Many of Ireland’s residents are internet users. Data even shows that 70% of Ireland’s population purchases everything online, while 60% of all these purchases are from merchants located in Europe. Due to these statistics, Ireland is one of the Western Europe countries with the highest spending energy per shopper. Online selling in Europe is increasing and expanding substantially each year and Europe continues to be one of the largest B2C e-commerce markets worldwide.
The Role of Payment Gateways for Businesses in Ireland
Payment gateways let merchants receive online payments through the acceptance of credit and debit cards as well as other payment options. Gateways are necessary to make sure that merchants remain secure and customer funds remain safe.
The Types of Ireland Payment Gateways
Three main types of payment gateways are utilized by businesses in Ireland, which include:
- On-site payments. Larger-sized businesses often utilize on-site payments handled by their services that rely on the business’s system for everything from checkout to payment. If your business receives payments on-site, it’s vital to improve the situation as much as possible to make sure that your business reaches its greatest possible potential.
- Off-site payment. With this method, the checkout process occurs at a separate site from the payment through the back end of a payment gateway. Similar to redirect payment gateways, if your business picks this option you must make sure that your gateway has the highest security possible.
- Redirects. This choice frequently includes alternative payment method options. When gateways direct a purchaser to a third-party payment page to finish a transaction, this is viewed as a redirect. Small businesses sometimes utilize redirect gateways to take advantage of the higher security available from a larger platform. Redirects provide retailers with ease of use but mean less control for merchants and additional steps that must be taken by purchasers.
The Steps Involved With Payment Gateway Operation
Payment gateways offer a secure link between purchasers and sellers to make sure that payments are safely completed while safeguarding confidential data like those associated with credit and debit cards.
Payment gateways function by following these steps:
- After an online purchase is made, customers are asked to provide details associated with their credit or debit card.
- Once this data is submitted, payment gateways receive this confidential data, encrypt the information, perform a security check, and transmit the data to the acquiring bank.
- The data is then relayed to card schemes like those associated with American Express or MasterCard to ensure an additional security layer. Card schemes perform security checks and then issue decisions about whether to approve or decline the payment in question before transaction authorization occurs.
- The decision to approve or decline a message is passed onto a payment gateway, which then transmits this information to a merchant. If a payment is approved, the acquiring bank receives the funds in question from the issuing bank and holds this amount in a merchant account. Customers are then presented with payment confirmation. If the payment is declined, the customer is offered the choice to try additional payment methods.
Why Ireland Businesses Need Payment Gateways
Payment gateways for businesses in Ireland lead to easier payment processing through the use of various features, which include quick and easy online transactions in addition to other advantages like:
- A simpler process . The simpler checkout process is bound to make customers happier than more complicated ones. Payment gateways improve these features and make sure that performing purchases for goods or services online is as easy as possible.
- Increased sales. Over 40% of customers cancel purchases if they find that the checkout or payment process is too complicated. Impulse purchases are responsible for 40% of online purchases, which means that receiving an easy payment option often leads to businesses experiencing an increase in sales.
- Heightened security. Payment gateways often comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which leads to increased security for customers.
Deciding on The Best Payment Gateway in Ireland
No universal answer exists regarding what is the best payment gateway in Ireland. Instead, what payment gateway is best for your business depends on various factors including transaction volume, industry, and degree of security needed.
When deciding on what payment gateway is most suitable for your business, some of the most popular options that you should consider include:
- Amazon. Amazon has become one of the most popular and reliable payment gateways available around the world including Ireland. Amazon offers its regular customers gateways in addition to merchant services for online small to medium-sized businesses. Amazon offers high security and a wide range of features.
- Authorize.net. Authorize.net is one of the oldest payment gateway providers and was opened in 1996. Many merchants utilize AUthorize.net due to the company’s hosting services.
- Paypal. One of the most popular payment gateways, Paypal works with most major banks including MasterCard and Visa around the world including Ireland. Many companies in Ireland rely on PayPal for the platform’s provider services. Paypal’s pricing varies based on the size of a transaction, but this is normally 2.5% of the price along with a fixed fee of $.0041. Some of the most common reasons why companies choose Paypal include its easy automated processor, and the lack of annual fees, setup fees, and compliance fees. The disadvantage to Paypal is that businesses often experience a long wait time and customer support at the company lacks an email address.
- Skrill. A United Kingdom-based provider, Skrill works with businesses and consumers not just in the European Union but around the world. Skrill has recently become available as a smartphone application, which makes the platform even more accessible.
- Stripe. Stripe was created in 2010 and is available as a payment gateway. The provider utilizes a framework that works well for business and customer transactions cyclically. As of 2023, Stripe accepts 135 currencies and dozens of payment options. Pricing is 2.9% of the transaction price and $0.30 if the purchase occurs online, while in-person pricing is 2.7% of the transaction price and $0.05. Some of the most common reasons why companies choose stripe include its convenience for businesses who want to leverage the free application programming interface (API) to create an e-commerce environment for customers. Some of the downsides to Stripe include sudden account holds placed by the company, the lack of user-friendly features, and weaker customer service compared to other payment gateway providers.
- 2CheckOut (which was formerly Verifon) is a payment gateway that provides services to more than 234 countries including Ireland. After 25 years of providing businesses with payment services, 2CheckOut has grown substantially. 2CheckOut has 3 pricing plans: 2Sell (when goods are sold) has a fee that is 3.5% of the transaction price and $0.35 for each transaction, 2Subscribe (subscriptions) has a fee that is 4.5% of the transaction price and $0.45 for each transaction, 2Monetize (monetization) which has a fee of 6.0% and $0.60 for each transaction. Some reasons why businesses choose 2CheckOut include multiple localized payment selections, heightened security, and strong customer support. Some downsides to 2CheckOut include its high cost and lack of suitability for high-risk merchants.
- Opayo Ireland. Opayo Ireland (previously SagePay) is owned by the Elavon company. The company operates in both England and Ireland where it provides payment solution services to many businesses. The company offers three pricing plans: a Flex plan at £32 a month, and a Plus plan at £50 a month, The advantages of Opayo Ireland include a modern layout and interface, which helps businesses quickly find the required tools. The downside to the provider is that the company does not offer its users the capacity to search payment histories outside of preset periods. Additionally, no Opayo mobile application exists, which restricts how Opay can be used. Furthermore, the company’s customer support services often take a long time.
Global Payments (previously Realex Payment). One of the leading payment gateway providers in Ireland. Global Payments has been an industry leader since 2000, at which time the payment market was beginning to gain widespread usage. Today, Global Payments accepts 120 payment solutions for approximately 14,000 retailers each year. The company has been known as Global Payments since Realex was acquired by Global Payments Incorporated in 2015. For small and medium-sized enterprises, the company charges £19 a month for services or 1.75% and 9p for each transaction. For enterprises, the exact price charged by the company following negotiations. Some reasons why businesses choose Global Payments include strong customer service and excellent tech support. The company is not without its downsides, however, includes less than stellar customer service and delayed response times.
Choose Bankful for Ireland Payment Gateways
Bankful’s customers frequently find an ideal payment processing experience. Bankful offers top high-risk payment process solutions too for international and multiple currency payments. We also strive to give you the best payment gateway features and make ourselves available to our customers as soon as possible. Contact us today for assistance to learn more about how you might be from a payment gateway in Ireland.