high fees if you want to exit the agreement or transfer to a different provider (literally in the thousands). Ask them about this before you sign up. 

The payment gateway integrates with your existing software.

This is another important point, especially if you’re in an industry that uses a CRM or client-management system (like health and fitness, childcare, real estate etc). If your payment solution doesn’t integrate with your existing software, you’ll have to do a lot of double handling. When you get an online payment you have to get the notification, manually reconcile it, add it to the relevant customer... it’s a lot of admin!

PayChoice syncs with your existing software so you can stop double handling data. Not only do we have a list of existing partners, one of the biggest differences we offer is we have a developer API for custom apps. Basically, this means we can integrate with whatever tool you are using. Not to toot our own horn, but not many payment gateways do this!

The payment gateway is easy to set up.

Choosing the right payment system is super important - but the wrong provider can make setting up (or switching) a logistical headache. There are a lot of moving pieces, which can be made even more difficult if you can’t even get onto a human (which is why we recommend choosing an Australian payment gateway with good support). Whether you’re just getting started or you want to switch, PayChoice makes it incredibly easy. We’ve worked with over 3,000 businesses and organisations in just about every industry, and have got a refreshingly smooth setup process.

Bonus: Do you need a merchant account?

You might've seen the term 'merchant account' around while research gateways or a payment processor. In the past, every store owner needed a merchant account, which is a specific bank account that allows direct receipts of credit card payments. Without this, a payment gateway provider couldn't send money to your bank.

These days quite a few payment gateways don't need a merchant account (PayChoice being one of them). They can process funds directly from a customers bank or credit card, and deposit that directly into your account.

If you’re looking for an affordable, reliable and established Australian payment gateway, PayChoice is here to help.

We are an Australian payment gateway allows you to accept all payment methods and save time so you can get back to business. Convert more sales by offering multiple payment options (including recurring billing, BPAY and more) and have total peace of mind with PCI DSS Compliant security. PayChoice also integrates directly with your existing software so you can stop chasing up money, keep your customers happy, avoid double handling and kiss goodbye to tech headaches. If you want safe and reliable payment services, have a look around our website and contact us today.