If you are owning a business of event management, traveling web-portal or online store, then definitely you must be having your own app. But, there is a need for payment gateway integration for making the online transactions on your website. The first word that strikes in your mind after hearing the word “payment gateway” would certainly be PayPal as it is the most trusted and authorized for the payment gateway integration service provider.
Before starting the detailed discussion about the Payment Integration Methods and which practice is best opted by the online store, firstly we should understand what the technical term “Payment Gateway” means. The term payment gateway is a merchant service provided by the e-commerce stores, online retailers and e-businesses that authorizes the credit card or debit card for the payment processing. In a one-liner and for easy understanding, we can say that the position of the cashier is being replaced by the Payment Gateway Integration method.
At present, there are four distinct methods of Payment Gateway Integration that you can choose for your e-store. Each one of them has it’s distinguishing features and functionality. Let them get to know in detail one by one:
Simple Checkout Method (Offsite Payment)
It is one of the most simple, popular and secure ways of payment procedure. Simply, when the customer clicks on the “Buy Now” option, then automatically the user will be navigated to the payment gateway service provider webpage i.e.PayPal. The biggest advantage is with the leverage of Offsite Payment, you don’t need to have your website PCI complaint.
Direct Post Method
In this mode of payment, all the necessary customer and payment details are being taken by the user. Following it, all the vital piece of information is being forwarded to the secure payment gateway i.e. PayPal. Hence, the transaction process is safe but we can’t say it to be entirely secure. There are chances of getting hacked or misuse. Although, it is an affordable way of getting the payments done without getting the web-portal PCI complaint.
Advanced Integration Method
This process of paying is most adopted by the big online stores. With the assistance of advanced integration technique, you can easily host your owned payment form and that too on your website. You can have a full overview of the customer journey path as when the user has visited your web-portal, on which web-pages he have landed and how the mode of payment done by him i.e. debit or credit card of whichever bank.
Server Integration Method (Onsite Payment)
It can also be considered as one of the protected ways for the payment transaction. In between, you can’t own the payment gateway on your website through this system. Yet, you can have a feel as for how the payment form and receipt of the payment looks like. All the steps of the payment right from data collection, data submission and response to the customer, all these things are being handled by the payment gateway service provider i.e.PayPal. Only the major drawback while using this method is you need to maintain a proper record of the customer bank details and it’s a risk-taking task.