Spain is a very mobile-friendly country with the highest smartphone penetration rate in Europe. With over three-fourths of the country being online and over half the country’s online purchases being paid with credit cards.
If you are planning to accept payments in Spain, you will need a quality payment gateway that can accept the forms of payment that Spain most commonly uses.
What Is A Payment Gateway Spain?
A payment gateway is a system that allows merchants to accept credit and debit cards for payment online or in-store with card terminals. A Spain payment gateway is a payment gateway that can be used specifically in Spain.
A payment gateway protects the customer’s payment information and sends it to the merchant using data encryption.
How A Payment Gateway Spain Works
Here is the breakdown of how a payment gateway works:
- Customers go to the payment page of a website once they have selected their items or to the POS if they are in-store.
- The customer gives their card details on the payment page or in person, including name, card number, expiration date, and CVV number. This information is then passed on to the payment gateway.
- The payment gateway encrypts the payment details and performs fraud checks before sending the information to the customer’s bank.
- The customer bank sends the information to the card issuer, which carries out fraud checks and payment authorization.
- The card issuer authorizes the transaction if there are adequate funds and sends the information to the customer’s bank.
- The customer’s bank sends the approval or decline to the gateway and sends the information to the merchant.
- If the payment is approved, the money is collected from the customer’s account and sent to the merchant. When settlement occurs depends on the agreement with the payment gateway.
Why Do You Need A Payment Gateway?
With online payments, the risk of fraud is higher than with card-present transactions. Without a payment gateway, fraud allows hackers to easily access customers’ card information which can expose you to that fraud as well as chargebacks.
A payment gateway protects your customer’s payment information and encrypts the data as it sends the information to each bank to mitigate threats. Payment gateways can also protect your business from insufficient funds, closed accounts, expired cards, and more.
Types Of Payments Commonly Used In Spain
1. Credit And Debit Cards
For online purchases, the top payment method in Spain is credit cards and debit cards. Card payments in Spain make up around 53 percent of online purchases. Unlike other European countries, Spain has higher credit card usage.
The most common debit and credit card brand in Spain is Visa, with nearly 57 percent of the market, and Mastercard is second.
2. Digital Wallets
Digital wallets include mobile payments and e-wallets. They have been gaining popularity in Spain in the last few years, making up 30 percent of online payments. The most popular digital wallet in Spain is PayPal; however, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and Amazon Pay are also used in Spain.
63 percent of Spanish customers found Paypal to be the safest digital wallet option for third-party payments.
3. Cash
While online transactions are dominated by cards and digital wallets, cash is a popular payment method in the retail section. In 2021, 47 percent of all retail transactions in Spain were made in cash. Even with online payments, cash payment on delivery was 8 percent of the transactions.
4. Bank Transfers
Bank transfers are another standard payment method in Spain due to their security and efficiency. Bank transfers make up around 16 percent of online payments. Bank transfers give customers who don’t have access to cards a way to pay digitally. They also have less risk of declined payments and chargebacks.
Apps such as Trustly and Sofort facilitate bank transfers in Spain. Locally people also use Bizum, which is a Spain-only app that works specifically for Spanish banks.
5. SEPA Direct Debits
Single Euro Payments Area or SEPA direct debits are a payment type used in the European Union. With this method, the merchant initiates a direct debit from a customer’s bank account after getting the customer’s authorization. SEPA has schemes for consumer and business-to-business transactions.
SEPA is ideal for recurring transactions because authorization only needs to be given once.
6. Buy Now, Pay Later
Buy Now Pay Later services are expected to grow 15 percent over the next decade in Spain. This is becoming a popular method in Spain because it allows customers to break down large purchases into small payments. This service is offered by a number of services and banks in Spain.
7. Prepaid Cards
Prepaid cards are another option used in Spain. Prepaid cards are becoming more and more popular recently because they provide added security due to the amount of money is limited. They also offer an excellent method of spending control to the customer because you can only spend the amount of money put on the card.
What To Look For In A Spain Payment Gateway
When choosing a Spain payment gateway, it is crucial to know what to look for. If you are selling directly from Spain to other international locations or selling from another location to Spain, there are bound to be some additional hurdles than domestic payments.
Let’s explore some of the options you should look for in a Spanish payment gateway:
1. Spain-Specific Payment Methods
Payment methods preferred vary by country, and if the gateway chosen doesn’t have options specific to Spain SEPA direct debits or bank transfers, you are likely to lose customers. Before selecting a payment gateway in Spain, ensure that they offer payment options that Spanish customers prefer.
2. Pricing
Price is a crucial factor when choosing a payment gateway. The pricing of the payment gateway can depend on several factors, including the types of payments you accept, the volume of payments you get monthly, and more. Before choosing a gateway, consider setup fees and the other fees involved with transactions.
3.Device Compatibility
Depending on what you are selling, you may have a variety of visitors that use varying devices. Certain payment gateways work well on all devices, while others don’t work as well on mobile or other platforms. Before choosing a payment gateway Spain, ensure that the gateway works with the devices your customers most often use to prevent cart abandonment.
Because Spain is partial to paying with mobile devices, it is especially crucial to check that your payment gateway works well for these devices.
4. Excellent Support
If something goes wrong, you will want to be able to reach customer support around the clock and have various ways to get in touch. Choosing the wrong gateway could cost your business time and money and affect your reputation if your site is always down.
5. Anti-Fraud Solutions
If you are selling abroad in Spain, you may be more susceptible to payment fraud. Thankfully, Spain’s fraud rates are relatively low compared to other countries, at 1 percent.
Regardless, you should choose a Spanish payment gateway that offers strong anti-fraud solutions for your business.
6. Processing Speed
The speed of transactions, such as money transfers, is important for your bottom line. Choosing the right payment gateway can ensure that the entire transaction process is seamless and gets you your payments faster to have a positive impact on cash flow.
7. User Interaction
If the customer finds the payment process to be too complicated, they will often abandon it. To increase your conversion rate and have loyal customers return, you need a seamless checkout process. It is important to choose a payment gateway in Spain that offers a simple checkout process.
8. Integration
The ideal payment gateway will integrate with your existing solutions, such as eCommerce platforms, sales tracking software, and more. Select a payment gateway that integrates seamlessly with your existing features to keep things up to speed.
Final Thoughts
The best Spain payment gateway can provide your customers with a seamless experience to increase conversion rates, allow your customers to use multiple payment options, provide them with a secure checkout process, and more.
Bankful offers a Spain payment gateway that is fully integrated for subscription billing and accepting cryptocurrency payments and provides automated fraud tools, a straightforward API, electronic invoicing, integration with third-party shopping carts, PCI compliance for data security, and more.
Check out Bankful today and start accepting payments from Spanish customers.