A secure and reliable payment gateway is one of the most important elements that will need to be implemented by any business that offers it products and/or services online. While it is possible for businesses to negotiate deals with banks themselves and then implement their own gateway system it is an enormous amount of work and often less flexible than the alternatives. For this reason the vast majority of online companies opt to employ a payment service provider to supply them with both a merchant account and an online payment gateway. There are a great many payment service providers out there and it can be extremely difficult for new businesses to decide which they should deal with. This article will explain exactly what a payment service provider (PSP) should offer a potential partner as advice for businesses on choosing which to employ.

Typically an online business will need to deal with multiple banks (and, if the company is international, a number of currencies as well). In order to set up without a payment service provider the business will need to spend a great deal of time meeting and negotiating with a number of banks. Good payment service providers will already have strong ties with a number of banks around the world which will save the business a large amount of time. On top of this dealing with a payment service provider means that the business will have a single point of contact should any issues arise. This defers the task of chasing down the problem (generally involving contacting numerous banks) to the PSP and will again save the business a lot of time and effort. Finally a payment service provider will typically already have a payment gateway system that is built and ready to be added to a website. Payment Gateways are time consuming and expensive to develop and they need to be extremely thoroughly tested in order to ensure that the sensitive data they deal with is one hundred percent secure. By dealing with a PSP businesses can have peace of mind that the service is already full function and secure.

It is clear to see that payment service provider can save business a considerable amount of time, money and hassle, but with so many of them out their how is a business supposed to choose which to deal with? The first step is to make contact with the PSP and ensure they are able to meet the technical specifications that you demand. Secondly you will want to compare prices. This can be difficult as most of the PSPs provide completely different pricing structures, be sure to look at both up front and ongoing costs and weigh up whether or not you will be better off paying a flat monthly rate or on a "per-transaction" basis. When running an online business you will need access to a wide range of information, make sure to decide what exactly you require before speaking to PSPs and ensure they can provide it. Many PSPs will also offer fraud protection which, for the vast majority of online businesses, is vital. The final thing you should consider is trust. Trusting customers will make or break an online retailer, you should always visit sites that already use the PSP to see how well integrated and reputable the payment gateway appears to be.