Payment gateways: What’s the options? 

Think of a payment gateway like a river, dam or weir. On one side the water is held up and the level gets higher, while on the other side it decreases.  

Open the dam and it all levels out.   

It’s the same with a payment gateway – when it doesn’t work properly, it’s like the dam or weir is shut and on one side the money is held up where on the other side your income or cashflow levels will drop.  

There are many different gateways or instruments to help get customer money into your business’s bank account. The best one for you will depend on your industry and your business.  

When first investigating payment gateways, talk to other people in your industry about what they are using.  

Find out what works well and what doesn’t. Ask about fees and what the service is like both for the business and the customer.  

Small Business Development Corporation business advisory services manager Lisa Legena says gateway providers are keen to attract new customers and therefore provide plenty of information on their websites.  

“But before you decide which one is right for your business, we really encourage you to research what they are offering and whether their products and service will meet your business needs,” she says.
Here are some examples of questions and topics to ask your potential gateway provider about:   

Fees: Know your budget because the fees can be very different for the various gateways.  

• What are they?  
• How regularly are they charged? Monthly or yearly?  
• Does the gateway company have the option to change the fees? Do they have to notify you?  

Contract: How easy is it to get out of the contract if it’s not working? Some contracts say you must sign up on a 12 months basis and that can sometimes trap businesses. Read everything and make sure you are aware of the pitfalls before signing. What are the exit options?  

Ease of use: How easy and seamless is it for both you and especially your customer? If your customer finds paying is difficult, they’ll more than likely go somewhere else.  

Customer support: If something does go wrong, how easy is it to get hold of the payment gateway to resolve the issue? 

Refunds: How does the gateway treat refunds? How difficult/easy are these?  

Security: A huge issue. How do they protect your customer’s information? 

Target market: Does the gateway suit your target market and are your customers already familiar with the gateway for other products/services? How does your target market expect to pay?  

Payment gateways include: 

PayPal: They have gateways for selling online, for turning your computer into a credit card terminal, for sending invoices to email addresses or for accepting credit cards with an App and card reader.   

BPAY: This links with the bank and allows for businesses to get their money quickly. It’s accessible for online banking and allows customer flexibility.  

Stripe: This has now entered Australia, and it is for internet businesses. Its iOS library works with Apple Pay, it supports Android from SDK version 14 and up and supports mobile Safari and Android browser.  

Square: This has a little card reader where you can tap the credit cards from your phone, use tap and go, or insert the credit card. This is often seen in markets. It integrates with QuickBooks or Xero, manages inventory and gives sales reports among other things.  

Afterpay: Particularly for retail businesses, this is a buy now, pay later method without traditional fees like interest or upfront fees. Customers pay four automated payments every two weeks. Afterpay takes on the risk of non-payment by the customer. It is used both online and in-store.  

Ezi-Pay: A cloud-based service that manages things like subscription payments through automated recurring direct debit, for example. It can be used for multiple currencies and various payment methods.  

Bank gateways: Your bank will probably have their own third-party gateway provider. You can find it by looking for merchant services or payment gateways on your bank’s website or get in touch with customer service.  

If you type “payment gateway” into your search engine, you’ll also find many more. These are just some of the more commonly used options.