How do payment gateways work?
Gateways are made to facilitate online transactions by securely transmitting payment information between a customer’s bank and a merchant’s bank. It acts as an intermediary, ensuring that sensitive data is encrypted and processed safely. The process works in the following way:
- Customer payment. At checkout, the customer selects their preferred payment method and enters their payment information.
- Data encryption. The customer’s payment details are encrypted to protect against unauthorised access.
- Transaction authorisation. The encrypted data is sent to the customer’s bank, which forwards it to the card scheme or payment provider for authorisation.
- Bank response. The customer’s bank approves or declines the transaction and sends the response back through the same channels.
- Payment completion. If approved, the merchant completes the sale, and the gateway facilitates the transfer of funds to the merchant’s account.
This process ensures secure and efficient transactions for businesses and consumers, giving both parties peace of mind knowing that payments are paid securely.
How this payment solution helps businesses get paid online
A payment gateway simplifies and secures the online payment process, offering features to streamline transactions and manage finances more efficiently. Here’s how they help you get paid online:
- Comprehensive payment infrastructure. With a fully supported infrastructure that integrates with a range of websites and plugins, it is easier for businesses of all sizes to receive payments.
- Multi-user access control. For businesses with larger teams, gateways may offer multi-user access, allowing tailored access levels across departments for added security and better management.
- Centralised dashboard. With a single dashboard, businesses can manage transactions, track payment status and generate reports with minimal time and hassle.
- Acquirer-agnostic compatibility. Operating across all major financial institutions in South Africa, businesses can reach a broad range of customers.
What is the difference between an aggregator and a gateway?
Payment gateways and payment aggregators are both used to facilitate online transactions, however, each is designed to cater to different business needs. For small or medium businesses and online stores, aggregators are easy to set up and use, offering a simple way to accept payments online. For larger businesses and enterprises, a payment gateway is better suited as it caters to higher transaction volumes, and offers a wider range of features, customisation and integration options. Here’s how each solution compares:
Payment aggregators
Payment aggregators are simple, easy-to-integrate solutions that allow businesses to accept multiple payment methods. This solution works well for small to medium-sized businesses and startups, as it bypasses the process of securing a merchant bank account. Benefits include:
- Simple integration with multiple payment options. Aggregators allow businesses to accept a variety of payment methods using one simple integration, catering to diverse customer preferences.
- Quick setup and launch. Aggregators have their own merchant bank account, enabling fast sign-ups for new businesses that want to get started without financial history.
- Streamlined solution for businesses. For businesses wanting ease and speed over customisation and comprehensive features, aggregators offer a plug-and-play approach that’s easy to manage.
Payment gateways
For businesses that need more customisation, control and scalability, payment gateways are the ideal choice. Acting as secure bridges between the merchant’s website and the payment processor, gateways allow businesses to protect sensitive data and manage higher transaction volumes with precision. Benefits include:
- Direct connection for security and control. Payment gateways connect each merchant directly with their payment processor, allowing businesses to handle sensitive data with greater security and control.
- Enhanced level of customisation. With a payment gateway, businesses have the option to brand their payment page, for a seamless customer experience.
While aggregators are a good choice for businesses looking for a payment solution that can be set up quickly, gateways provide an enhanced level of flexibility and control.
What should be considered when choosing an online payment gateway?
Choosing an online payment gateway developed to meet your business’s unique needs can make all the difference in how you get paid. Here’s what to consider when making your selection:
Security & compliance
Ensuring that your customers always have peace of mind is essential for every business. A reliable gateway should always provide the highest level of security. Proactive fraud and data security measures allow customers to manage and process online transactions knowing that their sensitive data will always be protected. Payfast by Network provides the highest level of compliance in the industry, with PCI DSS level 1 compliance that protects sensitive data. This not only increases trust but also improves overall reputation.
Flexible integration
For smooth operations, it is vital to select a gateway that easily integrates with existing business systems, such as shopping carts, booking systems or plugins. Custom and API-based integration options allow you to tailor the gateway setup to your unique operational requirements, ensuring streamlined operations and a seamless experience for customers.
Scalability & supported infrastructure
As your business grows, your needs evolve. Look for gateways that offer a scalable infrastructure and bespoke solutions that support higher transaction volumes and more complex setups without compromising performance. For example, businesses expanding their online store to physical stores may provide customers with more ways to pay, such as card machines.
Scalable solutions allow you to adapt more easily over time, knowing that your chosen gateway solution will always provide reliability. Gateway solutions that have extensive technical expertise and a commitment to continuously improving their systems will allow you to scale your payment needs as your business grows.
By choosing platforms that can provide you and your customers full peace of mind, businesses can select a payment gateway that aligns with their current operations and future needs, ensuring secure, integrated and scalable payment processing.
Which payment gateway features add value to businesses?
Another thing to consider when making your selection is the features offered by the gateway solution, as these will make it easier to streamline transactions and support growth. Key features to look for include the following:
- POS devices that offer a secure, flexible way to accept in-person payments and facilitate a unified commerce experience where merchants can ideally manage their online and in-store payments from a single dashboard.
- Fully supported payment infrastructure made specifically for enterprise applications.
- A single dashboard to reconcile transactions and access reports.
- Acquirer agnostic across all major financial institutions within South Africa.
- Flexible payment methods that allow customers to pay in the way that suits them best.
Features like these help businesses create secure, flexible and user-friendly payment experiences, providing support for online growth and improved customer experience.
Which exclusive Gateway solutions does Payfast by Network offer?
As a leading payment platform in South Africa, Payfast by Network Gateway provides a full range of standard features as well as exclusive solutions tailored to streamline transactions and support business needs. These include:
Paybatch
Paybatch enables businesses to process batch card transactions more efficiently. Card batches can be created manually through the Merchant Access Portal (MAP) or via API integration, for automated, recurring payments. This feature supports predictable revenue streams and boosts customer loyalty by handling scheduled payments seamlessly.
Payprotector
Payprotector provides advanced fraud protection with real-time transaction monitoring. Supported by an experienced risk team, Payprotector helps reduce chargebacks and fraudulent activity, offering a proactive solution for startups and larger enterprises alike to manage online fraud risk.
Paybill
Paybill is an e-billing solution designed for businesses that need to receive online payments without an e-commerce website. This system allows secure electronic billing, giving customers a convenient way to pay without compromising on security or flexibility.
As a Payfast by Network Gateway merchant, your business can enjoy full access to all of these features.
Why is payment platform integration important?
To ensure a smooth payment experience, seamless integration is crucial regardless of the website or plugins in use. Payfast by Network’s Gateway solution provides flexible integration options and APIs, enabling easy deployment across various platforms to meet a wide range of business requirements.
Built-in integration
Payweb is our built-in integration, which simplifies deployment, allowing businesses to quickly and securely implement payment solutions with minimal setup. Offering a secure, hosted payment page, it is mobile-friendly and compatible across all devices. It supports multiple payment methods and can be customised to suit each brand. Benefits include:
- Secure and easy-to-use integration
- Mobile compatibility across various devices
- Immediate access to various payment methods
- Customisable look and feel for branding
- Integration options with iframe or Lightbox
- Test environment for functionality checks
Custom integration
For businesses requiring tailored solutions, Payhost is the ideal custom integration solution. This integration provides flexibility, enabling custom configurations suited to specific operational needs. Payhost is an enterprise-level API offering a powerful, customisable interface for diverse applications, such as e-commerce, mobile, recurring and call centre payments. Benefits include:
- Support for international and regional payment methods
- Industry-specific transaction data for fraud screening and reporting
- 3D Secure for Mastercard and Visa and tokenization via PayVault
- Fraud screening through Payhost or third-party providers
- A fully functional test environment in the production setup
The Payfast by Network Gateway solution offers flexible integration options, including built-in, custom and enterprise-level APIs, making it easier to securely implement payment solutions made to meet your specific needs. These options ensure seamless deployment across various platforms and support a wide range of payment methods.
What else should you know about the Payfast by Network Gateway solution?
At Payfast by Network, we aim to provide businesses with a comprehensive solution that is designed to make it easier to get paid. Whether you are expanding your business and need a comprehensive payment solution or a new business wanting to offer your customers a seamless experience right from the start, we are here to help.
To find out more about our secure payment solutions, get in touch with our team and let us tell you how we can help you take your business to the next level with a fully integrated online payment gateway.
Here are a few commonly asked questions relating to our comprehensive payment gateway platform.