Payment gateway integration is one of the big concerns for business owners. No wonder, with 25 integration pain points we noted while putting together this article.
We’ll list those aggravations affecting e-commerce businesses in a moment. That way, you will know exactly what to expect when you choose a payment processing provider, switch providers, or consider adding a new platform to your business.
Then, we will provide more baseline info on what an e-commerce platform is (for new business owners), examples, and categories.
After those breakdowns, get ready to take your e-commerce sales up a level through user experience optimization that will help regardless of the e-commerce platform you use.
Payment Gateway Integration Pain Points
- Navigating complex APIs and documentation
- Need for developer resources
- Risk of data breaches and financial fraud
- Maintaining PCI DSS compliance with various software / SaaS
- Implementing newest encryption and tokenization
- High setup and integration costs
- Potential hidden costs for additional features or support
- Third-party payment page redirects disrupting checkout flow
- Slow loading times hurting conversion rates
- Creating a consistent brand experience across checkout process
- Inconsistent UX / performance across different devices and browsers
- Juggling content management systems
- Evolving financial regulations in different municipalities
- Requirements for stronger customer authentication (SCA) in certain markets
- Data protection laws
- Complexities in handling multiple currencies and exchange rates
- Diverse payment preferences of various demographic groups
- Updating integrations as payment gateway tech evolves
- Troubleshooting issues during busy sales periods
- Lack of resources for testing and optimization
- Restrictions on modifying checkout process to match brand identity
- Inflexibility in adapting to unique business models or promotions
- Feature constraints like recurring billing or partial refunds
- Depending on third-party systems for critical business operations
- Potential for downtime or slow processing during peak traffic periods
Does that list look daunting? It can be, especially for entrepreneurs new to e-commerce.
That’s why choosing a payment processing provider that’s on your side is vital.
When you have a trusted partner, you don’t have to tackle long lists of pitfalls like the ones above by yourself.
Now for the baseline notes on e-commerce platforms.
Easy definition: An e-commerce platform is software that enables businesses to create and manage digital commerce operations.
A platform is not just one tool that helps you sell online. It is a toolkit that provides everything you need to run an online store.
E-commerce platforms can be broadly split into the following categories:
- Open-source platforms: Customizable and flexible, but users need technical expertise (e.g., WooCommerce, Magento Open Source)
- Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms: Cloud-based, hosted platforms, often easier to set up and maintain but may have fewer customizable options (e.g., Shopify, BigCommerce)
- Headless commerce platforms: Flexible platforms that separate front-end presentation from back-end e-commerce functions for easier creation of custom user experiences (e.g., Commercetools, Elastic Path)
Need a list of example e-commerce platforms? No problem.
15 E-Commerce Platforms
- Shopify
- WooCommerce
- Magento (Adobe Commerce)
- BigCommerce
- Wix eCommerce
- Squarespace Commerce
- PrestaShop
- Salesforce Commerce Cloud
- OpenCart
- Volusion
- Dealer Spike
- Shopware
- Ecwid
- Cayan
- VTEX
National Processing can help you with payment gateway integration for those respected platforms and others. See our API payment integration features.
National Processing’s Payment Gateway Integration Benefits
Besides overcoming many of the pain points from above, our company’s approach and experience have helped thousands of business owners with their e-commerce and payment gateway integration needs.
We focus on user experience by making checkouts fast and easy. We go further by helping our customers reduce lost sales through abandoned cart retrieval tools.
With our state-of-the-art payment features, our customers achieve above-average conversion rates through avoiding glitches, personalization tools, and maximizing trust with top-tier checkout pages.
There are more benefits to National Processing’s e-commerce payment solutions and integration features coming up. First, we want to ensure you know how vital it is to improve your e-commerce conversion rates and how the following trends show you how to do it.
Modern Merchant Services Meet Modern Demands
A new conversion rate report from Unbounce shows the exact areas where you can make small improvements to ramp up sales in a big way.
Let’s look at the key points from this report.
- Landing pages are seeing exponential traffic growth via smartphones
- Email is still the top channel for the best conversion rates
- Complex language hurts sales (simple copy converts twice as many users)
- This study’s median conversion rate was 6.6%
- Instagram converts about six times better than LinkedIn
This report covered nine different industries (including e-commerce), so it provides comprehensive insights you can leverage.
For example, email marketing converts best across each industry. Yet, it is even more effective in e-commerce businesses, seeing a conversion rate of over 28%!
Believe it or not, that astounding conversion rate is nearly six times better than either paid search or paid social media.
Knowing that, it makes sense to create your email marketing strategy as soon as possible, right? If you’re already sending email campaigns, then it’s clearly worth your time to crank up those efforts.
More Tactics To Use Via E-commerce Payment Solutions
Another way your merchant services provider’s integrated tools can increase your sales is through mobile e-commerce optimization. Here’s why this is critical.
Even though people are using mobile devices more than computers to visit e-commerce landing pages and product pages, mobile conversion rates are about 18% lower than on desktops or laptops.
With this knowledge, it is wise to review your landing pages. Test them on various mobile phones to notice any issues with:
- Product photos
- Text size
- Links that aren’t easy to see
- Buttons that are too small
- Large chunks of text
Adjust Fast
If you see problems with any of the above issues, correct them as soon as possible. They could be causing you to miss out on numerous sales each week. And those lost sales add up over 52 weeks.
Go through your mobile checkout pages too. If there are any glitches or “slow-downs” in the process, contact your merchant services company for help. They should be able to assist you or correct any checkout issues for you quickly.
Checkout problems cost e-commerce businesses millions of dollars because shoppers, in study after study, will not tolerate delays at checkout. They will abandon your website and buy elsewhere — at a site with an efficient checkout process.
And as mobile technology advances in rapid fashion, it’s vital to stay in the loop. This way, you can take advantage of each advancement versus having your e-commerce business hurt by changes.
Speaking of changes…
Solid Payment Gateway Integration Means Scalability
There are changes on the horizon beyond mobile technology. Artificial intelligence is on an even faster track than mobile innovation. Besides AI, you have to consider how your e-commerce business will change in the next year and then over the next decade.
For example, it appears that Amazon is an unstoppable e-commerce behemoth. While that’s true, changes could arrive, like AI, that alter the company’s future. Need proof? Kmart is closing its last full-scale store this year. Once upon a time, Kmart, too, was a retail giant (better known than Walmart in most regions).
The point is, things change. The better prepared you are, the easier you can adapt your business processes and thrive as a result. Your payment gateway integration plays a huge role in your store’s growth.
Grow and Save
Your merchant services provider should be your number-one ally in scaling your business and saving you money on processing costs.
With a solid provider like National Processing, you will be ready to handle increased transaction volumes when you add new products or have holiday promotions.
We have nearly two decades of experience assisting our customers as they expand into new markets, add new payment methods, and combine a physical store with their e-commerce business.
Consider this, though. As you grow, you must control expenses.
Left unchecked, even businesses that increase their revenue every month won’t see long-term success because expenses will chip away at the profits. Just look at the Kmart example above. The company had incredible sales and was a household brand name. However, cost controls are a must in businesses of all shapes and sizes.
National Processing saves our customers money on merchant services. Beyond that, we also save business owners money through our innovative fraud-prevention tools. Plus, we educate customers on strategies for decreasing chargebacks.
Stopping chargebacks also gives business owners peace of mind from not having to deal with those stressful disputes. Our award-winning customer service teams guide you through the process when disputes do arise.
Start saving and scaling with National Processing.
Payment Gateway Integration Summary
You now know the many pain points that can arise with payment solution integrations. Don’t worry, though. All of those concerns can be managed pretty easily as long as your payment processing provider is doing its job.
We also described, for new business owners, what an e-commerce platform is and the three categories.
You also got a look at a longer list of e-commerce platforms than you may have seen before. No wonder the list is expansive — as the e-commerce industry continues to boom, more players and tools will enter the online arena.
What’s the most critical takeaway from this article? All the insights provided for conversion rate optimization. Using those insights alongside payment gateway integrations with your e-commerce marketing tools, invoicing software, and reporting features will result in higher sales.
Two or three percent improvement is massive, though it might seem small at first glance. Three percent more sales each year adds up to a mountain of additional revenue due to the compounding effect.
The best part is you can achieve that with tiny improvements to your mobile checkout, speeding up page load times, or simplifying sales copy!
FAQ E-commerce Payment Solutions
What’s the best paid social media channel for e-commerce conversions?
Unbounce reports the best social channel is TikTok, with a median conversion rate of 12.5%. TikTok’s highest-converting posts (outliers) reportedly hit 36.5%.
How does regulatory compliance affect e-commerce payment gateway integration?
Each tool used to run your business should adhere to data protection laws such as GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and new state-specific guidelines (such as California and Colorado’s strict privacy laws). Many of these laws are industry-specific.
Should e-commerce payment solution checkout pages be detailed or concise?
It depends on the price point. More details are needed for high-ticket item listings. But complex wording should be avoided on long and short product pages because e-commerce pages written at a 5th to 7th-grade reading level have the highest conversion rate at 5.6%. That’s nearly four times better than “professional-level” readability’s 1.5% conversion rate.
