How Can a Payment API Help Your Business?

A payment API (Advanced Payment Integration), is an essential component of any payment gateway. It is part of the underlying framework that enables these software programs to communicate with the issuing and the acquiring banks when credit card transactions are tendered via an online business. If you are using a payment gateway, the API is a critical cog in the gear.
But how can using one actually benefit your business?
Studies have found that shoppers visiting online stores want a seamless shopping experience. This means that they come to visit your brand and stay with your brand throughout the entire checkout process.
Whereas with hosted payment gateways, the customers are redirected to standalone processing page (usually the checkout page of the processor), with a payment API and a non-hosted gateway, they stick around on your site to enjoy an internal checkout system.
Keeping customers on your site for as long as possible will only serve to further benefit your business. For one, it makes your business look more professional and is an important aspect to branding.
For two, you’ll probably save a bit of money on processing fees because non-hosted gateways tend to be more lucrative to your bottom line. This is not the only way that a payment API benefits your business, though.
Lower Operating Costs
As stated above, a payment API can benefit your bottom line. That’s because you’ll generally find lower rates for processing fees when you are using a non-hosted gateway (hosted gateways typically cost more). Plus you’ll have more wiggle room when it comes to acceptable transactions and goods or services being sold online in a card-not-present transaction scenario.
More Payment Options
Another consideration is the payment options you can offer. Customers want to use “their” preferred method, not yours. Some hosted gateways may have limitations on this, like not accepting Discover or Amex. But with a non-hosted gateway, you will be able to usually accept all forms of payment.
Doing so will open the doors to increased revenue from customers who may have abandoned their shopping carts upon realizing that their preferred payment method is not accepted by your shopping cart.
Enhanced Security
Sure hosted gateways are plenty secure. But non-hosted ones may add some extra elements that heighten security.
For instance, Cypher Pay by BaseCommerce adds another layer of point-of-encryption security to every transaction. The details of the credit or debit card are never stored on your servers. They are instead encrypted the moment that a customer enters them in. This protects you from liability and offers added peace of mind and security for the customer.
As you can see, there are a number of ways that a payment API can serve to benefit your business. Be sure that you take the time to fully research any solution or provider before you sign a contract. Make sure that they can meet your needs and that the fees being presented are reasonable before you sign on the dotted line.