Payment Gateway for Mobile Apps: Selection, Integration, Tips, and More

Every time online consumers book hotel rooms, buy apparel, or book taxis via a mobile app, they transact through a payment gateway – a smart product that enables online payment transactions.

You would be surprised to know that there were 150 million online shoppers in India in 2020, which are expected to reach the bar of 220 million by 2025, says IBEF.

More people are engaged with activities on their mobile devices than ever before, making mobile shopping another buzzword in the country. It also accounts for a major proportion of the e-commerce industry in India. As per stats given in the Indian E-Commerce Industry Report, the order volumes have increased by 36% in Q4-2020.

The massive shift to online shopping in recent years has pushed many business owners to sell products/services online via mobile apps.

If you have plans to launch your business app this year, it is critical to have a mobile app payment gateway that runs smoothly on your app. You might want to know how to select the right payment gateway.

Let’s start with the basics of selecting a payment gateway for your mobile app.

Payment gateway for a website or an app – What’s the difference?

Simply put, a payment gateway makes an online payment transaction possible between a buyer and a seller. Many individuals think they would need a different payment gateway for apps and websites, which is not true. You can go for a renowned payment gateway that can be used for both websites and apps.

The actual difference between a payment gateway for an app or website lies in the integration process. For websites, the payment gateway integration is done via APIs, e-commerce plugins or custom checkout solutions.

On the other hand, you need Software Development Kits (SDKs) to integrate a payment gateway to your mobile application. With some payment solutions, you can even integrate a payment gateway without SDK-based integration by invoking the payment app.

While a few payment gateway providers only provide plug-ins and custom checkout solutions to businesses, others also offer SDKs along with these solutions. It is this integration support that makes a lot of difference.

How does a mobile app payment gateway work?

A payment gateway on an app functions almost similarly as a payment gateway on a website. The whole process takes just a few seconds and can be described in the following pointers:

• Interested online buyers add products/services to the cart while browsing through a mobile application
• They then enter the payment details like card information, which are then taken to the payment gateway
• The integrated payment gateway authenticates this information and passes the request to the acquiring bank
• In the next step, payment processors like VISA and MasterCard validate the request
• Once the payment transaction is approved, the merchant/online seller receives an auth code from the acquiring bank
• The buyer’s account is then debited by the amount of purchase, while the seller gets it in its merchant account

Payment gateway integration in an app – the process explained

The best way to answer the question of how to integrate a payment gateway to a mobile application is to focus on two prime aspects – technical and business-oriented.

The app development team will take care of the technical aspects of payment gateway integration while you should work on addressing the business-related impact. In general, the mobile app payment gateway integration process is based on the following steps:

• Determining payment methods to be supported via your business application
• Comparing different payment gateways in terms of integration steps and other important factors like success rate, pricing, international payments support, to name a few
• Going through the SDKs provided by the chosen payment solution providers
• Signing an agreement with the chosen payment solution provider covering different conditions, plans, fees, etc.

Tips to consider while integrating a payment gateway to your mobile app

• Understand the role of PCI-DSS compliance

Any business that handles the financial data of its customers must be PCI-DSS compliant. These security standards focus on protecting the financial information of consumers and maintaining a secure environment to accept, process, and store it.

As a business owner, you must know if the onus of PCI-DSS compliance lies on you or the payment gateway provider you select.

Recommended Read: What is PCI DSS Compliance?

• Check payment gateway transaction costs

Most payment gateways do not ask for any fee to give access to the SDKs, most of which are open-source. However, their income is based on the transaction fees levied after the integration process is completed.

Hence, you must look at different payment gateway charges to understand their financial implication on your business.

• Check the supported app frameworks

Once you have decided on a payment gateway, you must look into the detailed documentation to find out more about the supported app frameworks. These details are clear and straightforward in most cases, which will help you make the right decision.

What Paytm Payment Gateway has in store for your app?

Being a renowned payments solution provider in India, Paytm Payment Gateway is there to empower your business app with its robust SDKs. It is easy to integrate and allows instant activation to help you quickly start selling online via your app.

Paytm Payment Gateway comes with two types of SDKs to support different business needs. Let’s dig deeper into their details to let you understand how to choose between the two.

• Paytm All-In-One SDK

If you are keen on ensuring a high payment success rate and complete security, you need nothing else but Paytm All-In-One SDK.

It provides a secure payment experience to the buyers on a business app. On the technical front, this is done by invoking the Paytm app to complete the order. Many features make Paytm All-In-One SDK the go-to choice for different types of online businesses.

• No need for OTP-based linking of accounts if a user is already logged into the Paytm app
• No redirection to payment page (if the Paytm app is already installed on the consumer’s device) for a simplified shopping experience
• Quick access to saved payment sources
• Industry-high success rate backed by direct bank integrations and intelligent routing
• Support for both native and hybrid apps
• Flexibility to present one or more payment sources to the consumers on the Paytm app

How can you integrate Paytm All-In-One SDK into your app?

In technical terms, Paytm All-In-One SDK integration is supported for both native and hybrid apps. However, there is a slight difference in the integration process in each case.

• Paytm All-In-One SDK integration in native apps is done using SDK or non-SDK based integration (detailed below)
• For hybrid apps, you can use relevant bridges available to integrate this payment solution

• Paytm Custom UI SDK

Paytm Custom UI SDK is meant for businesses that require a custom UI or checkout page for their specific requirements. You can go for it if you want to develop a custom checkout experience for customers.

Post integration, this SDK performs payment transactions via Paytm app and will benefit your business with a high success rate and reduced transaction time.

The primary features of Paytm Custom UI SDK include:

• Quick access to saved payment instruments in the Paytm app
• Linking of Paytm account without OTP
• One-click payment support (Visa)
• Support for all UPI solutions
• Support for bank and EMI offers

Integration methods for Paytm Custom UI SDK

Paytm Custom UI SDK supports apps built on both hybrid and native frameworks.

Key takeaways

Finding the right payment gateway for apps does take time and effort, and so does its integration process. Besides technical aspects, you must take into account the business needs and intent. Current requirements, growth plans, and security compliance will help simplify the payment gateway selection process.

Do you already have an app that is almost ready to go to the market?

Integrate Paytm Payment Gateway today!