Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Payment Gateway shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Payment Gateway offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Payment Gateway at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Payment Gateway? Wrong! If the Payment Gateway is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Payment Gateway then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Payment Gateway? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Payment Gateway and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Payment Gateway wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Payment Gateway then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Payment Gateway site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Payment Gateway, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Payment Gateway, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

A payment gateway is an e-commerce application service provider service that authorizes payments for ebusiness, e-tailer, bricks and clicks business model, or traditional brick and mortar. It is the equivalent of a physical Point of sale(Point-of-sale) terminal located in most retail outlets. Payment Gateway#Computer Terminologys encrypt sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, to ensure that information passes securely between the customer and the merchant.

How payment gateways work A payment gateway facilitates the transfer of information between a payment portal (such as a website or IVR service) and the Front End Processor or acquiring bank; quickly and securely.

When a customer orders a product from a payment gateway enabled merchant, the payment gateway performs a variety of tasks to process the transaction; completely invisible to the customer. For example:

• A customer places order on website by pressing the 'Submit Order' or equivalent button, or perhaps enters his/her card details using an automatic phone answering service.
• If the order is via a website, the customer's web browser encrypts the information to be sent between the browser and the merchant's webserver. This is usually done via SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption.
• The merchant then forwards the transaction details through to his/her payment gateway which holds the detail of the merchant account transaction. This is often another SSL encrypted connection to the payment server hosted by the payment gateway.
• The payment gateway which receives the transaction information from the merchant forwards it to the merchant's acquiring bank.
• The acquiring bank then forwards the transaction information to the issuing bank (the bank that issued the credit card to the customer) for authorization.
• The card issuing bank receives the authorization request and sends a response back to the payment gateway (via the acquiring bank) with a response code. In addition to determining the fate of the payment, (i.e approved or declined) the response code is used to define the reason why the transaction failed (such as insufficient funds, or bank link not available)
• The payment gateway receives the response, and forwards it on to the website (or whatever interface was used to process the payment) where it is interpreted and a relevant response then relayed back to the cardholder.
• The entire process typically takes 3-4 seconds
• At the end of the bank-day (or settlement period) the acquiring bank deposits the total of the approved funds in to the merchant's nominated account. This could be an account with the acquiring bank if the merchant does his/her banking with the same bank, or a scrape account with another bank.

External links

• Six Payment Gateways Reviewed - Side-by-side comparison of six popular payment gateways

A payment gateway is an e-commerce application service provider service that authorizes payments for ebusiness, e-tailer, bricks and clicks business model, or traditional brick and mortar. It is the equivalent of a physical Point of sale(Point-of-sale) terminal located in most retail outlets. Payment Gateway#Computer Terminologys encrypt sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, to ensure that information passes securely between the customer and the merchant.

How payment gateways work A payment gateway facilitates the transfer of information between a payment portal (such as a website or IVR service) and the Front End Processor or acquiring bank; quickly and securely.

When a customer orders a product from a payment gateway enabled merchant, the payment gateway performs a variety of tasks to process the transaction; completely invisible to the customer. For example:

• A customer places order on website by pressing the 'Submit Order' or equivalent button, or perhaps enters his/her card details using an automatic phone answering service.
• If the order is via a website, the customer's web browser encrypts the information to be sent between the browser and the merchant's webserver. This is usually done via SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption.
• The merchant then forwards the transaction details through to his/her payment gateway which holds the detail of the merchant account transaction. This is often another SSL encrypted connection to the payment server hosted by the payment gateway.
• The payment gateway which receives the transaction information from the merchant forwards it to the merchant's acquiring bank.
• The acquiring bank then forwards the transaction information to the issuing bank (the bank that issued the credit card to the customer) for authorization.
• The card issuing bank receives the authorization request and sends a response back to the payment gateway (via the acquiring bank) with a response code. In addition to determining the fate of the payment, (i.e approved or declined) the response code is used to define the reason why the transaction failed (such as insufficient funds, or bank link not available)
• The payment gateway receives the response, and forwards it on to the website (or whatever interface was used to process the payment) where it is interpreted and a relevant response then relayed back to the cardholder.
• The entire process typically takes 3-4 seconds
• At the end of the bank-day (or settlement period) the acquiring bank deposits the total of the approved funds in to the merchant's nominated account. This could be an account with the acquiring bank if the merchant does his/her banking with the same bank, or a scrape account with another bank.

External links

• Six Payment Gateways Reviewed - Side-by-side comparison of six popular payment gateways

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