Why do I need a Secured Payment Gateway?

What is a Secure Payment Gateway?

In today’s competitive online business environment, the ability to accept payments online is essential for merchants. This is made possible by a Secure Payment Gateway. The Secure Payment Gateway handles electronic exchanges between customers, vendors, and each of their respective financial institutions. Review our robust API by setting up a free dev/sandbox account or by requesting a demo today. SecureGlobalPay’s payment gateway with its robust payments engine & payments platform has all the bases covered.

But why the need for a specialized medium of exchange? Surely electronic information sent digitally is secure. That was the thinking for many years.

In the early days of electronic banking, fraud was more difficult due to the specialized nature of the transmission protocols. As such, security measures were relatively limited. But the criminal element soon realized the profit potential in intercepting electronic financial transfers. Thus, the race was on between innovative crooks and the efforts of software and data industry analysts to improve security. 

Payment data is not merely the dollar amount of a transaction entered into a computer or cash register. In the digital age, it is much more complicated. The numbers entered by keystroke are converted to digital objects called ‘packets.’ Put simply, these packets of information are what travel across the internet. 

The Secure Payment Gateway is the actual electronic medium via which packets of information regarding financial data are carried. This, combined with the security-oriented nature of its functions, gives us the term – payment gateway. 

As the amount of money transferred electronically has grown, so has the risk of electronic theft and fraud. Fortunately, measures to ensure the security of financial data shared via the internet have continued to evolve. Ever-greater volumes of transactions are finalized while each participant in the payment stream, from consumer to financial institution, is protected.

Security is a major concern for merchants, customers, and financial institutions. Ethical responsibility and cooperative concern build trust. The ability to reassure partners and patrons that their payment information is secure is essential to growing your business. This is the principal benefit offered by a Secure Payment Gateway.

How does a Secure Payment Gateway differ from a Merchant Account?

A merchant account acts as a storehouse of both the customer and financial data. Online storehouses of information take measures to ensure the safety of inventory, particularly during credit card processing. The Secure Payment Gateway is the mechanism responsible for securing online the information transferred by the merchant account. 

Another way to understand the Secure Payment Gateway is to visualize the armed guards that accompany armored trucks. Think of the information obtained when you accept credit card data as a precious asset being protected inside. The Secure Payment Gateway acts as an armed guard protecting your credit card information. It picks up the information at point A and securely relays it to point B. Once there, the merchant account either approves or denies the transaction.

The Secure Payment Gateway acts to store transaction data securely on its server. The information is then transferred for authorization, approval or denial back to the processor, sponsoring the bank and website.

How does a Merchant Account differ from a Payment Gateway?

Merchant accounts are an essential component of any successful online business. It’s safe to say that merchant accounts are fairly well-known in the world of online business. Secure Payment Gateways, on the other hand, are less well known. There is often a great deal of confusion between the two. 

Once the transaction has been approved, a merchant account is a mechanism that enables the transfer of funds. The account manages the exchange between your customers’ credit or debit card and your business bank account. 

But the term ‘account’ can be somewhat misleading, here. You won’t actually have direct access to your merchant account to withdraw your funds. Instead, those funds or proceeds from your credit card sales will be directly deposited into your business banking account. This usually occurs between 1-2 business days.

Navigating the Maze

The practice of business, already quite advanced by the dawn of the 21st century, has only grown more complex. With the advent of computers and electronic banking, new innovations appear almost hourly. Successfully navigating the maze of financial institutions, credit card providers, online payment and merchant service providers is complex. Given the pace of innovation, it is only likely to grow more so.

At SecureGlobalPay, we are experts on the cutting edge of internet merchant services. Our team combines the know-how of software engineers with the savvy of business marketing and management professionals. We know exactly the kind of challenges your business faces on a daily basis.

Let us guide your business step-by-step through the electronic payment process. We can help you understand what happens from the moment the card number is taken to the instant customer cash reaches your bank account. From beginning to end, we’ll help you make sense of it all.