Fintech revolutionized at GITEX Global
The event will comprise of insightful panel discussions and fireside chats around themes like Personalization, Retention, Customer Lifetime value amongst many others
It’s here – #GROWTH Mixer Saudi 2022!
The event will comprise of insightful panel discussions and fireside chats around themes like Personalization, Retention, Customer Lifetime value amongst many others
Misk Webinar | How to Skill Up As You Scale Up
You validated your product, gained some traction in the market, and it is time to grow your market share. As part of top management or a founder of a scale-up, you will encounter many challenges as your team grows, with talent coming from different educational levels, career paths, cultures, and nationalities. You start releasing and executing carefully thought-out plans, which will have many points of failure. You will miss deadlines, go over budget, or the project might fail to achieve your objectives. There are many reasons that contribute to failure. In this workshop, we will explore the SAUS approach (Skill-up As You Scale-up) of implementing principles for operational excellence. You will also learn how to use the FASTMARC framework, which will help you increase clarity on what you need to focus on to reduce uncertainty and remain focused. The FASTMARC framework can be applied in any top management function.
Integrating a Payment Gateway into Your Website – A Guide
Customers are the life and blood of businesses. No matter what you sell, your customers need a few common things: security, quality, and safe payment options. You might be surprised to know that 18% of the customers abandon their cart because they don’t trust the website with their credit card information, and 9% because of a lack of payment options.
Which is why, payment integration in a website is crucial to your business. Therefore, it is necessary to choose a payment gateway that helps you retain your customers by avoiding the above-listed problems. Your payment gateway should both satisfy your and your customers’ needs. Now, before you dive into how to add payment gateway to a website, find out what a gateway is.
What is a payment gateway?
A payment gateway allows authorisation and processing of payments by transferring data. With the world going digital, payment gateways have become a part of almost all online and offline stores. One of the reasons why they are so popular is that they ensure the safety and security of data while ensuring speedy transactions. A website with a payment gateway typically has a higher chance of sales and profits.
How does it work?
Just like a point-of-sales terminal, a payment gateway ensures quick and smooth transactions. To ensure the safety of the data processed and transferred, payment gateway providers use encryption and security protocols.
A payment gateway follows these steps:
- The customer clicks on the “pay now” button during checkout.
- They select the payment method and enter the required card details.
- The details added are shared with the payment gateway.
- The payment gateway encrypts the data and shares the details with the payment processor.
- The bank gets the authorisation request and responds to the payment processor with approval or rejection.
- The merchant bank receives money from the customer’s bank.
- The website displays the confirmation/rejection accordingly.
Types of payment gateways
There are two types of payment gateways for a website.
· Hosted
Hosted payment gateways involve redirecting your customers to the website with payment gateway for the payment process. It is a third party where customers complete payment and are redirected back to your website. This type of gateway does not require PCI compliance and the customer data is stored by the vendor. Since they require you to redirect your customers, this type doesn’t help in promoting your business. It is considered best for small businesses, which do not receive high traffic as well.
· Integrated
These types of payment gateways are also called non-hosted payment gateways. Integrated payment gateways help your customer to stay on your website and pay from there only. The best part of these gateways is that you can customise them to match your brand and promote your business. Customers also get a smooth payment process since they are not redirected anywhere. However, since they are integrated into your website, you need to obtain PCI DSS compliance, and the payment gateway integration requires a development team.
Transaction types
One of the reasons why payment gateways are so popular is that they support a variety of transactions. Some of them are:
· Payment/sale
Immediate payment happens under this transaction. It is a combination of authorisation and capture transactions that helps you fulfil instant orders and payments.
· Authorisation
Authorisation is used to check whether the customer can pay the requested amount or not. Funds are not transferred in this transaction, but the availability of funds for future payment is verified. This type of transaction takes a while to complete.
· Capture
This type of transaction allows you to capture the authorised money for settlement. When it takes time for you to ship the product, the payment is first authorised and then captured once the product is shipped.
· Refund
When the customer cancels an order for some reason, the refund transaction is initiated. It happens only for sales and capture transactions.
· Void
This happens between the authorisation and capture transactions. Void transactions are cheaper than refunds and can happen when a payment has been authorised but not captured by the merchant.
Integrating a payment gateway into your website
Before you make a payment gateway integration into your website, you should understand the working and benefits of payment gateways. There are a lot of gateways available in the market. Explore your options and check which ones are compatible with your website.
The steps of integrating a payment gateway into your website will depend on your business needs, the customisation required, and the payment gateway you have chosen. However, the general flow of the steps remains the same.
· For hosted gateways
Hosted gateways are available on the provider’s website. All you need to do is add a payment button on your website and the connection is made through API. Hosted gateways are highly secure and can be easily integrated.
· For non-hosted gateways
Non-hosted gateways require a little more effort to integrate. Since you need to add it to your server, you need a technical team to handle the integration. This method also uses APIs to make the connection with your server.
· Direct post methods
This method ensures you don’t need to get PCI DSS compliance since the data doesn’t get stored on your servers. A vendor can easily set up an API connection between your website and the payment gateway.
Some things to keep in mind while integrating:
- If you choose a hosted payment gateway, you will require an SSL certificate, merchant’s ID, MWS access key, and secret key.
- If you choose an integrated gateway, pay special attention to security and safety measures. You might also require PCI DSS compliance.
Benefits of payment gateways
A payment gateway has several benefits that make them perfect for your website. Some of them include:
- Quick transactions: Payments through payment gateways take mere seconds to process.
- Security: A secure payment method is a key to customer loyalty. Payment gateways use several security protocols and encryption to ensure a safe and secure transaction.
- Wider reach: Due to their availability in all corners of the world, payment gateways increase your customer base and sales.
- Costs: Apart from the initial set-up cost, most payment gateways charge an affordable transaction and chargeback fee.
- Saves time: Since the payment takes only seconds to process, payment gateways save both your and your customers’ time.
- Improves customer experience: A smooth payment process and availability of multiple payment options offer a superior customer experience and enhance customer loyalty.
- Promotes business: This happens in case of a non-hosted payment gateway that allows you to customise it as per your requirements.
- Availability: Your customers can pay anytime and from anywhere in the world using a payment gateway.
Choosing a payment gateway provider
Consider the following factors while choosing a payment gateway provider:
· Pricing
Pricing is one of the most important factors when it comes to choosing a payment gateway provider. All providers typically charge setup fees, monthly fees, merchant account setup fees, and transaction fees. Read the pricing requirements cautiously and check if there are any hidden costs. Choose an affordable payment gateway that also ensures long-term quality.
· Ease of integration
After pricing, it is crucial to check the process of payment integration in website. A simple and inexpensive integration process should be the preference. However, that also depends on the type of gateway you choose. Hosted gateways have a simpler integration process than non-hosted ones.
· Settlement
Check the settlement cycle your gateway offers. A quick settlement cycle is crucial for the smooth functioning of your business. Choose a payment gateway provider that suits your needs the best.
· Number of payment methods
A gateway that offers the maximum payment methods is the most preferable one. More options will ensure that you can reach a wider customer base and reduce the cart abandonment rate.
Begin by listing your requirements before choosing a payment gateway. Consider and compare different options and check their suitability for your business. A gateway is a crucial part of the website and your business. Integrating one into your website is not a lengthy process. Keep the above-listed things in mind before integration.
Or, to be on the safe side, simply choose PayTabs as your payment gateway provider as it comes with excellent customer support and avant-garde technologies to quickly and conveniently integrate into your website or e-store.
UAE Set to Become a Cashless Society with Increasing Mobile Payments
The growth of mobile payments in the UAE and the rest of the Middle East has become quite noticeable in recent times. And such modes of payment are no longer popular only among the tech savvy or financially literate. They have become an important part of the general society as we know it. Digital payments have also helped SMEs (small-and-medium-enterprises) and business owners in the Middle East to expand their markets in ways never thought of before!
With online shopping on a steep rise, especially in the wake of the pandemic, eCommerce and the mobile payment industry are set to experience major growth in the coming years. Read on to know more and understand how UAE will soon evolve into a cashless society, backed by the power of mobile payments.
COVID and mobile payments
As lockdowns and movement restrictions encouraged consumers to switch to cashless payment alternatives, COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of digital payments in the Middle East.
A study conducted by Checkout.com, a London-based payments system, says the Middle East region used to be dominated by cash earlier but online shoppers have now shifted to using digital payments. This change has presented a huge growth opportunity for multi-currency online payment gateway providers like PayTabs. The report included a survey conducted on more than 5,000 consumers in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Jordan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Egypt and Qatar.
- The number of consumers who anticipate shopping online more often over the next year in those countries is 47%. 38% expect their online shopping frequency to remain the same, while only 15% expect it to decline.
- As a result of the pandemic, 40% of online shoppers say they are shopping and paying online, according to the regional manager at Checkout.com, Mo Ali Yusuf.
- “Digital payments have been on the rise for the past six years, but the pandemic fastracked the growth trajectory and condensed five years of growth into just a few months,” Yusuf said.
- The impact of COVID-19 has caused e-commerce and digital payments to surge this year, but the changes we are witnessing today go beyond a temporary shift.”
- While digital payments have become more popular in the Middle East in the last few years, cash on delivery still occupies a large portion of consumers’ wallets.
- Over the next decade, there is a great deal of potential for growth in this market, he stated.
As consumers shop online more frequently, they prefer digital payments over cash on delivery or bank transfers. 62% people who purchased something online once a month used a card or digital wallet in UAE and other countries. This is compared to the 44% who were shopping online less frequently.
UAE takes the lead in digital payments in the Middle East
UAE’s mobile payments growth has been especially noteworthy in the Middle East region. A regulatory framework and a supportive government have paved the way for the establishment of a Cashless Dubai Working Group. All digital payments in Dubai will be shifted to secure and easy-to-use cashless platforms through this group.
The Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced recently that the UAE Cabinet had adopted an agreement linking the payment systems of the GCC, ensuring greater integration of the region and facilitating a more significant expansion of its multilateral trade.
Compared with Europe’s annual growth of 4 to 5 per cent, consumer digital payments transactions in the UAE grew at a rate of over 9 per cent between 2014 and 2019. During 2022, digital payment volumes from SMEs grew by 44 percent, according to a report by McKinsey and Co.
There is no doubt that this adoption is having a positive impact already. As a means of promoting financial inclusion and promoting efficiency in the public and private sectors, digital payments have and continue to increase efficiency.
Business opportunities due to digital payments
The rapid growth of the mobile payments industry has presented exciting business opportunities to capitalise on. Younger generations are looking to make payments directly from their mobile phones or even smartwatches. This kind of technology has combined the convenience of online payments and the security of an app.
Smartphones account for more than 80% of all mobile devices, promoting the possibility of new inventions. The utilisation of e wallets in UAE and other Middle Eastern countries is also on the rise since they allow the user to go cashless without having to use a traditional bank account.
Sending and receiving money through apps on mobile phones has become increasingly popular. The process removes any ‘middleman’ and makes online transactions cheap or even free. Just one click and the money gets transferred. Apart from the ease of use and speed, it also prevents the need for users to carry their cards or remember an endless number of PINs.
Numerous multi-currency online payment gateways have also emerged in the UAE and they are gaining popularity in the domain with their extensive lists of digital payment solutions. But some challenges still stand in the way.
Digital future
There is still some resistance to mobile payments growth though, especially among older people who are, in general, less technologically able – but the popularity of cash transactions is likely to dip overall. Due to their convenience, ease of use, and the increasing number of businesses that digitalise and can accept such payments, digital and especially mobile-based transactions will become increasingly popular over the next few years.
There is no denying that the changes triggered by the pandemic are here to stay, and businesses will soon be expected to offer cashless options; and companies that do not do so will start falling behind their competitors.
Along with traditional debit and credit cards, QR codes and other solutions, mobile payments will play an important role in the UAE’s move towards a cashless society.
PayTabs’ role
By providing seamless B2B ecommerce solutions to SMEs, PayTabs has emerged as an early pioneer in the fintech sector. A full stack of game-changing mobile applications, hospitality, government, education, airline, travel, transportation, and biller solutions has been developed and exported by PayTabs with private Saudi investment, linking the multibillion-dollar MENA enterprise market chains together. With the launch of PayTabs SwitchOn, the real-time, integrated, turnkey platform, PayTabs has consolidated its position as a top multi-currency online payment gateway provider and global leader in end-to-end payments solutions.
In addition to its stellar fraud prevention system, PayTabs has been processing payments since 2014. Businesses have been able to process payments securely, thanks to its innovative and agile solutions. Visa and Mastercard have recognised PayTabs’ security, making it one of the most popular payment gateway providers in the UAE.
Features
- Stellar merchant dashboards
- Omnichannel payment solutions
- Simple documentation and onboarding process
- 360 payment processing
The pricing system at PayTabs is straightforward. The company offers three types of plans: start-up, growth, and enterprise. Early-stage companies will benefit from the start-up plan, which has a fixed monthly fee. Growth plans help drive sales and offer great value. Enterprise plans are for businesses looking to expand.
To conclude
Global financial systems are currently based on the growth of mobile payments. By increasing access, a wide range of benefits are unlocked. To finance their working capital requirements and grow their businesses, merchants have access to new forms of funding today. Real-time data is another advantage businesses gain when they adopt digital payments. As a result, merchants can use data-driven insights to make strategic decisions and identify emerging patterns and trends. Creating more accurate economic forecasts is also possible using the wealth of data generated by digital payments.
On the other hand, consumers benefit too, from fast, secure, convenient payment systems that offer them multiple options. They can also access innovative platforms that allow them to spread payments for goods and services out over time, such as buy-now-pay-later platforms.
So, it is a win-win for both businesses and customers in UAE and the rest of the world. Hence, transitioning to a cashless society is no longer a pipe dream.