10 Factors to Consider When Choosing an iGaming
Payment Gateway
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The payment process is vitally important for any online gambling operator, because that's how you can turn your players into profits.

Without making your players want to pay for their games and giving them the tools to do so, your iGaming platform is just a free service for people to use as they please. Although it would be nice to live in a world where everything is free, this is not the best strategy for your business!

However, getting people to part with their money is not as easy as you might think - even if you think you've already got a top notch platform with exciting games that attract lots of players. This is because you need an excellent payment platform that makes it simple for payments to be made. Probably the most important element of your payment system will be your payment gateway.

What is a payment gateway?

A payment gateway is a technology used by merchants to accept debit card, credit card, digital wallet and alternative payment method (APM) transactions from customers. The term includes not only the physical card-reading devices found in brick-and-mortar retail stores but also the payment processing portals found in online stores and platforms.

If you are building an iGaming platform and you want to receive purchases from customers, deciding on your payment gateway is a big part of the decision process.

Here are 10 things to consider when you are choosing an iGaming payment gateway:

How many payment gateways should you have?

Although you might think that one payment gateway is enough, this will probably be an unwise move. Often, fast-growth companies connect their applications to multiple gateways to allow both business and technical innovation. If your iGaming platform is supported by more than one payment gateway, your payment platform is able to introduce new and dynamic business models and integrations.

Can you offer a seamless user experience?

The best payment systems feature payment gateways which are smooth, fast and hassle-free, with no technical glitches or overly complicated data entry systems. Your UX at the checkout should be as perfectly crafted and seamless as the games on your platform, so that the players don't waste lots of time at the checkout, and you can keep them where you want them - engaged in your games.

Which payment methods should you choose?

If you understand who your audience is, you can then tailor your payment approach to make the payment process fast and convenient for your customers. Different payment gateways will have integrations with different payment methods, and so you should choose payment gateways that will help you to accept a number of different payment methods. This will increase conversion at the checkout, and keep players paying and playing again and again.

Is your payment gateway secure?

Now that more and more commerce is going online, and iGaming is continuing to blossom, the tactics of hackers and fraudsters are becoming increasingly effective and innovative. It has never been more important to fortify your payment systems with high-tech anti-fraud technology that keeps cyber criminals out, and keeps your customers safe.

What countries / currencies do you operate in?

Some payment gateways are specialized for certain markets, and can give you the best possible experience for your customers if you are specifically targeting that market by offering the right payment methods and favourable FX rates. In addition, payment gateways may only be able to settle your funds to your bank account in certain currencies, so you should also be aware of this.
Do you want to accept recurring payments?

If you have loyal customers that keep coming back to play your games, the easiest way to profit from them is by giving them the option of recurring payments. These will automate the payment process, saving your customers the time and effort of having to continuously have to keep adding funds to their account. When they sign into your platform, they will see credit sitting there and waiting for them to start playing.

Does your payment gateway comply with the necessary compliance measures?

Online vendors, including online gambling platforms, need to adhere to the compliance regulations of the Payment Card Industry (PCI). PCI compliance means sticking to a set of security standards that have been developed to protect card information during and after a financial transaction. PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is the set of standards for payment gateway processors to keep their customers data and money safe, and as an iGaming operator you'll need to stick to these standards.

Do you have a Customer Support team to offer help?

Your payment gateway provider should offer 24/7 access to technical experts who will quickly and effectively solve whatever problems you might be experiencing, as well as multiple channels to contact the help you need - such as phone, email and live chat. When you take a payment gateway provider on board you will be allocated an account manager, so make sure that you get the most out of them and get all the support you need.

What are the fees for your payment gateway?

In general, fees vary from provider to provider. You'll have to pay both transaction and gateway fees. Transaction fees are a contribution for the convenience of accepting credit card payments and represent a very small percentage of the transaction amount. A gateway fee is applied by the transaction processor to cover the costs of receiving and processing the transaction. A gateway fee pays for the use of the infrastructure to receive payment information, the authorization from the customer's bank, the transmission of information to the merchant, and to facilitate the payment of the merchant.

Do you have the right development team?

There is lots of technical software involved in setting up a payment portal for your online gambling site, and there are many components which need to be expertly integrated by your development team. These include your processing software, anti-fraud software, shopping carts, integrations with acquiring banks, billing software and refund software. With the right software development team around you, you will make life much easier.

Conclusion

The two overall themes that you need to make top priority when choosing one or more payment gateways is that you need to know who your customers are and what they want and you need to have the right developers and payment gateway providers to help you get the most from your payment system.

For online casinos, it is rare to use just one payment system, given the high volumes, multiple geographies and dynamic nature of the industry. This means that it's essential to have payment software experts at your side to help you understand how to combine payment gateways and optimise the payment process for your customers.

When used correctly, your payment portal can be a useful tool to accelerate your iGaming platform to higher levels of customer satisfaction, and more profits.

To get started, speak with RedLab Gaming's team of payment software experts today.