What is a Payment Gateway and how does it work?

A payment gateway is an online application service provider that authorizes payments for ecommerce merchants. It works as a third-party processor of credit card transactions, providing a secure link between the Internet and the back-end payment processing networgatek.

Payment Gateways are required by law to be PCI DSS compliant in order to handle credit card information safely.

Every time your customer enters their credit card number and approves the payment on your site, a secure connection is created between your website and the gateway provider's system to deliver the information. Once this process is complete, you will receive an approval code that tells you whether or not the transaction was approved (generally within 30 seconds, but it can take longer depending on the gateway and its settings).

The security of this transaction is guaranteed by Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates. SSL is a cryptographic protocol that forms the basis for data encryption on the Internet. It provides communication security over the Internet for applications such as web, e-mail, instant messaging, and other network data.

By ensuring that they are SSL compliant, you can trust that your gateway provider has taken the necessary steps to keep your customers' information secure when processing their transactions. Your merchant account provider will not be able to provide any additional details beyond what is seen on the credit card statement itself (e.g., charge description, amount) and your gateway provider should be able to provide you with a record of the transaction and receipt.