the value of a payment gateway

The Value of a Payment Gateway

Rapid Change in the Payment Industry

Keeping up with the ever evolving payment landscape is a constant concern.

Just when you think you know all the rules, a new security technology emerges that must be considered and reviewed.

Confusion

Simply understanding the language in the payment industry can be challenging.

cardholder data

PCI-DSS scope

interchange rate

acquiring bank

network configuration

encryption keys hardware security module

batch settlement

PIN entry downgrade fee

$$$

Multiple Players

For every transaction type (card swipe, online purchase, phone reservation) multiple institutions are involved in the process.

Acquiring Bank

Issuing Bank

Card Association

Processor

Merchant Establishment

A Payment Gateway Helps Manage It All

All these new technologies can be confusing for any merchant, who at the end of the day wants to ensure that all payment transactions are processed and arrive at the bank in a secure and timely fashion.

A Payment Gateway Helps Manage It All

The right payment gateway can better manage communication with the banks, associations and processors.

What is a Payment Gateway?

Formally, a network gateway provider is:

a protocol translation or mapping gateway that interconnects networks by performing a required message conversion

What is a Payment Gateway?

A payment gateway facilitates the transfer of information between a point of payment... • point-of-sale terminal • property management system • online shopping cart • telephone order

...and the front-end processor or bank.

Secure, Direct Translation

A payment gateway acts as a translator, traffic cop and bodyguard – interpreting and directing data streams through a secure route to the appropriate destination, quickly and accurately.

The Transaction Life Cycle: Where the Payment Gateway Sits

Here’s the Whole Round Trip • Each time a customer

purchases a product or service from a merchant, the gateway executes numerous, critically important steps to route the transaction in a transparent process behind the scenes.

Here’s the Whole Round Trip • Each time a customer purchases a

product or service from a merchant, the gateway executes numerous, critically important steps to route the transaction in a transparent process behind the scenes.

• There are several “hand-offs” during a financial transaction. It is important to understand these connections and the role a payment gateway plays in managing this process.

Here’s the Whole Round Trip • Each time a customer purchases a

product or service from a merchant, the gateway executes numerous, critically important steps to route the transaction in a transparent process behind the scenes.

• There are several “hand-offs” during a financial transaction. It is important to understand these connections and the role a payment gateway plays in managing this process.

• The round trip typically takes about 3-5 seconds. The power of a payment gateway is in managing the entire trip.

But You May Be Wondering...

Why is a gateway solution right for

my business? What are the real differentiators

when selecting a gateway solution?

Key Considerations and Benefits of a Gateway

Security is Paramount

Securing cardholder information is critical to any gateway solution

Security is Paramount

The payment gateway should be listed as certified on the PCI Council website of approved providers:

http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/cisp-list-of-pcidss-compliant-service-providers.pdf

Cloud-Based Payment Gateways

A centrally hosted or cloud-based solution can:

remove sensitive cardholder data

completely from the IT infrastructure

minimize the cardholder data environment (CDE)

and enhance security while reducing PCI

burden and cost

remove the need for additional third party hardware or

software

Flexibility and Control A gateway should offer

flexibility to switch amongst processors and

payment providers quickly and efficiently

Flexibility and Control A gateway should offer

flexibility to switch amongst processors and

payment providers quickly and efficiently

A gateway must interface to multiple

POS systems while providing the same

level of reliability and reporting across the

entire enterprise

Flexibility and Control A gateway should offer

flexibility to switch amongst processors and

payment providers quickly and efficiently

A gateway must interface to multiple

POS systems while providing the same

level of reliability and reporting across the

entire enterprise

Direct routing to non-association card types (ex. AMEX) can

provide significant per transaction savings and

return on investment

High-Touch Service and Support

• Data security has become critical to any business that takes multiple forms of payment.

• Hosted solutions provide off-site data storage and innovative products such as tokenization and point-to-point encryption.

• All these components further distance the merchant from sensitive credit card numbers.

which means…

Ability to Pinpoint Problems

Gateway providers should be able to track down and immediately resolve problems no matter where an issue occurs within the life cycle of a transaction.

Support Services Should Include:

• Live support 24x7x365

• Network monitoring

• Email alerts

• End to end transaction support

• Funds recovery services

• Account reconciliation

Real-Time, Comprehensive Reporting

Because all business owners know you cannot manage what you cannot measure.

Real-Time, Comprehensive Reporting

Reporting should offer a complete and secure view of all transaction information.

• Exception reporting

• Drill down capabilities

• User level access settings

• Electronic distribution

• Enterprise level reporting

Easy Implementation and Maintenance

Whether a single restaurant or multi-branded franchisee, costs for implementing and maintaining a fully PCI-compliant credit card solution can represent a significant investment.

Easy Implementation and Maintenance

Consideration should be given to the initial investment and ongoing costs of remaining compliant or changing processors.

A cloud-based gateway solution does not require additional hardware to maintain or software to keep upgraded.

Easy Implementation and Maintenance

The Value of a Payment Gateway

The Value of a Gateway

The more complex the merchant environment, the more a gateway is needed.

multiple outlets

franchisees

remote locations

third party application

interfaces

multiple point-of-sale

systems

The Value of a Gateway

A gateway allows for processor choice and provides assurance that the solution is supported end to end.

The Value of a Gateway

A gateway manages the entire payment process quickly and securely.

Questions Merchants Should Ask

Consider the following when evaluating different payment gateway solutions: • What is the provider’s network

uptime?

• What POS/PMS systems and processors does the provider interface with and connect to?

• How easily can I switch processors?

Questions Merchants Should Ask • What kind of support can I

expect when my batches fail or when I need to resolve a payments-related problem? Will the provider take responsibility for helping with the resolution?

• How can I get real-time visibility into my transactions?

• How complex is the set-up and installation across all sites?

In Conclusion...

Rapid change in the payment industry is inevitable but it does not have to consume all of a merchant’s time, especially when they’ve got a business to run.

Finding a gateway provider with a strong track record in reliability, security and cost effective solutions provides the peace of mind merchant desire and the ease of use customers demand.

Thank you for viewing this presentation! For more information:

Call 1.866.853.3845 Email sales@merchantlink.com Visit www.merchantlink.com Engage www.merchantlink.com/blog

thank you!