You should choose the correct payment processor if you operate a business that accepts debit and credit cards online. Online payment processors take care of all the heavy lifting, from capturing sales to sending you a statement of your bill and working with your banks to ensure you get paid.
Payment gateways or PoS terminals are used when a consumer purchases something from your website or in-store. The gateway encrypts data to protect it and sends it to the payment processor, who then sends it to the card network of the customer. The card network checks with the customer’s bank to determine if there’s enough money in the account to purchase the product. If the bank accepts the purchase the card issuer will transfer funds from their account to the merchant’s bank. The payment processor will transmit this information back to the merchant’s site or PoS terminal and notify the customer that their payment was successful.
When choosing a processor, consider aspects like security, ease-of-use, and compatibility with the current systems. Choose a processor that has APIs and plugins to seamlessly integrate with your ecommerce platform or POS system. Also, you should evaluate your customers’ checkout experience and your team’s reporting and management experience. Last but not least, make sure you are aware of the contract and how it is easy to switch providers in the future.