Today nothing is more convenient than buying anything anywhere with a click. If you have a smartphone, everything is under your control. Mobile payments have taken centre stage among all activities.

With a simple and easy way to make payments, the facility gives users a pleasing experience and saves time. Moreover, with the eCommerce industry booming, mobile payment gateways give every platform a competitive edge.

Statistics show that a large chunk of online sales happens through mobiles. Drum’s 2019 eCommerce Year in Review states that 53% of the sales and 63% of traffic to retailers are routed through phones. In another survey by OuterBox, approximately 79% of the mobile users have made one payment online through their mobile phones in the last six months. 

Regardless of whether you are selling a product or service, customers are sure to make in-app transactions. Statista suggests that mCommerce in eCommerce touched a staggering 72.9% in 2021 as compared to 58.9% in 2017.

This article will talk about integrating payment gateway in iOS and Android apps. 

What is Payment Gateway and Why is Integration Necessary?

Payment gateways are a bridge between online customers and financial institutions in simple language. If you were to make an in-app purchase from your iOS or Android phone, you would have to do it through a payment gateway. 

Any form of fund movement is a complex network and can create risks associated with security. It is just a mobile money transaction that takes a couple of minutes for an end-user, but a significant chunk of this activity is concealed behind the hood. 

In any online transaction, the bank is responsible for the transaction and subsequent data safety. But how do you provide this information to the bank? How do you ensure that the account belongs to the concerned customer and has a sufficient balance in the account?

What about storing a customer’s mobile payment details? What if all the transaction details fall into the wrong hands? Who would be responsible for it? Unfortunately, mobile app developers and business owners cannot be held responsible. 

If you were to do everything on your own, you as a business would have to pass a complicated licensing system of PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) that can take months to process and is time-consuming. A payment gateway is one comprehensive system that does everything for you.

In other words, a payment gateway performs the task of processing electronic transactions. It acts as an online equivalent of a terminal that is also used for payment authorization. The merit of a payment gateway integration in the iOS or Android app is that the users give their personal information to the payment gateway system and not to the individual retailers. 

Additionally, the retailer would not have to spend money on hardware and software development or be concerned about the customer’s security breach. 

Hence, mobile app payment gateway takes responsibility for immediately transferring data to the bank, tracking the transaction status, and providing transaction safety.

Online Payment Workflow in iOS and Android Apps

• Users visit an online eCommerce site and open a cart to purchase the items they choose.
• They pay online with their debit or credit card on the payment page to purchase.
• The payment details are transferred to the payment gateway. The details are encrypted and passed on to the payment processor. (Payment processor is a mediator that takes the information, initiates the transaction, and gets feedback from an acquiring bank. Example – Mastercard or Visa).
• The payment processor verifies the data and transmits the user details to the bank.
• This payment request is then verified by the financial institution in seconds.
• The payment processor sends the feedback received from the financial institution to the payment gateway.
• Once approval is received, the sum is withdrawn from the user’s card and transferred to the merchant’s account. The entire payment process is completed in a matter of minutes. 

Factors to Keep in Mind When Integrating Payment Gateway in iOS and Android Apps

While we are talking about the importance of integrating payment gateway in Android and iOS apps, we should consider the following factors:

1. The Target Market

When deciding on a mobile payment gateway, you must consider the market factor. Not all markets may support a particular payment gateway. You should integrate a gateway that supports the demography from where most of your target mobile users hail.

If your business is global, always opt for an international payment gateway that supports multi-currency transactions. 

2. The Products You Sell

The products you sell through the mobile eCommerce apps are another critical factor when integrating payment gateway in iOS and Android apps. 

If you are selling digital content through your mobile app, you will have to route your products through App Store or Play Store for any in-app purchase. You cannot integrate any payment gateway since all the transactions are routed through the user’s Gmail or Apple ID.  

However, if you are selling physical goods, it is best to integrate a third-party mobile payment gateway. You can choose a mobile payment gateway to integrate into your mobile app through a specialized API. Also, check the full features of the gateway that you wish to integrate before settling for it.

3. PCI-DSS Compliance and Fraud Protection

Financial fraud is synonymous with the internet these days. It has become essential to integrate such a payment gateway in your mobile app with a sound protection system to prevent fraudulent transactions. At the same time, the payment gateway should also comply with all the security standards necessary.

By compliance, we mean PCI-DSS compliance. Getting a PCI-DSS compliant certificate for your mobile app may take a lot of time and incur a substantial expense. Hence, we always suggest that integrating a PCI-DSS compliant payment gateway is an easier route. It can safely store your customer information, including banking data. Moreover, the gateway can securely handle in-app payment processing on its server.

4. Payment Methods Preferred by Mobile App User

Different payment gateways provide different payment methods for the customers. You need to select the payment gateway that best suits your customers. Ideally, one should integrate such gateways with multiple payment methods like debit cards, credit cards, wallets, UPI, EMI, and more. This gives customers the flexibility to pay the way they want.

5. Features and Pricing

This is an essential factor from the seller’s point of view. While integrating a payment gateway in your Android or iOS app, you need to know the full features of the payment gateway. This includes the kind of bank account you would have to provide for payment settlements. 

The most important factor is the pricing of the payment gateway. It should not be an exorbitant price since it can heavily pinch your pocket if you are a medium or small business. MDR (Merchant Discount Rate) is the transactional rate a gateway service provider charges for providing online payments via different payment methods.

6. The Gateway Interface

UI and UX are critical to giving your customers a great user experience. Ensure that the payment gateway integration in your Android or iOS app is customizable and flows with your brand and app. 

7. Extra Features

Finally, since the competition is enormous in the payment gateway market, seek a service that gives you extra benefits at a similar cost, like a bulk payment facility, real-time settlements, refunds, recurring payments, etc.

Final Thoughts

If you wish to conduct business through your iOS or Android mobile app, it is vital to integrate a payment gateway system. It gives you competitive precedence over others since you will give your customers an automated online money transfer facility that would take minutes to settle instead of days. Moreover, the customers would not have to share their personal details and benefit from secured transactions.

Also Read:3 Types Of Payment Gateway Integration In SAP Hybris