Choosing the right payment gateway is a crucial component of any online business. The way in which you accept payments online can substantially affect all avenues of your business from customer experience to sales and revenue.
There are many things to look for when you’re choosing a payment gateway, as you’re striving for a combination of efficiency, reliability, security, and cost. A payment gateway is a merchant service that allows you to process payments directly so that you can accept payments online 24/7 for your business. Imagine it’s the virtual equivalent of the cash register and card machine in a brick and mortar store.
If customers want to book your group trip or retreat, they want to be able to do it when they’ve made the decision and they’re ready. Delaying the payment can ultimately lead to fewer sales as they have time to change their mind or look elsewhere.
But how do you choose a payment gateway that works for your travel business?
Here are the most important things to look for when you’re deciding which payment gateway will help to make your business the most successful it can be.
Merchant account or not
Not every payment gateway is the same, but one of the main difference is whether they are traditional or modern in their use of a merchant account. A traditional payment gateway required you to also sign up for a merchant account, which could be a long and complicated process. There are still payment gateways of this type, but also modern options that allow you to use their merchant account. Modern payment gateways are easier to set up, but often have higher fees associated with processing payments, but not at WeTravel where fees start as low 1%.
Set up
Once you’ve set up your online business and you’re reading to open bookings or accept payments you’ll want to get a payment gateway set up as soon as possible. As mentioned, traditional payment gateways can take a lot longer to set up due to the need for a merchant account of your own.
When you’re choosing a payment gateway you’ll need to take into account the speed of set up, but also the speed of the user experience and the credit card authorization.
Accepting multiple currencies
It’s likely that your online business is operating across multiples countries and currencies, and your choice of payment gateway should reflect that. Accepting online payments means you’ll want to be able to accept multiple currencies so that your customers are not put off by having to pay in another currency.
Accepting different cards
Selling online means reaching people all over the world. So another thing to consider in choosing a payment gateway is that different countries also have different types of cards. You’ll want to make sure that multiple cards are accepted by the payment gateway so that your potential customers are able to book!
User experience
As an online business, the integration of a payment gateway into your services is crucial, and the user experience is a huge part of choosing which one will work for you. Consider elements like whether the payment gateway makes the transaction easy for customers, and the customer support in case there are any issues. Many people book and pay through their phone, so the service for be responsive for mobile.
Security
Customers are providing private and financial details when they book through a payment gateway, so it needs to be secure. It should keep your customer's details safe and have fraud prevention tools at the same time.
Compatibility and integration
It’s likely that customers trust your brand if they’re prepared to book your service or trip, so you want the payment gateway to integrate into your systems. It needs to be compatible with what you already have. A service like WeTravel Business can integrate into your business by using your branding and being customised to your website.
Low commission rate
All of these important things to consider in a payment gateway need to be balanced against the cost. Ideally, the commission rate should be low so that you don’t need to pass the cost onto your customers. Even if the difference is only one or two percent it can really add up and affect your monthly revenue. WeTravel offers an industry-leading processing fee starting at 1%.
There are many things to consider when you’re setting up a travel business, whether it’s selling group trips or retreats. You want your business to be able to serve as many people as possible, and choosing the right payment gateway is a huge part of it.
WeTravel is more than a payment gateway, it’s a booking engine that’s made for travel organizers. You can manage bookings, collect payments and customer information, and communicate with your group. Check out how it works!
