To successfully operate an online business, you need to setup methods of accepting payments from players. Choosing the best payment gateway is therefore very important. So what provider is best for you?
Below are some of the important criteria for choosing a payment processor for your online casino. Please note that these criteria apply to even the most basic businesses and not just for online gaming. Also, gaming companies are considered high risk and therefore different criteria apply for those seeking payment solutions for online gaming.
Credibility: Verify the company’s credibility before short listing the company for any services. You should google about the company name and use words like fraud, complaints, rip-off etc., to see if the company has been reported by anyone for unresolved complaints, unethical practices, withholding money or any other problems.
Fraud Detection: Make sure that the service provider has adequate fraud protection mechanisms in place. Ask what risk minimization features are provided in the service and how they affect you in case of fraud detection.
Security: The service provider should demonstrate adequate measures for data protection, transaction protection and high strength encryption for all communication with their servers. Enquire about the level of PCI (The Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standard) compliance that is provided. All payment gateway providers and payment processors require full PCI compliance. More information about PCI can be found at https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/
Easy Integration: If the payment gateway requires extremely complicated implementation procedures, you may find the going very though. Unnecessarily complicated procedures could also cause error on your transactions and hinder user experience causing loss of businesses. Check the technologies they support. Also check if they process the cards in real time or asynchronously. If a payment gateway insists on certain developers or consultants doing the integration, you should be very wary of such providers.
Costs: Payment gateways charge money per transaction. Make sure you have all associated costs covered in your agreement and that there are no hidden costs involved. After all it is all your very hard earned money. Make sure that the contract or proposal states clearly that all possible costs are listed and that it is a finalist. Under no circumstances should there be any costs that are vague or left to the discretion of the payment gateway company. Generally costs will be associated under the following heading or categories:
- Setup fees
- Transaction fee
- Recurring monthly account fees
- Charge back fees
- Failed transaction fees
- Any fees for providing reports or other incidental services .
- Account closure fees
- Currency conversion charges
- Support Costs (Unlimited, per call, per request etc.)
Technical support: Check the level of support that the company provides and the time it takes for them to answer sales questions. Tardy pre-sales response times mean you are going to have a nightmare in dealing with the company. Make sure that you have all the contact details, including a direct phone number answered by humans. Companies that provide online, chat or IVR (Interactive Voice Response) based support only should set off red flags.
Multi-Currency Support: Make sure that they support all the currencies in which you wish to accept payments. If your currency is not listed, you should NOT consider them as a provider for your business. Be sure to check conversion rates as well and if there are any charges applicable for the same. Most commonly, you would look for USD ($), GBP(£) and EURO(€) plus your local currency.