9 Important Things to Look For in an In-App Payment Provider
With the ever-growing use of smartphones worldwide, more people now prefer making purchases through online transactions. According to a study by Juniper Research, nearly half of the world’s population will be using digital wallets to manage their finances by 2024. And in the digital landscape, we know convenience is king - that’s where in-app payment providers come in. But what should you look for in your payment provider? This blog has the answers.
Here’s what we’ll learn in this article:
- What is a mobile payment gateway?
- Benefits of using an in-app payment provider
- Popular payment gateway providers
- 9 important things to look for in an in-app payment service provider
- Merchant account
- Payment gateway APIs
- Support for recurring billing
- Analytics and statistics
- Security
- Integration
- Multi-currency support
- Scalability
- User experience
- Things to consider before integrating a payment gateway
Let’s get started!
What is a mobile payment gateway?
Recently, the world of business has observed a massive shift from desktops to mobile devices. Brands now find it much easier to attract new customers through social media and mobile apps. To drive higher conversion, your business needs to provide innovative payment solutions for your websites and applications.
Digital payments eliminate the use of cash and help your business reach a wider audience. An in-app payment gateway is a service that allows your users to make payments through a mobile application. Also referred to as a mobile payment gateway, it’s capable of accepting card payments and processing them on your behalf.
Benefits of using an in-app payment provider
Customers are more likely to purchase if they’re provided with an easy-to-use and instant in-app payment solution. When provided with a streamlined and seamless payment experience, there’s a big chance that you’ll turn sales into repeat customers. A bad payment experience, on the other hand, can ruin the customer’s experience and jeopardise your brand's reputation.
Popular payment gateway providers
Choosing the right payment provider for your mobile app can be challenging when you have to consider the different functionalities, rates and services on offer. To make the right decision, let’s look at the most popular payment processors specialising in in-app payments, on the market.
PayPal
With more than 20 years of being operational, PayPal is the most used payment gateway around the world. It offers a fully functional mechanism for processing in-app payments without the need to share any financial information with the seller.
To create a PayPal account, anyone can sign up for free. It supports all the major currencies worldwide, including USD, EUR, GBR, etc. To make things more convenient for you, Paypal also supports cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. It can seamlessly integrate into thousands of iOS and Android apps. You might have to pay a fee for currency conversion but there are no hidden costs when you use PayPal.
Judopay
Judopay is one of the leading online payment solutions that specialises in in-app payments. With its simple integration and customisable checkouts, Judopay is a perfect solution for growing businesses. Equipped with built-in fraud prevention and reporting tools, it ensures a safe and seamless payment experience for your customers. Unlike others, Judopay is a highly flexible platform, allowing you to choose between gateway-only or full stack payment setups, depending on your business needs.
Judopay provides you with real-time customer insights to help guide your business’ growth. Its complete ecosystem ensures seamless checkout processes and lets customers enjoy the best web, mobile, and in-app payment experiences. When choosing a payment provider, the biggest challenge is deciding whether to prioritise security, integration or customer experience - with Judopay you get all 3.
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9 important things to look for in an in-app payment service provider
Now that you know what a mobile payment gateway is, let’s look at some of the most important things you should consider when choosing an in-app payment provider for your mobile application.
1. Merchant account
When signing up with an in-app payment service provider, setting up a merchant account is the first step. This is basically the main account that you’ll be using to receive and withdraw your payments. Make sure to carefully research the rules, policies, procedures, and service charges related to merchant accounts. You also need to consider the different types of merchant accounts that are being offered.
For instance, you can either open a dedicated or aggregated account. For an account that’s used only for your business, you may use the stand-alone dedicated merchant account.
Alternatively, if you want to use a shared account that’s used by multiple businesses, you may choose the aggregated merchant account. This account is less costly as compared to a dedicated merchant account.
2. Payment gateway
The types of payment gateways that the in-app providers offer may also differ. Like merchant accounts, you need to consider the specific needs of your business and user experience when making the decision.
In hosted-off-site payment gateways, the customers are redirected to the payment provider's website as soon as they click checkout. The main benefit of this gateway type is that the in-app payment service provider handles the customer experience and security.
The other type of payment gateway is embedded into your mobile app through payment APIs. This gives you more control over the payment experience. It also allows you to track conversions more easily, considering that you can monitor the number of users using the checkout feature.
While integrating payment gateway APIs may require technical expertise like web development, API integration, and database management skills. They can be customised with new functionalities such as automated invoices, reminders, and various other options.
3. Support for recurring billing
At times, you might have to charge customers on a regular basis. For instance, if the customer has bought a subscription for an online service or is paying in instalments. In such cases, you need an in-app payment provider that supports recurring billing.
4. Analytics and statistics
Offering an in-app payment option allows you to develop different marketing tactics and create new revenue streams for your business. For instance, some solutions are capable of providing you with analytics and statistics in the form of data reports you can analyse.
These reports allow you to get insights into your daily transactions and make informed decisions based on that data. These analytics also show you who’s buying your product and where it’s most popular.
Want to maximise conversions and keep your costs low? Payment orchestration is one of the three top payment predictions for 2023. It allows businesses to offer a seamless and secure payment option for customers while keeping costs low. Read more.
5. Security
Security should be the topmost consideration when doing business online. It's the main reason why many people are still reluctant to make payments online. So, you need to ensure that the in-app payment service provider you choose is reputable and complies with all the latest privacy and cybersecurity standards.
For instance, if you’re a seller handling transactions online, you should comply with PCI DSS. Regardless of the payment gateway type being used, it should be equipped with the latest security features, which may include the following:
- Fraud prevention
- Tokenisation
- Data encryption
- Strong Authentication and Authorization Mechanisms
- Regular Security Updates and Patches
- Compliance with Data Protection Regulations
Any suspicious activity may end up in the customer claiming a chargeback. The payment gateway interface also needs to look professional with all instructions clearly mentioned. Owing to the impeccable security features provided by Judopay, brands like KFC, Hiscox and Connect Cashless prefer to use the services of Judopay.
6. Integration
The in-app payment gateway should integrate seamlessly with your mobile application. You should check if the gateway allows you to customise the interface by configuring the UI behaviour properties.
A custom payment form that has the same interface as the rest of the mobile application builds greater trust with customers. Also, you can redesign the payment forms to make sure they can be filled out quickly.
7. Multi-currency support
In the case of an international business, you might require an in-app payment gateway that supports multiple currencies. While credit card companies support all the major currencies, it’s not guaranteed that the in-app payment provider will. If you currently operate in different countries or are looking to expand internationally be sure to check that your payment provider can support your plans.
8. Scalability
Make sure that the payment provider is scalable and customisable. If your business is growing, you should think of the requirements that you might need in the future. The in-app payment service should be able to easily accommodate the increasing size of the business operations.
To add more flexibility, it’s recommended that the service provider should offer rerouting services. This will prevent any interruptions in payments in case of technical difficulties. Considering that most payment gateways charge for each transaction, you should keep the profit margins of your business in mind.
9. User experience
The SDKs (software development kits) provided by the in-app payment service providers should occupy minimum space on users’ mobile devices. You should ensure that it offers multi-framework and multi-platform support to prevent any compatibility issues.
A frictionless payment flow is necessary to ensure a smooth customer journey.
To sum up
As we all move further online and onto mobile apps, smooth and secure payment solutions are absolute musts. We talked about important things to consider when choosing an in-app payment provider, like merchant accounts, security, user experience, multi-currency support and scalability. Remember: it's all about finding the right payment provider to make transactions easy and reliable for your customers.
With its robust features, cutting-edge technology, and unwavering commitment to security, Judopay stands out as the best provider. It offers a comprehensive solution for businesses of all sizes.
Safe, secure, seamless in-app payments, handled your way.
Here at Judopay, we aim to provide you with an all-in-one payment solution for your mobile app. Partner with us to produce conversion-driving checkouts and flexible payment flows.
