As a web design and internet marketing company we sell our fair share of ecommerce websites. A question we get asked without fail at the beginning of any build is “which payment gateway should I use?”

While we don’t say ‘use X’ or ‘use Y’ we do give out clients the most popular gateways that our existing clients use to help them make a decision. The most common gateway that we integrate is Worldpay with a ‘pay by Paypal’ option which seems to cover all bases.

The reason Paypal always initially seems like a speedier option is simply because with any payment gateway associated with a bank you must set up a business bank account and merchant account and the business and Directors need validated – this can take several weeks but once the merchant ID is received the testing and integration can begin.

Whichever payment gateway you choose for your ecommerce website, we recommend applying as soon as you feasibly can as application and verification can severely hold up the development of a website if it is left until a later stage of a build. For example, an integration with Evalon once took a year for account details to come through…in fact, they still haven’t but the site is now happily running along with Paypal that was set up, tested, branded and ready in just a few hours!

PRO’s

• Fast to integrate
• Easy to set up account
  Money is availably quickly for transfer to bank account
• Trusted Brand
• Buyer Protection offers buyers confidence
• No set up fees
• No annual fees
• No recurring fees

CON’s

• Paypal has been known to freeze accounts with no warning http://www.regretsy.com/2011/12/05/cats-1-kids-0/
• It is owned by Ebay and still has a reputation as being a payment gateway for smaller, Ebay style businesses
• People still mistakenly believe that you need a Paypal account to use it
• % cost per transaction
• Support…haha, did I say support?!

• * example for Business Gateway plus only as it varies on transaction value and type of business ref: http://www.worldpay.com/products/index.php?page=ecom&sub=businessplus&subsub=pricing&c=UK
• ** Ref : http://www.worldpay.co.uk/support/bg/index.php?page=account&sub=finance&subsub=when&c=WW

PRO’s

• Seen to be more professional than Ebay
• Quick initial application process
• Reasonably quick integration and brand payment pages
• Fees reduce for large volumes of sales
• Allows payment by Paypal to give the user the choice

CON’s

• Very difficult to get definitive pricing form the website so you are forced to call for information
• Account can take a while to set up and be authorised
• Cost of application can quickly add up if you need additional options such as more than one currency or recurring fees,
• Personal experience : support can be a little unhelpful

ref: http://www.sagepay.com/online-payments

PRO’s

• Recognised brand
• Allows payment by Paypal to give the user the choice
• No % charge per transactions
• Set fees per quarter – know where you stand
• Multiple currencies available at no extra cost
• No monthly fees

CON’s

• Fees on 1000 transactions come out as 50p per transaction which is quite high – worst case a shop sells one item and it’s cost the £20.00! Unlikely I would have thought but worth considering.
• Account can take a while to set up and be authorised
• Personal experience : support is fantastic

Disclaimer:

Prices quoted are correct as of 10/12/2011 and have been taken from each payment gateway’s website. In all cases we recommend you phone/email and talk to a representative to ensure you have the most up-to-date information so you can choose the best option for you.

There are pros and cons we feel each gateway has are detailed below each option and should only be used as a guide, we do not suggest one gateway over the other and it is a decision to be made by you.

Related posts:

1. Ecommerce and Online Payment Survey
2. E-commerce Survey – Security Opinions
3. 10 Questions to ask your E-commerce Developers

E-commerce