What Is an All-in-One Payment Gateway?

A payment gateway is a technology that merchants use to accept payments from customers. All-in-one payment gateways allow merchants to accept payments from any channel — including online, in-person point-of-sale (POS), email, phone, subscriptions, and more.

To understand the benefits of an all-in-one payment gateway, it’s important to first understand the online payment process.

How the Online Payment Gateway Process Works

Online or in-store, the payment gateway captures the payment data from the customer, then transfers that information to the acquiring bank that would receive that payment. 

Once the payment is approved, the acquiring bank then transfers that information to the issuing bank, and the merchant receives their payment from the issuing bank. The payment gateway relays whether the payment has been accepted or declined back to the customer and merchant, and, if the payment is accepted, the sale is completed. 

Your payment gateway is responsible for completing the transaction, and it does that very quickly. Payment gateways need to be secure and encrypt payment information to keep it protected during processing. 

Keep in mind that the above process is simplified, and there are actually many more steps that occur. However, this highlights the basics of how a gateway operates.

How an All-in-One Payment Gateway Works

An all-in-one payment gateway allows merchants to easily accept multiple payment methods

For many merchants, challenges arise when they want to accept multiple payment types. With the increased popularity of payment options like PayPal and Venmo, merchants are under increased pressure to accept multiple payment methods. If a merchant offers international sales, they may also need to provide payment options like Alipay, Kakao Pay, and more. 

An all-in-one payment gateway allows merchants to easily accept multiple payment methods. Additionally, that gateway not only applies to online but also to in-store and in app purchases. By accepting more payment methods, a merchant can potentially increase their sales, as well as enjoy many other benefits. 

For example, Citcon is an all-in-one payment gateway that takes all the different payment methods needed to conduct global commerce and consolidates them into one place. Through one integration, merchants can access: 

• Alternative payment solutions (digital wallet brands including PayPal, Venmo, AliPay, WeChat Pay, cryptocurrency, buy now pay later services, and more) 

• Local payment schemes (Local credit cards and locally popular payment solutions)

• Traditional credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover) 

Citcon goes beyond making it easy to access global payment solutions. It also simplifies treasury and reconciliation processes for all payment types, regions, and currencies. 

Overall, an all-in-one gateway consolidates global payment methods, the settlement process, and reporting into a single platform, taking the complexity out of accepting multiple payment methods.

Benefits of an All-in-One Payment Gateway

An all-in-one payment gateway is an ideal solution for many businesses, including e-commerce and brick-and-mortar businesses. Merchants enjoy multiple benefits when they use a comprehensive payment gateway.

1. Improved, Smoother Payment Processing

Integrating with, managing, coordinating, and tracking multiple payment solutions is challenging and time-consuming. It can also make it difficult to track your sales in real-time. 

With an all-in-one payment gateway, all of your payment options are coordinated. One platform means that all your data is in one place. This simplifies treasury and reconciliation processes while making smoother payments and operations.

2. Increased Appeal to Customers

When your business can offer customers multiple payment options, you’re delivering convenience that can lead to increased sales. When online customers get to checkout, only to discover that your store doesn’t accept their preferred payment method, they may abandon their carts, and you lose out on a sale. That’s particularly damaging when you’re losing a customer who was ready to buy and could be a valuable, repeat buyer. An all-in-one payment gateway can help reduce cart abandonment, so you enjoy more successful sales.

3. Improved Customer Experience

Accepting a customer's preferred payment method can help boost customer trust in your business.

The payment options that you’re able to accept also affect the overall customer experience your business provides. Accepting a customer’s preferred payment method can help to boost customer trust in your business. It also increases the convenience of the checkout process, especially for international customers who may need to use certain payment options.

When your customers have a seamless checkout experience, that experience contributes to how they view your business. A positive overall customer experience can lead to increased customer satisfaction, and that may even contribute to customer loyalty, referrals, and positive customer reviews.

4. Easier Troubleshooting

No business owner wants to face payment processing issues, but if they do occur, using an all-in-one payment gateway can make the process easier. Rather than trying to coordinate and troubleshoot with multiple payment platforms, an all-in-one gateway simplifies the process. 

With an all-in-one solution, you’ll have one point of contact for your payment processing. That contact can access your data and evaluate your system without the back-and-forth that can result when you’re using multiple platforms. The convenience this offers makes for a lower-stress experience for you, and it can also lead to a faster resolution of your issue. 

5. Greater Growth Potential

Many all-in-one payment gateways are poised to grow with your business as you expand. Most gateways are versatile, and they’re suitable for everything from the online-only e-commerce business to the multi-million-dollar brand with worldwide brick-and-mortar locations and an e-commerce site that supports international sales. 

As your business grows and your needed payment options change, a payment gateway will be capable of growing with you.

Choosing the Right All-in-One Payment Gateway

As you explore the all-in-one payment gateways available, it’s important to choose the platform that’s right for your business. Consider the following qualities as you evaluate each option.

Accepted Payment Methods

The main benefit of an all-in-one gateway is that it allows you to accept the payment methods that your customers use. Make sure that the gateway you’re considering supports all of the payment methods that you need and want to accept, including the international payment options. 

It’s also important to consider the payment options that a gateway supports. Be sure that the gateway will support all other ways that your business operates, including online, in-person, and app-based purchases. 

Think about not only the payment options you’re currently using but what options could help to grow your business. If you communicate with customers by web chat, text, or social media messenger, then being able to send a payment link could help to drive conversions. And if you often email your current or potential customers, then adding a payment link or QR code can streamline the purchase process. The same is true of invoices – being able to add a payment link to your payment page can ensure that you get your payment sooner.

Onboarding Process

Look for a gateway that offers a smooth and simple onboarding process. This is most important when you want to integrate the gateway without disrupting sales.

Security and Compliance

Security is a must-have for your payment gateway, especially given the rise in cybersecurity threats. Look for a gateway that uses the most up-to-date security, and that regularly invests in security upgrades to keep its product up to date.

A payment gateway that addresses the most common PCI compliance issues can reduce your workload and give you increased peace of mind.

It’s also important to choose a platform that will help ensure you’re in compliance with PCI Security Council standards. A payment gateway that addresses the most common PCI compliance issues can reduce your workload and give you increased peace of mind.

Fees and Rates

A payment gateway’s overall cost is always a concern, but make sure that you understand any add-on fees that you might face, too. If a gateway charges additional transaction fees, these can quickly add up and start to eat into your profit margins.

Uptime

Don’t forget to check into the gateway’s overall reliability. Look for a gateway with a high uptime that you can depend on during those busy holiday seasons and major promotional events.

Find the All-in-One Payment Gateway for Your Business

With the right all-in-one payment gateway, you can streamline your business operations, enhance the payment process, and improve the experience that you deliver to your customers. You’ll enjoy perks like reduced cart abandonment and greater, more accurate real-time payment data. 

But it’s important to choose the payment gateway that’s right for your business.

Explore More: Citcon Introduces Pay by Link, A Ready to Use online Payment Tool to Accept Remote Payments

With Citcon, you can accept global payments online, in-store, and in-app with more than 100 different payment methods, including mobile wallets, local payment schemes, and traditional credit cards — all through one single integration and reconciliation platform.

Request a brief, no-obligation demo to learn more about how an all-in-one payment gateway can benefit your company.

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