Payment gateway
The connection between your checkout and the processor — where authorisation, tokenisation and reporting actually happen.
What the gateway is responsible for
People often use gateway and merchant account interchangeably, but they are two different things. The merchant account is where the money settles. The gateway is the software that carries the transaction to the processor, applies your fraud rules, stores tokens instead of card numbers, and gives you a record you can reconcile against. Choosing the wrong one usually shows up later as a reporting or integration problem, not a pricing one.
How the setup works for your account
Tokenisation
Card numbers are replaced with a token so your systems never store the real number.
Configurable fraud rules
Filter by country, velocity, AVS mismatch or amount thresholds.
API and plugin access
Integrate directly, or use a prebuilt connector for common platforms.
Consolidated reporting
One place to reconcile authorisations, captures, refunds and chargebacks.
Choosing a configuration
Match the platform
Some carts are effectively locked to a small set of gateways. This is worth checking before anything else.
Decide who holds the card data
A hosted field keeps card data out of your servers and lowers your PCI scope significantly.
Plan for recurring
If you will bill repeatedly, token storage and card-updater support matter more than checkout styling.
Common questions
Usually not. Gateways matter for card-not-present volume.
Often yes — commonly a monthly fee plus a small per-transaction fee, on top of processing costs. We show it as a separate line in any quote.
Yes, but stored tokens do not always transfer. Ask about token portability before you commit.
See what your processing should actually cost
Send a recent statement, or your monthly volume and average ticket. You get a written breakdown back — no commitment.