Have you ever thought that the post-Covid era enhanced human dependence on online payments? Web versions or mobile applications, the user can pay for the items or services via the payment gateway providers. Payment gateway integration operates cardholder’s sensitive data by supporting different payment methods, including debit/credit cards, digital wallets, etc. In the article, we illustrate how to add payment gateway in app by underlining the features of a good provider.
Why is Mobile Payment Gateway Integration Important?
The growth of E-commerce and smartphone penetration designate the key factors that shape the rise in payment gateways, due to speed, security, and convenience of the transactions. In the research provided by GlobeNewswire, the trajectory of the hosted payment gateway segment is anticipated to reach US$46.1 Billion by 2030 with a CAGR of 14.9%, while the non-hosted payment gateway segment is predicted to grow at 17.6% CAGR.
Based on the aforementioned promising statistics, payment gateway for mobile app provides businesses and clients with the following benefits.
From the Business Side
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Enhanced Conversion
The business representatives can integrate a payment link function and by creating a URL or QR code, enabling the transition of clients to the specific payment page. After receiving the payment link via SMS, or social media, the client can click and pay automatically, which boosts conversion.
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Customer Retention
The integration of a mobile application with a payment gateway allows more seamless transactions by reducing friction. The clients will not leave their online shopping carts as the payment process is quick, effective, and secure, which leads to their retention.
From the Client's Side
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Convenience
Payment gateways, especially the non-hosted type, ensure customer payment convenience due to the automatic recurring bills for subscriptions. Clients can fill in the form by providing their payment-related details and automatically save them, which will boost their customer journey, as they will not have to reenter the data.
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Speed
Since the payment details are saved for later use, users can complete transactions with one-click payments within a minimum time, showing the benefit of hosted and non-hosted payment gateways.
How to Integrate Payment Gateway in Mobile Application
When you think about how mobile app integration with payment gateway works, it is important to present a comprehensive step-by-step guide to answer this question.
Define Your Business Needs
First of all, you have to determine your core needs, what products or services you’re going to focus on. This will not only help you cover the needs of your target audience but also apply the payment gateway solution that will bring maximized convenience to the market you’re working at.
There are two payment gateway options: hosted and non-hosted.
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Hosted solution represents the variant when the client is redirected to the payment gateway provider’s platform to proceed with their payment.
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A non-hosted variant implies that the client can pay directly through your website or application.
You can choose any option as they bring relatively the same level of convenience, however, keep in mind, that non-hosted mobile payment integration is suitable for recurring payments, as they are more likely to keep client’s cart retention till the purchase completion.
At this phase, you can consider the payment method your future payment gateway provider can work with. These can include debit/credit cards, Buy Now, Pay Later, cryptocurrency, etc. Some of these payment methods we’ve discussed below.
Choose a Suitable Payment Gateway Provider
In evaluating a payment gateway in app, you need to think about the following crucial components that decide its dependability, ensuring the security of customer payment information as well as to your business and customer with the above-mentioned advantage set.
1. Security Standards
Compliance with security standards is a must for businesses to handle confidential payment transmission and secure clients’ data, especially in non-hosted payment gateways, from potential hackers’ attacks.
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PCI-DSS
Consider if the merchant’s payment gateway provider is PCI-DSS compliant. Why is it worthy of attention? That’s because PCI-DSS is the security standard applied worldwide for all entities and companies that store, process, and transmit cardholder data.
The presented set of regulations requires businesses that operate with debit and credit card transactions to protect customer-sensitive data via strong access control measures and maintaining information security policy.
You should be aware that PCI-DSS-compliant payment gateway implements a vulnerability management program, which protects systems and networks from malware by preventing fraudulent activities.
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SET (Secure Electronic Transaction)
SET is a security protocol designed to promote safe electronic transactions when the client uses a credit card. SET is an encryption-based system that is operant via Visa or Mastercard.
So when you use one of those cards, you may be sure that your data are safe and the payment procedure is secure. While thinking about choosing a payment gateway for app, you can keep in mind SET as a decent encryption for the payment operations.
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SSL (Secure Socket Layer)
The second element of security that is always a crucial consideration in selecting a reliable and genuine payment gateway or developing one is SSL. SSL (Secure Socket Layer) is a security technology that attempts to provide a secure connection between the payment provider and the clients' web browser.
SSL is a secured and trusted technology because it encrypts all data when you do an online payment from your smartphone or other digital device.
2. Multiple Payment Methods
Mobile app payment integration is not only about securing payment transactions but providing users with multiple ways to pay for items, both in local and international business markets. So, when thinking about integrating one, you should consider the following payment methods as potential opportunities to improve client retention.
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Credit and Debit Cards
Enabling clients to use credit and debit cards, like Visa and Mastercard is a basic option when implementing a payment gateway. The presented cards are supported worldwide and are convenient for delayed payoffs (credit card) and do not require attendance to banks, as a debit card automatically connects the cardholder’s one, ensuring automatic balance deduction.
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Digital Wallets
A reliable payment gateway provider can integrate with a digital wallet payment method. It provides greater convenience for users that pay either as per their card kept on the site or balances: digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal, for example.
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BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later)
Moreover, you have to remember that an efficient payment gateway provider can accept buy now, pay later form of payment by which the customer can make the purchase immediately and pay till the due date. According to the predetermined date, the system can intuitively calculate the sum, thus expanding clients' reach and improving their loyalty.
3. Market Overview
The versatility of the markets is another key element you need to take into consideration when choosing a payment gateway supplier
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E-commerce
Online shopping is in high demand and individuals are gradually moving from brick and mortar shopping to online shopping resulting in a higher number of transactions online. In the E-commerce market, payment gateways support the above-mentioned payment methods.
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Subscription Services
A good mobile payment gateway integration covers recurring payments, those as SaaS and memberships. This market model provides an opportunity for automated invoicing and payment deduction, which can bring convenience to your business as, once the payment form is filled on the website, the payment gateway provider will collect payment automatically.
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Travel & Hospitality Market
Additionally, a good payment gateway provider manages cross-border payment opportunities. This specifically suits travel and hospitality markets as the payment gateways support automatic currency conversion.
4. User-Friendly Interface
While opting for a payment getaway, keep in mind that the payment provider aims to offer a smooth payment-affiliated experience along with merchants and users, hence, pay attention to the user-friendly interface.
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Multi-Platform Support
A promising payment gateway has to be compatible with all platforms, including computers, tablets, and smartphones.
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Intuitive Dashboards
They bring centralization to track and streamline transactions and refunds.
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Real-Time Notifications
Please consider that an efficient payment gateway provider involves instant alerts for completed, failed, or suspicious transactions. The clients are informed via SMS or email with updates.
API Documentation, Developer Support from the Provider, Direct API Integration
API documentation matters as it provides developers with detailed guidelines on how to integrate the gateway’s functionality into your systems.
API Documentation
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Overview
The documentation describes APIs and their capabilities. Additionally, the overview elucidates the platform API can cover, such as web and mobile.
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Authentication
The documentation presents authentication methods like API keys and instructions on how to obtain and maintain a secure use of the authentication credentials.
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Security Guidelines
API documentation illustrates the ways of secure maintenance of client’s data like encryption to make the payment gateway compliant with the security standards like PCI-DSS.
Developer Support
The API documentation provides detailed step-by-step tutorials for mainstream programming languages like Python and JavaScript. Additionally, the documentation covers the framework-specific integration examples, like React, etc.
Direct API Integration
The payment gateway's API can be directly intertwined with your application, enabling you to have full control over the payment process. First of all, you have to obtain the API credentials from the payment gateway provider. Then, you will have to create payment requests, streamline transactions, and manage refunds. Finally, implement security measures like SSL to protect sensitive and confidential data.
Direct API integration suits best for businesses with technical expertise or custom requirements, such as custom E-commerce or enterprise systems.
Explore 55 financial APIs that might benefit both businesses and startups.
Implement SDKs for iOS/Android or Web-Based Apps
You can use the pre-built SDKs provided by the payment gateway for different platforms like iOS and Android and the relevant programming languages like Kotlin, Java for Android, and Objective-C for iOS. The process is quite simple. Integrate SDK into your application and use the built-in methods for payment processing and managing responses.
SDKs suit mobile apps to promote seamless mobile E-commerce and can simplify the payment processing in service booking apps.
Consider Server-to-Server Integration for Enterprises
Suitable for B2B solutions, this option collects data directly from the client’s side and sends them to the payment gateway provider’s server. The process is as follows. When the client’s payment details are collected they are sent to your server and then forwarded to the payment gateway’s API.
You can prefer this option of payment gateway in app integration if you operate an enterprise-level business as it ensures the high security of the transaction, requiring custom payment flows.
Testing
The final phase of mobile app payment gateway integration is performing a set of testing procedures to make sure it functions properly and securely. You can apply the following types of tests:
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Functional Testing
This testing is applied to check payment flows, analyze recurring payments, refunds, and cancellations, and simulate & test the failed transactions.
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Security Testing
Security testing aims to check whether the connections are secure by verifying that API calls use SSL encryption. Additionally, this test checks whether the payment gateway is PCI-DSS compliant.
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Performance Testing
This type of testing checks the scalability of the payment gateway provider by simulating the high transaction volumes.
Integrate Payment in Your App with Agilie
Are you interested in streamlining the payment operations of your unique project? Hence, Agilie can help you cover that. With 14+ years of experience in fintech, e-commerce & marketplace, our dedicated team can assist you in no time.
Givingli was one of our core success cases where we integrated a Stripe payment gateway provider. The process we followed included obtaining API keys, installing Stripe SDK, creating payment intents, implementing a frontend payment flow, performing alpha/beta testing, and integrating into the Givingli app.
The presented payment gateway provider enabled the clients to pay for their monthly/yearly type of subscription. Finally, Agilie can help you boost your payment flows by installing a cross-platform payment automation software, as it already covers payment getaways to maintain the actual processing of transactions, especially for recurring B2B-relevant payments.
Summary
The article discussed the essence of a mobile app payment gateway and ways of integrating one into your business. Based on the market you focus on for your products or services, you can choose a hosted or non-hosted payment gateway. Consider the essence of security standards (PCI-DSS, SSL, SET), select a payment option, and check the integration way (API integration, Server-to-Server implementation, or SDKs for iOS/Android). Hence, we hope our guideline was helpful and informative in clarifying what payment gateways are and how to apply them effectively.
