Taking payments online: how to choose a payment provider

What a payment provider does

It takes the card or wallet details, checks them with the bank, moves the money and pays it out to your account. It also runs fraud checks and handles disputes.

Stripe, Adyen, Checkout.com and PayPal operate in many countries. Regional providers, such as Tap, HyperPay and Moyasar in the Gulf, often cover local methods that the global ones do not.

The methods customers expect

• Cards, which are the baseline.
• Apple Pay and Google Pay, which remove the typing on a phone.
• Local card schemes, such as mada in Saudi Arabia.
• Buy now, pay later services, such as Tabby and Tamara in the Gulf.
• Cash on delivery, still common in some markets.
• Bank transfer, for large business orders.

Find out what your customers use before choosing. A provider that lacks the main local method will cost you sales.

Keep card data off your systems

Handling card numbers brings a set of security rules known as PCI DSS. The simple way to meet them is to use the provider's hosted payment page or embedded fields. The card number goes from the customer's browser straight to the provider, and you store only a token.

What it costs

• A percentage of each transaction, often with a fixed amount on top.
• Different rates for local and international cards.
• Currency conversion.
• Monthly or setup fees, with some providers.
• Charges for refunds and disputes.
• The time before the money reaches your bank account.

Work the figures through on your own average order and mix of cards. The lowest headline rate is not always the cheapest for your business.

Checks before you commit

• Does it operate in your country and pay out in your currency?
• Does it accept your type of business?
• What documents does it need, and how long does approval take?
• Does it support subscriptions, saved cards or split payments, if you need them?
• Is there a ready integration for your store platform?
• How are refunds and disputes handled?

Approval can take days or weeks, depending on the provider and the country. Apply early. It is often the item that delays a launch.

Confirmation steps and failed payments

Banks in many regions ask the customer to confirm a card payment with a code or in their banking app. This is called 3-D Secure. It adds a step and reduces fraud.

A good integration handles that step smoothly, says clearly when a payment has failed, and lets the customer try another method. A vague failure message loses the sale.

Payments inside an app

Mobile apps follow an extra rule. Digital goods used inside the app generally go through the app store's own purchase system, while physical goods and services use an ordinary payment provider.