Card & Payment Solutions

A payment processing solution is a combination in which a gateway acts as a go-between between the merchant or service provider and a customer before passing on the data to the payment processor or PSP (payment service provider).

 

The gateway’s role is to authorise the credit card or direct payments securely, and the payment processor facilitates the transaction.
The payment solution must interface only with accredited payment service providers and payment gateways and hold all data internally in fully secured vaults.
It is essential to carefully choose the best card payment solution for your company’s needs, considering that it must be built with every aspect of every transaction completely secured from outside scrutiny and interference.

 

Online payment gateways and payment processors

A payment gateway is used to verify the payment method (for example, credit card or direct debit) and either approves or declines the transaction. A payment gateway’s objective is to make the customer’s payment experience smoother and faster while maintaining the vendor or service provider’s security. The processes performed by the payment gateway must ensure that the data is genuine, secure and encrypted. The service can be provided by a bank, a specialised Fintech financial institution or an Electronic Money Institute (EMI).

 

A payment processor acts as the interface between the vendor or service provider and the financial institution connected to the customer’s card, ensuring that the transaction is accepted promptly.

 

PSPs operate a payment gateway or payment processor service through which vendors can accept electronic payments from multiple payment methods. With this service, vendors can quickly, securely and conveniently receive payments from their customers via bank transfer, credit card, e-wallets and many other media.

 

In the case of credit or debit card processing, the payment gateway captures the customer’s card information, and forwards all of the payment details, including card number, expiry date and validation to the processing network in an encrypted channel.
The payment processor takes this information, and interfaces with the credit card issuer for authentication and acceptance.

 

The general terms that apply in card payment solutions are:

  • The cardholder – an individual or company who makes a payment using the details (number, expiry date and authorization code) of a card
    The merchant – a company offering a product or service that is being paid for by card.
  • The issuing bank – a bank or financial entity that is responsible for transactions made by holders of their issued cards and for honouring the payment following use of the card.
  • The acquiring bank – a bank or financial entity that processes the card payment on behalf of the merchant and guarantees payment to the merchant. Within the SEPA zone, an acquiring bank must meet the EU’s Payment Service Directive requirements.

 

Money-Gate has accumulated many years of hand-on experience and knowledge in the fields of payment solutions. In Europe, there are many card payment solution providers.

We have compiled a short selection of the best card payment solutions, based on our experience advising hundreds of customers looking for guidance in finance, banking, eGaming and cryptocurrency business. We are here to take you through every step of the process of selecting and implementing the right payment solution from the best card payment companies for your particular business needs.

 

The best card payment companies

Name Company description Advantages
Paypal #1 in the world, with more than 250 million users. In 2021, Paypal was chosen as the preferred payment method for 49% of all online transactions in the UK - more than all credit cards combined PayPal is a great option for small or new businesses that are just starting
2CheckOut Supports multiple currencies and languages. For EU-based locales, it can localise transactions to support 15 languages and handles 87 currencies. Eliminates the need for separate currency conversion systems. supports transactions via debit and credit cards (Visa, Discover, American Express, MasterCard, JCB, and Diner’s Club) and can process payments through PayPal.
SecurionPay one of the most popular providers among online merchants in the EU Chosen because it reaches the industry gold standards of security compliance and administration excellence.
Skrill Based in the UK, is fully adapted to EU requirements which means it gives unique benefits to European customers. abides by the EFT Disclosure and Error Resolution Policy. Is a signatory to several EU AML agreements.
Stripe  designed as a cloud payment platform  to accept payments online and on mobile apps. It's an end-to-end solution featuring a robust payments engine that streamlines the movement of money. In addition, Stripe has numerous applications that help prevent fraud, manage revenue, and drive global business growth.
Fondy Payment gateway system for European businesses and also processes non-European cards. Processes VISA and MasterCard card payments and can accept payments from e-wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay. 

Selecting the top credit card payment platform and payment solutions is vital to your business’s success. Let our experts here at Money-Gate help you with our experience in providing advice for companies worldwide.

 

FAQ
What is the fastest payment processor?

The top five payment processors in the world measured by response times are:

Provider Speed – May 2022

  1. Litle 0.7s
  2. TransFirst 0.9s
  3. Net Pay  0.9s
  4. SecureNet 1.0s
  5. Orbital 1.0s
  6. Merchant e-Solutions 1.0s

Who is the largest online payment processor in Europe?

Provider Based in:

  1. Checkout London
  2. GoCardless London
  3. Adyen The Netherlands
  4. Tsys Georgia
  5. Sberbank Russia
  6. Barclays London
  7. Credit Agricole France

What is the largest online payment system?

PayPal is the biggest online payment provider in the world, with a presence in over 200 countries globally. Still, there are other options with similar services, like Stripe, Skrill, and Square.

The Payment Processor System

A payment processor acts as a facilitator between the merchant and the financial institutions connected to the customer’s card, insuring that the transaction is authorized or rejected.

A customer visits your website (or makes a phone purchase/POS purchase) and makes a product or service purchase.
The payment gateway software captures the customer’s card information; encrypts all of the payment details including card number, cost of purchase etc. and forwards it to the processing network.
The payment processor (merchant service) takes this information, and forwards it instantly to the credit card issuer (issuing bank) for authentication.
The sale is either approved or rejected by the issuing bank depending on if the there is enough credit to pay for the purchase.
The credit card issuer transfers the funds to your merchant bank account.
The money is forwarded to your business bank account where you can access the funds.

 

Defining Basic Payment Process Terms

Acquiring Bank

An acquiring bank (merchant bank, acquirer or clearing bank) holds merchant bank accounts for businesses and also is a licensed member of credit card networks like MasterCard and Visa. When a cardholder makes a purchase the acquiring banks receives the card information from the card’s issuing bank; clears the transaction and deposits the funds into the business bank account.

 

Chargebacks

When a consumer decides to dispute a transaction they have made using their credit card. The consumer’s card issuing bank sets in motion a retrieval request and the disputed amount is withdrawn by the issuing bank from the merchant’s account and held until the matter is concluded. There are 10 days in which the merchant can dispute the chargeback claim by showing proof of purchase or delivery or he may choose to issue a refund or do nothing and let the chargeback be processed. After the card holder is refunded the merchant account provider charges the merchant a chargeback fee. Credit card providers may levy fines against merchant acquiring banks if they have high chargeback frequency and these fines are passed on to the merchants.

 

Business Debit Cards

The difference between a debit card and credit card is that when a debit card is used the emoney is immediately deducted from the card holder’s bank account. With a credit card the card holder is charged at the end of the month for payments made that month. With a credit card you can also pay in instalments and there are interest and other charges.

 

Merchant Services

Merchant services encompass the systems used by businesses to process credit and debit card payments. There are many different payment processing options available as merchant services.

 

Take a look at the general card payments scheme below:
Players Involved in a Card Payment Transaction
It is important to understand the roles of different players involved in card payment transactions.
The card holder (an individual or person using the card on behalf of a company) who makes the purchase or payment using the card in his possession.
The merchant; a company offering a service or product that can be paid for by card.
The issuing bank (also called the “issuer”) that issues cards under agreed upon contractual conditions. The issuer can be a bank or in some cases a large corporate entity. The issuer is responsible for transactions made using their issued cards and for debiting funds from the cardholder’s account following use of the card.
The acquiring bank (also called the “acquirer”) processes the card payment for the merchant and guarantees payment to the merchant. The acquirer is usually a bank but can also be financial institutions or large corporations. Within the SEPA zone an acquirer must meet the EU’s Payment Service Directive requirements.

 

Top eCommerce Payment Processors in Europe

The payment processor (also called Merchant Account Providers) facilitates card payment processing and acts as a mediator between the merchant, issuing banks and credit card networks. At the end of the process it is the payment processor that is responsible for depositing funds in the merchant’s bank account.

To help you find the best payments service providers, specifically for an ecommerce company we have compiled this shortlist:

 

PayPal – A popular and reliable online financial service that is widely used in the ecommerce industry as a payment gateway. This giant company offers fast, easy transactions with streamline technology, fraud protection, support services and many more features. You can use PayPal with all of the well-known ecommerce platforms and shopping carts. However, PayPal fees can be expensive for smaller online businesses charging merchants 3.5% when receiving funds and an additional 2.5% for currency conversion. This can add up to about 6% which can be a burden to small ecommerce businesses.

 

Amazon Payments – is a popular payment gateway for small ecommerce businesses. Amazon Payment provides millions of customers with an easy way to receive payments. Installing Amazon Payments as a payment gateway for online businesses is straightforward and they can also be used for mobile payments.
2Checkout – This is another reliable payment gateway used by millions of ecommerce businesses. One of 2Checkout’s special features is that they provide the merchant with a demo of their customers’ buying experience before actually using it. With 2Checkout you can offer your customers payment options in 15 languages and 87 currencies. Their wide spread global reach promotes growth for ecommerce businesses. Installing 2Checkout is done by incorporating a payment API directly on your site.

 

Let’s take a look at the best payment processing systems for high risk companies and specifically online businesses. Payment processors ensure a streamlined online payment process. Each online business chooses a payment processing service to handle payments made through different channels including debit and credit cards. The process usually takes just a few seconds but it plays an essential role in any online business. The payment processor receives the client’s payment details and verifies them by forwarding them to the appropriate issuing bank or card association. During the process a number of other important payment verifications are made including anti-fraud checks; origin of the card and payment history in order to ascertain whether there is any chance of the transaction being denied.

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