The Importance of Payment Methods for E-commerce

Payment methods are just as important to online stores as the product portfolio. This is how purchases are completed and money reaches the business. The best-known and most widely used payment methods are bank slips and credit cards, but some companies also offer other options, such as bank transfers or deposits. Today, due to information security concerns and fraud, developing a system that connects directly to financial institutions is not recommended. To implement a payment method in your online store, you can use two types of mechanisms:

• Payment Gateways , web-based systems that connect your e-commerce platform (the client’s online store) to the systems of major payment methods, such as credit cards, banks and bank slips.
• Payment Intermediaries or Facilitators , financial companies that act as transaction intermediaries. In other words, they handle payments and funds, receiving payments from buyers and transferring them to sellers online through a virtual checking account.

Payment methods can be implemented in your store in several ways, but there are three main options:

• Standard, when buyers are redirected to the Facilitator’s or Gateway’s website to make payment after completing their purchase. Once payment is complete, they are redirected back to the online store.
• Lightbox, payment takes place in the store, but a box from the Facilitator or Gateway opens like a pop-up.
• Transparent checkout, a more complex option that requires a higher level of integration and development, but allows the entire process to take place within the store, without redirecting buyers elsewhere.