Mobile Payment Gateway Guide: How to Choose and Integrate for Mobile App

Mobile Payment Gateway Guide

The recent years have remained exceptionally great for businesses. Companies have experienced a significant shift from desktop to mobile devices. This is a proof that a development shift has already happened that majority of businesses have adopted. However, we are not talking about the recent advancement in businesses but mobile payment gateway solutions that have made transactions really effortless. 

 

There is no doubt about mobile payment gateways being an exceptional offering, however: they face unique challenges beyond the usual security and compliance concerns. These issues particularly come regarding user experience. A subpar payment process can lead to customer dissatisfaction and harm your brand reputation. Therefore, optimizing the mobile payment experience is crucial for every business operating online.

Just as with eCommerce and traditional payment systems, mobile commerce relies on a payment gateway. This service authorizes and processes credit card payments on behalf of merchants. Payment gateways facilitate transactions through various methods, including Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, and money transfers, offering users and businesses a range of payment options.

 

With numerous payment gateways available, each with its own advantages and limitations, selecting the right solution for your business will depend on your specific requirements and goals.

This article will shed light on the ins and the outs of payment gateways by covering some of the important pointers around the topic.

What is the significance of mobile payment gateway?

Mobile commerce accounts for 31% of all retail eCommerce sales. This data is just for the USA. With mobile apps holding significant appeal worldwide, the demand is sure to be similar in rest areas. Notably, 53% of smartphone users prefer purchasing through company-specific apps available on the Apple App Store or Google Play, rather than using mobile websites.

 

Furthermore, conversion rates for transactions via apps are three times higher than those on mobile sites. As mobile app development and adoption continue to rise, these statistics are expected to grow even further.

Integrating payments into mobile apps offers numerous advantages. Beyond capitalizing on market growth, there are several compelling reasons to consider embedding a payment gateway into your mobile app. Let’s have a look at these reasons.

• An effortless offering for customers

Payment gateway integration into your mobile app streamlines the payment process for customers. This becomes possible by allowing them to complete transactions without leaving the app. This enhances the user experience by offering a seamless and convenient checkout process.

 

In addition to this, customers are more likely to finalize their purchases when they don’t need to enter their payment details on a mobile website. This helps to reduce the friction and increasing conversion rates.

• Helps the branding to boost further

Integrating a payment gateway as your mobile payment system gives you complete control over the payment experience. This ensure the payment gateway aligns seamlessly with your brand’s identity and standards.

 

Conversely, a poor payment experience can harm your brand’s reputation and result in lost customers. By delivering a smooth and secure payment process, you can reinforce your brand value and foster customer loyalty.

• Ensures repeat business

Making it easier for customers to complete their purchases increases the likelihood of them returning to do business with you again. According to industry data, 82% of companies find that investing in customer retention is more cost-effective than focusing on acquisition.

 

By integrating a payment gateway into your mobile app, you streamline the payment process, enhancing convenience for your customers. This improved experience not only encourages repeat transactions but also strengthens customer loyalty, ultimately benefiting your business’s bottom line.

List of important features when deciding on mobile payment gateway integration

 

Evaluating the features of various payment gateways for your mobile app is crucial in selecting the right one for your needs. While some features are commonly offered across different providers, each brand may have its unique strengths and differences. By carefully assessing these features, you can identify the payment gateway that best aligns with your specific requirements, ensuring a seamless and efficient payment experience for your users.

• Multi-currency support

If you’re aiming to conduct business on an international scale, choosing a payment gateway that supports multiple currencies is essential. Additionally, if you’re interested in accepting cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, you’ll need to verify that the gateway you select offers this functionality. Since not all payment gateways support these features, it’s important to factor them into your decision-making process to ensure your payment system meets your global business needs.

• Merchant account

When setting up your payment gateway, you’ll need to establish a merchant account to handle credit card transactions and deposit the funds into your bank account.

There are two main types of merchant accounts:

1. Dedicated Merchant Account: This account is exclusively for your business, offering greater control over your funds and transaction processing. However, it typically comes with higher fees compared to an aggregate account.
2. Aggregate Merchant Account: This account is shared among multiple businesses. While it is simpler and quicker to set up, it lacks specific regulations on fund handling, which may affect the management of your transactions.

• Payment gateway

When choosing a payment gateway, you have two main options:

1. Hosted Off-Site Payment Gateway: This type of gateway redirects customers away from your site to complete their transactions on a separate page. While this method can be simpler to set up, it may disrupt the user experience and complicate conversion tracking.
2. Integrated Payment Gateway: This gateway is embedded directly into your app via payment APIs, offering a seamless and cohesive user experience. It allows for easier tracking of transactions and is beneficial for optimizing conversion rates.

Integrating a payment gateway into your mobile app ensures a smoother transaction process and better customer retention. Hosted off-site gateways, often used by smaller businesses or those with lower traffic, may require customers to re-enter their payment information for each transaction, potentially affecting user convenience and retention.

• Security

When it comes to processing payments, security isn’t just a priority—it’s a necessity. Selecting a payment gateway that is equipped with advanced security features is crucial to safeguarding your business and your customers’ trust. Key security measures include PCI compliance (adherence to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard), which ensures that your payment processes meet stringent industry requirements.

 

Additionally, data encryption and tokenization protect sensitive card details by converting them into unreadable formats, making them nearly impossible to intercept or misuse. Furthermore, robust fraud prevention mechanisms are essential for detecting and blocking suspicious activities before they can result in chargebacks. By choosing a payment gateway that incorporates these security features, you not only protect your customers’ financial information but also enhance the overall reliability of your payment system.

• Scalability

As your business expands, it’s vital to choose a payment gateway that can seamlessly scale alongside your growth. A gateway capable of handling an increasing volume of transactions without compromising performance is essential for maintaining a smooth customer experience. When evaluating your options, consider scalability from two angles: the gateway itself and the payment processor supporting it.

 

A payment processor that can’t keep pace with your growth may lead to technical difficulties, downtime, or even lost revenue. To avoid the hassle of switching service providers later on, it’s wise to start with a payment processor that is built to support your long-term ambitions. This ensures that as your transaction volume increases, your payment infrastructure remains robust and reliable, allowing you to focus on expanding your business without worrying about payment processing issues.

• Customer support

Even with the most reliable payment systems, issues can occasionally arise. Whether it’s a transaction failure, a technical glitch, or a security concern, having access to top-notch customer support is crucial when things go wrong. A payment gateway that offers exceptional customer support ensures that you can quickly resolve any problems that may disrupt your business operations.

 

Look for a provider that offers 24/7 support, knowledgeable representatives, and multiple channels of communication, such as live chat, phone, and email. This way, you can be confident that any issues will be promptly addressed, minimizing downtime and helping you maintain a smooth, uninterrupted payment experience for your customers.

How to Choose the Right Payment Gateway for applications?

• The Cost Aspect

When choosing a payment gateway, it’s essential to carefully review the associated fees. Most gateways charge a combination of setup fees, per-transaction fees, and sometimes even annual or monthly fees. To make the best decision, you’ll need to compare the total cost across different providers, factoring in both the upfront and ongoing expenses.

 

For instance, Stax offers a unique pricing model with monthly membership fees that help keep costs predictable and transparent. By opting for a provider like Stax, you can avoid unexpected charges and ensure that your payment processing remains affordable as your business grows. Taking the time to understand the fee structure will help you select a payment gateway that aligns with your budget and long-term financial goals.

• Requirement identifying

The initial step in choosing the right payment gateway is to thoroughly understand your specific business needs. Start by considering the nature of your business: Are you selling digital products, physical goods, or services? Each of these may require different payment processing capabilities. Next, think about whether you need to support multiple currencies to accommodate international customers or if recurring billing is essential for subscription-based models.

 

Additionally, consider the technical aspects, such as which app frameworks and programming languages your gateway must integrate with to ensure smooth operation within your existing systems. Once you have a clear picture of the features you require, you can begin comparing providers, focusing on those that best align with your unique business model and operational needs.

How to integrate payment gateway with mobile apps?

Here are the considerations to keep into the mind when integrating payment gateway with mobile apps.

• Merchant account set up

A merchant account, which is essential for processing credit and debit card transactions, is typically provided through your payment processor. Ideally, your payment processor and payment gateway provider should be the same company.

 

By consolidating these services under one provider, you streamline your payment operations, making it easier to manage transactions, monitor payments, and address any issues from a single, centralized system. This unified approach not only simplifies your workflow but also enhances the efficiency and security of your payment processing, allowing you to focus more on growing your business and less on managing multiple systems.

• Account creation with payment gateway provider

Even if your payment processor is the same as your gateway provider (as it might be with Stax), the payment processing service is a distinct part of the overall solution and requires its own setup. You’ll need to configure the specifics of your payment processor account and link it to your merchant account.

• Having all the API credentials

API, or “Application Programming Interface,” is the crucial link that allows your payment gateway to communicate with your app and process transactions. To integrate a payment gateway into your application, you’ll need to start by generating API credentials from your chosen payment gateway provider.

 

This typically involves setting up a test account, which enables you to simulate transactions without processing real payments. Using a test environment ensures that you can thoroughly develop and debug your payment integration, ensuring everything works smoothly before going live. This careful approach helps prevent any disruptions or errors in the payment process once your app is up and running.

• Payment gateway configuration

The next step in setting up your payment gateway is to configure it to meet your business needs. This involves selecting the types of payments you want to accept, such as credit and debit cards, and enabling any additional options that are relevant to your operations. For instance, if your business model relies on subscriptions, you’ll want to set up recurring billing. Additionally, you should take advantage of any fraud prevention tools offered by the gateway to protect your transactions and customer data. Properly configuring these features ensures that your payment gateway is fully aligned with your business processes, providing a seamless and secure payment experience for your customers.

• Payment gateway implementation into the app

Now that your payment gateway is configured, it’s time to dive into the coding phase. Your payment gateway provider will supply you with essential code snippets and comprehensive documentation to guide you through the integration process. You’ll need to embed this code into your app, enabling it to send transaction data securely to the payment gateway and handle the confirmation responses.

 

Whether you’re working on an iOS app for Apple devices or an Android app for Google devices, the integration process is fundamentally similar. While the programming languages may differ—Swift or Objective-C for iOS, and Java or Kotlin for Android—the core steps remain the same.

• App launch

After all the above-written guidelines have been followed, it now comes to launching the app. However, before the final launch, ensure that every step has been successfully configured. After a through check just go for app launch, ensuring it working properly by keeping an eye on performance.

This is all about integrating payment gateway in mobile apps.