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Merchant Account Vs. Payment Gateway: What’s The Difference?

Tag: payment gateway

RAK International SME FAIR
Mohab Events 0

RAK International SME FAIR

To provide an opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises to showcase their products and network, RAK SME together with RAK chamber and RAK expo have organized an international fair. It is scheduled to be held from 14 to 16th November 2019 at the Ras Al Khaimah exhibition centre in UAE

The fair will be attended by over 200 exhibitors from different countries, providing an excellent opportunity for businesses to collaborate. Participants will also be able to listen to business pioneers and leaders via informative workshops and panel discussions.

Meet & Collaborate

While SME events are a common way to achieve new sales and meet prospective clients, RAK International SME FAIR offers several unique advantages

  • Targeted Approach: RAK International SME FAIR follows a very targeted approach to provide specialized services. The event restricts itself to a well-defined number of categories so that each segment is well represented. The main sectors participating in this fair are food & beverage, energy & sustainability, technology & entertainment and furniture & office supplies. Apart from these sectors, the fair is also going to witness participation from businesses that engage in healthcare, wellness & medical segments, trade & business and beauty & cosmetics. The fair will also encompass several other industrial segments to provide a holistic view of the small and medium scale enterprise market in the UAE and globally.
  • New Products & Services: The key objective of the fair is to provide a platform to SMEs to showcase their new products, services and integrated solutions. As businesses from a large number of industries converge at the event, participants will get an opportunity to fulfill their business requirements under one roof. Whether you are looking for legal services for your new business or you want to develop software for your operations, rest assured you will get a wide range of options to explore here.
  • Networking: The fair is set to attract over 200 participants from a wide range of industries. The occasion thus offers a great opportunity to revive old ties or form new alliances. Attendees will get to interact with representatives from diverse number of industries. So, If you are looking for new collaborations within your industrial segment or are planning to enter a new business field, here, you can meet people with expertise in different areas to widen your horizons.Masterclass sessions on business expansion and sustaining SME growth will be particularly useful.
  • Learn New Developments: As this fair is a platform to let exhibitors and visitors interact, it offers a great opportunity to learn about new market developments. Here too, masterclasses and workshops on innovation and facing the future will prove to be relevant to the audience.

 

PayTabs participation at the RAK International SME FAIR

PayTabs is a leading B2B payment processing service provider in the region. The business is set to showcase its payment gateway solutions at the RAK International SME FAIR over the three days. Drop by, speak to the team and learn more about how they can power your payments, globally.

4 years ago
Launch Your First eCommerce Website : Choosing the right payment partner (Part 3)
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

Launch Your First eCommerce Website : Choosing the right payment partner (Part 3)

In continuation with our series on the steps to launch your first e-commerce website, we shall discuss the finer aspects of deciding upon the best payments partner for your e-commerce business. Setting up a payments gateway for your e-commerce website can mean entering uncharted territory for many. However, there’s no denying the importance of selecting the right payment partner to accept online payments from customers and boost cash inflows. Just because its unfamiliar, it need not be intimidating! With the following tips, one can easily manage and win the online payments strategy:

  1. Well defined business goals: The payment processing is the final stage of the transaction. Having retained the customer within one’s website and after the shopping cart is loaded, it would be a death knell, if the customer had to leave the website and was directed to another page to complete the payment. This amounts to a high degree of revenue uncertainty as the frustrated customer might abandon the cart. One must have a well thought out strategy of managing the transactions from start to end and maximize sales conversions. With this is mind, it is best to opt for a secure payment solutions provider, smoothly integrated with the e-commerce portal, that would facilitate prompt payments with a few clicks and allow the customer to check out conveniently upon transaction completion.
  2. Money matters: Its best to opt for a payments company that is transparent and charges for the gateway services upfront. This way the merchant is not in for a shock later by way of hidden fees or variable fees based on the number of processed transactions. The most common pricing models are fee charged for each transaction, monthly or yearly usage, fees as a percent of transaction value, flat rate fees or bulk pricing. Often there may be hidden or additional fees like chargebacks, registration costs, set-up fees and renewal costs. One should also consider the other services offered by the payments company like multi-currency capabilities and support in case of failed transactions or errors while negotiating the fees structure. The payments gateway should ensure that the money is received by the merchant in minimum time, with no hassles for the customer.
  3. Secure solutions: It is an absolute must that the payments solutions comply with the highest security standards like PCI DSS framework. This would reassure the customer that his or her personal data and financial credentials are safeguarded, without the risk of confidentiality breach or data leakage. Security standards would offer fraud protection, which would enable the payment details to be processed via the secure payment gateway, rather than through a common server.
  4. Ease of integration into the portal: The payments solutions should be user friendly with a simple plug and use facility in a few clicks, rather than needing technical staff to set up and operate. Its important to select a payments gateway that has a smooth integration process with multiple features, to build a better connect with customers and win their trust.
  5. Support services: Running an e-commerce site is a 24*7 business. The payment processing towards a transaction can occur at any time and at any place. Thus, the support services of the payments company should be up and running, virtually at all times as a failed transaction or error needs to be addressed on an urgent basis. It would be a good idea to check the support medium of the payments gateway-whether email, call or live chat, with the last option indicating prompt problem resolution.
  6. Payment methods: Customers often prefer to do business with an e-commerce vendor that offers their preferred payment mode. While some may prefer credit cards, others may opt for debit cards or local wallets. Thus, it is important to select a payment processor that supports the popular payment methods as per local preferences.
  7. Omni channel platform: Its important to zero in on a payment gateway that can be hosted in the mobile e-commerce site and enable payments via the e-commerce mobile app. Irrespective of the device, whether smartphone, tablet, desktop or a laptop, the customers should be able to browse products and conveniently pay via the payments processor.

The right payment partner would enhance business value for the e-commerce merchant by facilitating simple, secure, prompt online payments 24*7 on the website. This would contribute towards increased sales conversions, better customer experience and speedy transaction completion. One must carefully study the features and the pricing before deciding upon the best payments gateway suited to one’s business needs. In our next article, we shall look at the final aspects of an online transaction post payment i.e. the product delivery and after sales customer services.

 

5 years ago
Launch Your First eCommerce Website : Setting up a website and e-commerce platform (Part 2)
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

Launch Your First eCommerce Website : Setting up a website and e-commerce platform (Part 2)

The next process involves setting up the online e-commerce portal. Developing an e-commerce website from scratch involves the following steps: obtaining a domain name, roping in a web hosting provider, integrating a payment gateway, a platform to build the online store with product listing, initial capital to fund the manufacture of products and packaging the final product for delivery and shipping.

Web Hosting service and registration of domain name:

What’s in a name? A lot actually, especially if it’s a domain name. It’s important to choose a suitable, available domain name for one’s business or brand. Some tips in selecting a name are:

  •  The name should be connected to the business line: Its best to pick a name that gives customers an idea of the product offerings. The name should clearly highlight the focus behind the online business. In case of an unrelated name, the e-commerce business would have to invest significantly in marketing and branding initiatives to win customers mind share and have a better connect.
  • A short name is easier to remember for customers. It would also result in fewer word entries and hitting the correct website in no time. This might improve visits to the web page and enhance sales conversions.

Registration of the domain name: Having zeroed in on the domain name, one needs to register the same via a domain registrar by paying the requisite fees.

Selection of the e-commerce solutions: This is the crux of the entire e-commerce business. The e-commerce solutions depend on the following parameters i.e. type of platform, size of the business, desired features and budget.

Type of platforms: The following are the two available platforms:

  • Self-hosted solution: These are open source platforms by which the one would have to set up, host, run and maintain the online store with the help of a technical developer. There is considerable flexibility as regards the features, customizations and options in this case. They require advanced technical knowledge as the design needs coding in order to be implemented. While the software is free, there are costs towards server fees, development and maintenance fees and hiring skilled labour.
  • Fully Hosted platforms perform the functions of setting up, hosting and maintenance. These are easy to understand and use. Even non-technical persons can create a website on their own in this option. There are easy drag and drop features with sample templates and in-built key functionalities like stock management, marketing and other presentation tools. The platforms include a fee towards subscription and is influenced by product, user and sales volumes, desired features etc. The updates or feature release will be entirely dependent on the solutions provider. The merchant has limited options as regards customizations and would have to opt for the existing themes.

Evaluation of options: Its best to research the pros and cons of both the options before taking a decision.

  • Trying it out: It might be a good idea to opt for a demo version or free trail period to confirm the quality of the interface and the reliability of the platform. One can even list a few products and gauge the customer response. Alternatively, one could browse the site and judge the speed and response rate.
  • Communicate with the sales team: One can also discuss one’s specific requirements with the solution provider and get an understanding of the process and support services.
  • Check the track record: It would be prudent to obtain feedback from a few merchant clients as to their satisfaction with the e-commerce platform. Often social media provides useful reviews on a particular solution and help take a decision.

Evaluate the features on offer: It is advised to consider the additional capabilities being offered like SEO optimization, brand building via social media etc.

Integration with add-ons: Often one may plan to integrate the portal with a payments gateway, accounting software or logistics and shipment facility. The platforms must support such external add-ons and continue to function smoothly.

Establishing the e-commerce website is a highly technologically intensive stage and most important stage of an online business which could impact the success of the online business model. In case you want to have an operational site in a quick turnaround time, it is best to opt for hosting platform. However, if one wants to customize a site and adopt a gradual site building approach, the open source solution might work better. In continuation with this series, we shall discuss the next step i.e. the crucial money matters. In other words, the selection of the appropriate payments partner to ensure timely and smooth customer payments.

5 years ago
How technology is changing our shopping experience
Mohab Growth Hacks 0

How technology is changing our shopping experience

With growing customer expectation, e-commerce retailers are being forced to constantly innovate and raise the bar. Further, with shopping enabled through the digital platform, without the boundaries of time and place, merchants need to ensure that the customer engagement channels are continuously open. We shall now study how technology is changing the rules of the game and redefining customer experience.

  1. Anytime shopping: Today’s online shopping is all about convenience. The customer can log on to an e-commerce portal, browse and compare product specifications and pricing, and even virtually try on clothes. They can add items to the cart, make the payment through the payment gateway and check out. All this is achieved within minutes, from the comfort of one’s home. The entire shopping process from start to end i.e. researching the product till the final purchase is possible digitally any time of the day or night and can be concluded swiftly.
  2. Smart devices for smart choices: The modern customer leverages upon cutting-edge technology to make sound purchase decisions. Often, e-commerce sites have subscription services whereby the items are delivered to the customer’s residence on a regular basis without any reminder by the customer.
  3. Real-time, uninterrupted support: The merchants need to constantly stay connected with the customers even post sale. This is vital in order to ensure returning customers. This can be achieved with chatbots that would readily answer customers’ queries and enhance their satisfaction.
  4. AI to derive insights: AI can be used to analyse customer spending patterns, study outliers and derive business intelligence. This can be applied to improve service levels and provide customized options, based on the unique needs of each customer. This would ensure lower chances of sales returns. A Gartner study estimates that by 2020, 85% of customer interactions would be handled by AI.
  5. Smooth payment process: Imagine you finished shopping at a huge mall and had to spend a lot of time searching for the payment counter! Frustrating isn’t it? The situation is similar to a customer entering the e-commerce portal. The customer should be able to easily navigate through the website to the payment gateway, complete the transaction and check out in minimum time. The payment gateway should be integrated with the website. Being directed to an external website for payment is a big put off for the customer and can cause cart abandonment. Further, there should be a choice of multiple payment options with personalised suggestions to opt for saved cards. In the e-commerce business, every click counts!
  6. Secure payment processor: This is not a feature anymore, rather an absolute necessity. The online payment platform must maintain confidentiality of customer information and card details. This is reconfirmed by adherence to global security standards like PCI DSS V3.2 Service Provider Certified.
  7. Customer reviews and loyalty programs: With fierce competition in the online shopping space, it is vital that merchants enhance customers’ shopping experience. For example, a product could have reviews of happy customers who have used it. This would help the hesitant customer make up his or her mind. One could also ensure that the product return process is simple and clearly mentioned. To win customer loyalty, merchants could include shopping points that could be redeemed as a discount on the price or a free product of the customer’s choice.
  8. Intuitive website: An interactive website with a seamless shopping experience can go a long way in higher sales conversions and customer retention. The webpage as a pop-up could guide the customer as to the further steps till the final checkout. This would facilitate the customer to stay within the website and not move to the website of a competitor. The chances of a sales conversion become higher, the longer an e-commerce portal is able to retain and keep the customer engaged within its webpages.
  9. Knowledge bytes: A customer who has complete know-how of the product would be in a better position to appreciate its value proposition and quality. Thus, the chances of achieving a sales transaction is better in case of an informed customer. Merchants can include a knowledge centre page within the website to enhance the shopping experience. All the information about a product and its utility should be available at a customer’s fingertips.

Technology is fast rewriting the shopping experience. Thus, merchants need to keep an ear to the ground and provide e-commerce solutions as per evolving customer requirements and technologies.

5 years ago