Accept Online Payments with Noda
What is a payment gateway?
A payment gateway is an interface or technology which allows businesses to take credit or debit card payments. This can be done both in-store through physical card machines and online, through payment processing portals usually found at the checkout stage. Payment gateways both authenticate and safely transfer payment data to both the client and business’ banks.
Nowadays, physical payment gateways such as card readers also allow Near Field Communication Technology (NFC) or QR code payments through smartphones. Apart from fiat currencies, some payment gateways also take cryptocurrency payments.
A payment gateway also implements a number of security protocols such as tokenisation, encryption and fraud management solutions.
There can be several types of payment gateways, such as hosted gateways, which third-party services provide. The business can also have a self-hosted payment gateway, wherein it collects all the transaction data itself.
Businesses can also have an application programming interface (API)- hosted gateway, wherein the transaction details will be collected by the API. Another option is local bank integration, where the payment details are sent to the business’ bank payment system.
How do payment gateways work?
Simple payment gateways usually work in a few steps, as outlined below:
- For physical payments, the client swipes, taps or inserts their debit or credit card onto the card reader. For online payments, card details such as name, card number, card verification value (CVV) and the card expiry date are entered onto a payment or checkout page. This information is then transferred to the payment gateway.
- Once the information goes to the payment gateway, it gets encrypted, and goes through a number of fraud checks. The transaction and card details are then sent to the business’ bank, which transfers it to card schemes, such as Mastercard.
- From there, this information goes to the client’s bank, where more fraud checks are conducted. At this stage, the bank also checks whether there are sufficient funds for the transaction, as well as whether the receiving bank account is valid. Following this, the transaction is either approved or rejected and the result is sent back to the merchant account.
- The online payment page or physical card reader will then show the result of the payment, also giving clients the option of paying through another way, if the transaction has failed.
- Following a successful payment, the business’ bank takes the payment from the client’s bank and puts it into the business’ merchant account, to be held securely. Within a few days, usually 1-2 days, these funds are then released and transferred into the company’s business account.
Benefits of payment gateways
There are several benefits of an easy payment gateway. They can provide a better customer experience, through more flexible, smoother and quicker shopping experiences.
Furthermore, payment gateways also have enhanced security, which ensures that both the business and the client are protected from frauds and scams through a number of fraud-detection tools. Not only that, but it also makes sure to protect sensitive and confidential client details.
Payment gateways can also assist in faster processing than manual transactions, which can both result in improved customer satisfaction and higher sales and cash flow for the business.
Businesses which want to operate cross-border can also use simple payment gateway plugins to accept payments in several currencies, helping them better integrate and compete in local markets.
How to integrate a payment gateway in a website?
Integrating a payment gateway in a website includes a few easy steps, which can differ depending on the specific payment gateway and your website platform.
The first step is choosing a payment gateway. This choice will need to be made depending on what the business’ current strategy is and where it would like to go.
At this stage, businesses will also need to decide what payment features they would like a gateway to have, as well as which payment methods can be supported. Security features, transaction fees and integration with the current systems being used should also be deciding factors.
The next step is establishing a merchant account, which will act as an intermediary between the client’s account and the company’s business account. However, this may not always be necessary, as some payment gateways could also provide merchant account features.
The business will then have to get API keys, which are unique identifiers required for a payment gateway and a business app or website to be connected. Then comes the actual integration, which can be done through extensions and plugins, found on a range of e-commerce platforms, or through manual coding.
The last step is testing your newly-integrated payment gateway, usually through dummy purchases. If all goes well at this stage, your payment gateway can go live, allowing clients to make transactions on your website.
Businesses can have a smooth and simple payment gateway integration experience by using payment gateway plugins from a number of open-banking platforms as well, such as Noda.
What are payment gateway plugins?
Payment gateway plugins are software add-ons that allow websites to integrate with payment gateways. As such, they act as a bridge of sorts between the payment processor and the business’ website, to make sure online transactions happen quickly, smoothly and safely.
These plugins also ensure that sensitive and confidential client information is protected, through encryption, while at the same time providing an optimised checkout experience for clients. WordPress payment gateway plugins are some of the most common, with several websites offering them for free or very cheap.
There are several benefits of payment gateway plugins. Key amongst these is that they significantly decrease the amount of development and IT professionals needed, thus effectively cutting costs, as they are easily integrated within websites.
Businesses can also use as many plugins as they require, thus being able to add multiple services such as different payment methods and fraud protection systems at relatively low costs.
Furthermore, payment gateway plugins can also help with other required tasks such as smoother reconciliations, the automation of transaction processes and the management and recording of revenues and sales.
How to integrate Noda into your website
Noda provides a variety of simple payment gateways for websites. It has plugins for a number of e-commerce sites such as Magento, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, OpenCart and PrestaShop.
Learn More About Open Banking with Noda
With Noda, businesses can have a simple payment gateway for WooCommerce, only through a plugin. WooCommerce is WordPress’ open-source e-commerce platform. Used in over four million online marketplaces, WooCommerce lets businesses use the PHP programming language to make e-commerce websites.
Connecting the plugin to a website is very easy, with the first step being to download and install the archive file in WooCommerce’s admin panel, thus setting up the plugin. Once this is done, businesses can include API keys, which they can find on Noda Hub post onboarding.
Alternative, simple payment gateway plugins for WordPress can also be installed through the WordPress’ software console, by using Composer, which is a popular package and dependency manager giving users an easy way to manage themes, plugins and more.
If the WordPress site that is being used is a read-only site, an external Composer repository will have to be added, in order to be able to add and update plugins.
Once the external repository has been added, the plugin can be added using the “composer require” command, following which Composer will update your files accordingly.
The next step is to push the changes to your website, following these commands:
“git add composer.json composer.lock”
“git push”
Once the changes are pushed, the building process will be automatically started, thus installing the plugin in the correct folder.
The payment gateway plugin can then be enabled through the WordPress dashboard.
Noda and WooCommerce should now be connected, with integration only taking a few moments, leaving businesses to enjoy a simple payment gateway for WordPress and WooCommerce.
The exact same steps can be implemented to be able to use a simple PrestaShop payment gateway plugin, as well as a payment gateway for Magento, as well as OpenCart.
Noda’s simple BigCommerce payment gateway plugin will also be available soon, promising rapid integration and hassle-free payment processes as well.
Noda brings businesses advantages such as simplicity, as open banking payments greatly uncomplicate clients’ user experiences, leading to better consumer satisfaction and fewer lost clients in the form of abandoned carts.
Furthermore, no developers are needed to integrate Noda’s plugins with business’ websites, saving time, hassle and costs. Noda’s open banking services also delivers security for both businesses and clients, with strict adherence to European banking regulations such as multi-factor verification.
Moreover, open banking services are also much cheaper and faster for businesses, leading to a smoother checkout for clients.