Payment Gateways
A payment gateway is a secure connection between your website and an Online Merchant Bank Account and enables you to accept online credit card payments. This ensures credit card information is encrypted and secure giving your customers the confidence to buy online.
PayPal
Paypal is one of the most popular and recognisable payment gateways. It offers a range of payment options for merchants and can be setup as either a hosted platform, where customers are transferred from your website to PayPal’s secure website to complete their payment or seamlessly integrated into your own website.
Paypal is cost effective, with no setup or monthly fees. Their transaction fees are slightly higher than some alternatives but they are still very affordable for both start-up businesses wanting to test the waters and established businesses wanting to capitalise on online payments. Transaction rates are based on volume of sales and discounts apply to high volume merchants.
| Paypal Standard | Paypal Payments Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Gateway Type | Hosted – customers are briefly transferred to a paypal.com payment page to complete payments securely and are then transferred back to your website. | Live Payment Gateway – payments are seamlessly integrated into your website and processed using a 256bit SSL Certificate. |
| Fees and charges | 2.6% + 30c per transaction No ongoing monthly fees | 2.6% + 30c per transaction $25/mo Account Fee |
| Additional Requirements | No additional requirements | SSL Certificates encrypt all form data transmitted by customers between your website and the payment gateway provider to secure credit card and personal information. We recommend GeoTrust Quick SSL Premium certificates: $199/yr Dedicated website IP address (required by SSL certificates): $25/yr |
Paypal Hosted Payments
Pros
- No ongoing fees.
- Low-risk for start-up businesses.
- Payments made securely through Paypal.
Cons
- Customers are transferred off-site for payment
- Statistically higher number of abandoned orders
Real-Time Payment Gateway
Pros
- Secure checkout environment.
- Client stays on your website for the entire payment process.
- Seamless integration
Cons
- Slightly higher monthly fees
- Requires SSL Certificate
Real-Time Payment Gateways
As the name implies, Real Time Payment Gateways allow you to accept credit card payments directly through your own website in real-time (without being transferred to a third party for payment). They add a degree of professionalism to a website and dramatically reduce a customer’s Checkout time. Payment processing takes a matter of seconds.
They may be likened to online EFTPOS terminals, connecting your website directly through to a bank.
Paypal Payments Pro is a real-time payment gateway. Other gateway providers include major Australian banks (St George, Westpact, NAB etc), SecurePay (owned by Australia Post) and eWAY.
Real-Time Payment Process
Processing a payment involves a number of linked items:
- E-Commerce Website with Shopping Cart.
User completes order checkout on your website, entering Credit Card details on a secure page. - Real-Time Payment Gateway
Provides the secure connection to the Online Merchant Account.
Payment information is encrypted and processed securely. - Online Merchant Account
A holding account which receives all online funds and allows funds to be transferred to your normal business bank account.
(The Online Merchant Account does NOT have to be the same banking institution as your Existing Bank Account) - Existing Bank Account
This is your existing business bank account. Linking this to your online merchant account allows you to transfer your website funds.
We will guide you through the process of setting up a Real-Time Payment Gateway, expedite the process wherever possible and offer specific advice on which solutions best suit your website.
Please contact us today for more information