Payment integration checklist: 5 traits to look for in your payment partner

The right payment gateway partner can mean the difference between success and failure in today’s shifting climate. This is true whether you’re just getting ready to bring your software to market and need your first payment integration or you have a mature product with existing integrations.

In most industries:

• Customer expectations are evolving.
• New post-COVID-19 business models are developing.
• Contactless payments continue to gain popularity.
• Merchants need built-in efficiencies, including automatic data sharing with accounting, streamlined processes, time savings, and fewer errors.
• Merchants need greater visibility into revenues across all sales channels.
• Merchants are seeking effective ways to engage with their end customers.

Tackling all of the above on your own is a tall order and, frankly, unnecessary. While you could spend time and resources building this functionality into your software, much can be accomplished with the help of your payment integration partner. Unfortunately, all too often, payment gateways fall short of their promises and do little more than provide basic electronic processing services.

Measure your current and future gateway providers against these 5 criteria.

1. Real choice of hardware and processors—Does your partner give you hundreds of options when it comes to selecting processors/acquirers and certified payment devices for card-present and -not-present applications, or are you forced to choose from a limited list?

2. Partner-centric—Does your gateway offer a single easy-to-integrate SDK, the option to pursue your own EMV Level 3 processor certification, unlimited integration support, and the ability to white label and self-brand the gateway pieces of your application?

3. Security-focused—Is your gateway committed to adhering to the most stringent security standards and best practices to safeguard you and your merchants? Does your gateway offer a PCI P2PE v2.0-certified solution? Does your gateway have a PCI PIN certification?

4. Broad OS support—Not every app being developed or supported today is on Android. Does your gateway provide flexibility by fully supporting Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android operating systems?

5. Omnichannel support—Can your gateway give you and your customers access to non-siloed data from card-present and -not-present transactions? Does your gateway offer a modular omnichannel payments solution that allows you to meet your customers at their levels of need?

Receiving high marks in all the above is rare, but possible with the right gateway. To learn why NMI is the last and only payment gateway you will ever need, download this whitepaper.