In 2024, approximately 73% of individuals completed online purchases using their mobile devices, according to Statista. Additionally, just 6.5% of the value of all e-commerce transactions in 2019 were made using mobile devices. However, by 2024, 44.5% more people were using mobile payment gateways!
Nowadays, in-app payments are available in practically all apps. Why? Because clients value how easy it is to make a purchase without having to log into their bank accounts or enter their credit card details.
However, while the majority of us are aware of how to use an app for payments, few of us are likely aware of how these apps function technically or what’s required to incorporate them. Do you too have that question in your mind? You’ve come to the correct place because in this article we’ll discuss adding a payment gateway to an app and why you should.
A Mobile Payment Gateway: What is it?
Mobile payment gateways enable both sellers and buyers to embrace online payments for transactions made through an app. Transaction information from the consumer is received, processed, encrypted, verified, and transferred from the gateway to the merchant. Fundamentally, the payment gateway software serves as a conduit for financial transactions between customers and retailers.
The general flow of the payment process is as follows:
- An online shopper selects the item they wish to buy and puts it in their cart.
- The consumer selects their preferred payment option during the checkout, such as a bank app code or credit card. They are then forwarded to a gateway webpage, such as PayPal (but there are numerous others; we’ll mention those later).
- The gateway sends the bank the user-added information.
- The issuing bank verifies the validity of the transaction and confirms that the buyer has sufficient funds in their accounts to complete the transaction.
- The payment confirmation is returned to the app via a payment gateway if the validation is successful.
- The seller then learns that an order has been placed and paid for.
- Finally, a payment settlement is started by the gateway, and the merchant then sees the funds in his account.
Is it surprising that fewer individuals are utilizing actual currency or banknotes given that it just requires a few seconds for the payment to be completed, even if it may feel like a lengthy and onerous process? Only 9% of individuals in the Asia-Pacific area used physical money in 2019, and that percentage is projected to drop to 1.6% by 2024.
By 2025, it’s anticipated that, say, Poland’s mobile payment market would be worth US$26,893.9 million. The BLIK service, which enables clients to pay for their purchases and make withdrawals using only their mobile banking app and a special 6-digit code issued during each transaction, is mostly deserved for this.
What Advantages Do Mobile Payment Gateways Offer?
If you currently have or want to develop a mobile application, you’re undoubtedly aware of the fierce competition in the market and the challenges of retaining users. Your app can be largely superseded by another one if you don’t stay on top of the most recent developments in the market. Digital wallets are already by far the most popular means of payment in the Asia-Pacific region, in which it’s anticipated that they’ll account for 47.9% of POS transactions in 2024. Mobile payments are one of these developments.
But why are they worth so much? Mobile transactions are tremendously convenient, to start with. Customers can make purchases even from a distance without having to carry currency or worry about finding change (such as paying for a takeaway as they are leaving their workplace).
For companies, this means:
- Increased consumer satisfaction as a result of a payment process that’s considerably more convenient and the availability of items and services around-the-clock.
- Increased customer loyalty and retention as customers are pleased with their shopping.
- Much safer transactions since data is encrypted and put via fraud prevention software as it flows between gateways. Digital wallets also offer additional biometric identification layers, such as fingerprint and/or facial recognition scans, to help businesses make sure that payments are legitimate.
- A chance to expand your company internationally since payment gateways make it possible for customers from all around the world to purchase your goods or services.
- Transactions that are declined are automatically allowed or denied, so there’s no need for you to manage them yourself.
The fact that payment gateways lower the risk of fraud should pique your interest as a business owner:
- Only the consumer and their issuing bank have access to the full number because it is encrypted as it is sent from the customer’s card or bank to the payment gateway.
- To ensure the privacy of your clients’ card information, a payment processor must be compatible with PCI DSS requirements, which implies it must adhere to particular security criteria.
- For each card a consumer uses to make an online purchase, card services offer the 3-D Secure extra security protocol, which necessitates the usage of a one-time password.
The final advantage is that including a mobile payment gateway in your new app can greatly increase your revenue. According to Statista, the transfer value generated by smartphone payment apps will hit around $14 trillion by 2024; if you want a piece of that enormous revenue, setting up a mobile payment processor is an absolute must.
Which Supplier of a Payment Gateway Should You Pick?
Before we go into the specifics of how you may integrate a payment gateway within your app, let’s first discuss which one you ought to actually pick since you have a variety of possibilities. The best course of action, in this case, is to make a list of your requirements and then evaluate the payment gateway suppliers to determine which one best suits your company.
For instance, if you wish to take bitcoin payments, you need carefully consider which companies accept it as a payment method. Some service providers additionally mention industries they don’t deal with, like gambling. But, now they’ve realized that was wrong they race against each other in agreeing to collaborate with serious online sportsbooks, like those at Bookmaker-Expert.com, and casinos.
Additionally, you should contrast the following before selecting the service:
- How many nations does the provider service? (and can it accept foreign currencies).
- How many features each service can provide
- Fees for transactions (especially the hidden costs and fees).
- Offered integrations.
- PCI DSS and PSD2 standards adherence.
- Accessible customer service.
What are the most widely used payment processors available today?
Here’s a list of some of the most widely used payment processors available today:
1. PayPal
Payflow Pro and Payflow Gateway and are the two payment gateway alternatives provided by PayPal. Both are compatible with popular credit cards, electronic wallets, and online shopping carts. If you want to grow abroad, Paypal may be helpful because it’s accepted in over 200 countries and 100+ different currencies.
Each transaction will cost you a service charge of $0.10 plus a fee of 2.90%. PayFlow Pro also charges a $25 monthly subscription. However, a number of features, such as improved security and completely customizable checkout, are included in the cost.
2. Skrill
Compared to other payment gateways, Skrill has much cheaper transaction fees; for some payment methods, there’s no price whatsoever, and for others, the fee is as small as 1%. Though the costs vary by nation. Skrill also accepts more than 40 different currencies and 100 different payment methods, including cryptocurrencies. Skrill also accepts payments from abroad at a cost of 1.9% per transfer.
Over 20 of the most well-liked e-commerce shopping cart programs, including Magento, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, Shopify, etc. are compatible with the Skrill gateway. However, customers need a Skrill account with a paired credit or debit card in order to make payments.
3. Amazon Pay
Amazon Pay may have been a useful payment gateway supplier for you if you currently sell your goods on Amazon because it allows customers to complete transactions with just their Amazon login information. It can also be integrated with well-known e-commerce systems including Magento, Shopify, and BigCommerce. The only payment methods accepted by these platforms are the most widely used credit cards, though.
Although there is no setup fee with Amazon Pay, it deducts 2.9% + $0.30 from every domestic transaction. When it comes to foreign transactions, that figure rises to 3.9%.
4. Stripe
Using the integrated developer tools in Stripe, businesses may design bespoke transaction history or invoices, establish branded payment pages, and more. Along with 24-hour customer care, there’s also a machine-learning fraud prevention system available. In addition to more than 135 other currencies, Stripe also accepts all of the common payment methods.
For online credit card transactions, Stripe charges a fixed 2.9% fee for foreign cards (1.4% for the European region).
5. Braintree
Braintree can nevertheless interact with a variety of e-commerce systems, invoicing programs, analytics apps, and extensions despite not being as feature-rich as other suppliers.
You may accept PayPal, Venmo, ACH deposits, all of the major credit cards, and digital wallets with Braintree. Additionally, you can accept payments in over 130 different currencies. Recurrent billing, a customer details manager, reporting tools, and developer APIs are further features. Furthermore, Braintree provides payment authorization, session management, data encryption, and activity tracking for all payments.
In addition to 0.75% for ACH deposits, Braintree takes 2.5% + $0.49 for each transaction.
How Do You Integrate a Mobile Payment Gateway into Your iOS or Android Application?
Now for the specifics: how exactly can a payment gateway be added to the apps? You should go to your future gateway provider’s home page and search for a section with implementation instructions if you’ve already made your decision. SDKs (Software Development Kits) are available from each service provider, and frequently these kits include comprehensive instructions on how to build integration.
Both iOS and Android follow the same general procedures
- Integrate client- and server-side SDKs.
- Join the API.
- Get a certificate for payment security.
This final step is very important because your server processes payment information directly and as a result must also adhere to PCI-DSS regulations. You need to complete two steps in order to get this certificate. In this situation, you must first analyze all of your information systems that retain card data and address any issues that are discovered. Following an assessment by one of the PCI Security Standards Council businesses, your business will receive certification and be able to start accepting payments.
Trying to make your app PSD2 compatible is another issue you should consider. You can learn more about PSD2 in our previous piece, but it aims to enhance the security of all e-payments while also simplifying the process for users to access their financial information.
Regarding the technical steps, the guidelines for integrating payment gateways for iOS and Android devices are described at specific site sections for each of mentioned five payment processors.
The detailed, lengthy instructions call for specialized coding knowledge. You could attempt integrating the payment gateways yourselves if you’re comfortable with utilizing SDK, know how to interact with API, and comprehend the compliance criteria. However, you might find that both of those require much more time and work than you had anticipated, especially if you run into some unanticipated issues while developing.
It’s a better option to enlist the help of a development agency if you’re unsure of your abilities or don’t have enough team members to manage the incorporation yourself (or just want to be sure the payment will be fully compliant with all financial standards). By working with an agency, you’ll have a partner who has expertise in integrating payment gateways into different kinds of apps and who’s aware of all the potential pitfalls and how to avoid them. However, they may also assist you to design a user-friendly user interface for your app, handle maintenance, and make recommendations for how to make your mobile payment gateway safer.
Conclusion
Giving your app clients the opportunity to pay for a good or service whenever they want and with a single click is practically a need these days. However, a mobile payment gateway is required for it. But out of all the suppliers, which of these should you choose? With so many possibilities, it’s simple to become confused and adopt a gateway that lacks the capabilities you require or has a lot of hidden costs.
In order to save you time, money, and stress, we advise seeking professional guidance on this issue from software development businesses, more particularly from those that have extensive experience in the FinTech industry.
If you considering Shopify as the engine of your e-commerce system it’s always better to partner with certified developers.