Payment gateways are essential for online businesses. The best payment gateways USA can allow you to minimize fees to process transactions and offer your customers a streamlined experience that is also convenient for you.
Selecting the right payment gateway can be a challenge as features, prices, and more differ between providers. You will need to know what to look for in a payment gateway to make the best choice for you and your business.
What Is A Payment Gateway USA?
A payment gateway is a technology system that allows sellers to accept credit and debit cards for payment online or in-store. A payment gateway for the USA is a payment gateway that can be explicitly used in the United States.
How A Payment Gateway In USA Works
A payment gateway plays a crucial role in payment processing. The payment gateway sends the customer’s payment information to the merchant acquiring bank and acts as a middleman between the customer’s bank, card issuer, the merchant, and the merchant’s bank to facilitate a transaction in just seconds.
Payment gateways also perform several fraud and authentication checks throughout the process to ensure the transaction is legitimate.
Types Of Payment Gateways USA
There are four separate types of payment gateways to choose from, including:
1. Hosted Payment Gateway
A hosted payment gateway works by directing your customers away from your checkout page. This solution is ideal if you don’t want to deal with integrating and maintaining your website’s payment gateway yourself.
When a customer makes a purchase, they are sent to the host or payment service provider page, where they fill out their payment details before being directed back to your website to complete the process.
This payment gateway type offers high security, and fraud protection, is user-friendly and easy to set up, and provides you with ease of mind that the process is taken care of by the gateway.
2. Self-hosted Payment Gateway
If you want more control over your user’s experience, a self-hosted payment gateway may be a better option for you.
With a self-hosted payment gateway, the customer’s payment information is collected on your website and then encrypted and sent to the third-party payment gateway for authorization. Self-hosted payment gateways allow faster checkout because there is no redirection.
3. API-hosted Payment Gateway
An API-hosted payment gateway is ideal for a seller who wants to have control over their website design. The payment information and processing are done on the merchant website using a programming interface or API.
API-hosted payment gateways offer a completely customizable checkout experience that can be integrated with mobile devices and other options. With an API-hosted payment gateway, the merchant is responsible for security, so you will need to pay extra for these features.
4. Local Bank Integration Gateway
This type of gateway sends the customer to the merchant’s website, where all payment data is entered and exchanged. This type of gateway is an entry-level solution with basic features that rarely allows returns or repeat payments. Due to this, these gateways may not be suitable for businesses that are looking to scale over time.
Types Of Payments Commonly Used In The United States
1. Cash
Despite the growing popularity of electronic and contactless payment methods, cash usage is still very high in the United States. Overall, 30 percent of United States consumers prefer to use cash, and cash makes up 25 to 30 percent of all transactions.
2. Credit And Debit Cards
According to recent data, 52 percent of customers in the US have used a debit card online in the last year, and 47 percent have used a credit card online in the last year for purchases. The main credit and debit cards used in the United States are Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover.
3. Ewallets
E-Wallets are rapidly becoming more popular in the United States because they offer fast, convenient, and contactless payments, whether online or in-store. An estimated 150 million Americans use a digital wallet currently or have used one previously. The most popular e-wallets in the US are Google Pay, Venmo, Apple Pay, PayPal, and Cash App.
4. ACH Transfer
An ACH transfer is an electronic bank transfer of money between two banks, which is usually cheaper than a bank transfer. They are often used in the United States for recurring payments.
5. Echecks
Echecks are faster and safer than digital checks and are growing in popularity. Funds are
typically withdrawn from the customer’s account to the business within 3 to 5 days.
What To Search For In A Payment Gateway In US
When choosing a payment gateway, it is crucial that it meets your needs and provides a seamless process and positive experience for your customers.
If you are selling directly from the USA or from other locations to the USA, here are some features that are ideal in a payment gateway.
Let’s explore some of the options you should look for in a United States payment gateway:
1. Price
One of the most essential factors to consider when selecting a payment gateway is the total cost. Costs can include set-up fees, monthly fees, and transaction fees. You will need to consider both the value and volume of your transactions.
If your business has high-value transactions, ensure that you choose a payment gateway that offers a set monthly fee and a low transaction rate to save your business money.
2. Payment Types Accepted
The most commonly used credit cards in the United States are Visa, Mastercard, and Amex. These payment types are accepted by most payment gateways; however, you must select a gateway that also offers mobile payment options, ACH transfers, and more.
3. Settlement Time
Although payments are approved almost immediately, settlement typically takes a few days. The settlement time can vary from 1 to 7 days, depending on the payment gateway. Ensure that you choose a timeline that benefits your business and cash flow.
4. Recurring Payments
If you run a subscription-based business, you will need to select a payment gateway that can handle recurring payments. The payment gateway that you choose should be able to save and store customers’ payment details for future transactions securely.
5. Security
When receiving payments online, the security of your payment gateway should be a top priority. Different payment gateways have different security standards. Choosing a payment gateway that is PCI-DSS compliant can protect your business and customers. Some gateways also come with fraud detection and other screening tools to prevent chargebacks and fraud.
6. Mobile Payment Options
Many United States customers use mobile phones and tablets while shopping, so it’s crucial to choose a gateway that can support mobile payment options. This will provide your customers with the flexibility to pay how they want and when they want.
7. Transaction Limits
Some payment gateways have an upper limit on transaction amounts that you can process every month. This may not be an issue for a small business; however, if you provide high-value goods or process large amounts of transactions, you will need to be aware of these limits.
8. Integrations
You will need to ensure that the payment gateway you choose can connect with your current systems, such as invoicing, accounting, bookkeeping, etc. This can save you time and effort when keeping track of payments because your systems will manually update as transactions come in.
9. Customer Support
Excellent customer service is crucial for the payment gateway you choose. If something goes wrong, customer support needs to be available 24/7 to address issues, and they should be able to be reached through several different channels.
Excellent customer support can prevent downtime and prevent the loss of customers, and possible damage to your business.
Final Thoughts
The best United States payment gateway can provide your customers with an excellent and quick checkout experience, provide security, support the payment methods that Americans frequent, and offer excellent customer service.
Bankful offers a United States payment gateway that can support recurring payments, is equipped with excellent fraud tools, allows several payment methods, including cryptocurrency, provides electronic invoicing, integration with many CRM systems, and solutions experts to manage any issues that may arise.
Check out Bankful today and start accepting payments in the United States with ease.
