Digitalization has completely transformed the way businesses operate, making online stores an indispensable sales channel, especially for merchants aiming to reach a broader customer base and expand their business, often beyond their country’s borders. Thorough preparation before launching an online store is crucial for establishing a solid foundation and ensuring a successful start in the online channel.
First and foremost, thoroughly research the market where you intend to operate. Understanding competition, customer needs, and trends will help shape your strategy. Then, create a business plan that encompasses goals, costs, marketing strategy, target audience, revenue and expense estimates. Choose a suitable platform for your online store and enlist professionals for design and development, keeping in mind that your web store should be attractive, functional, and user-optimized. Develop a customer support plan that enables quick responses to inquiries. Don’t forget that website optimization and marketing through search engines and social media require continuous investment and attention, but they can significantly contribute to the visibility and success of your online store.
To cater to customers, offer all or as many popular payment methods as possible in the market where you are selling. Here, card payments become essential, as they are the most prevalent method of online payment. To introduce card payments, connect your web shop to an Internet Payment Gateway (IPG) system. An IPG allows fast, easy, and most importantly, secure processing of card transactions. However, it requires investment, so it’s crucial to understand the factors you need to pay special attention to when selecting one. Let’s go through them step by step!
1. Security is unquestionable only when you have a PCI DSS Certificate
The IPG processes transactions, meaning it transmits and stores information about cards and their owners. The prerequisite for the safe performance of such a service is the possession of a PCI DSS Level 1 security certificate. Therefore, this certificate should be the first thing you pay attention to when choosing an IPG partner. Just imagine the reputational damage your web shop could suffer if there were a theft of card data. Not all IPGs are PCI DSS certified; some are only compliant, and that is not the same level of security.
2. Modularity allows you to pay only for what you truly use
Not all web shops require every feature offered by an IPG. The crucial aspect is the modularity of the IPG in terms of implementing functionalities that your web shop genuinely needs – this way, you pay for what you use, no more and no less. Therefore, the pricing model should be straightforward, without hidden costs. IPGs that develop their platform independently and are not dependent on others tend to be modular and flexible. Depending on market demands, they can respond more quickly and better adapt to your specific requirements.
3. Storing card data enhances the user experience for your customers
While every online shopper desires a swift conclusion to the purchasing process after selecting a product or service, the security aspect should never be overlooked. Frequent typing of personal and card information online increases the risk of misuse. This risk can be mitigated by contracting with a service provider certified with PCI DSS, offering the option to store card data securely in so-called wallets. This means that when using the same cards again, there’s no need to re-enter the data, as it is already stored. In such cases, a single click is sufficient to complete a purchase, with the potential inclusion of entering the CVC code and undergoing 3D Secure identity verification.
4. Customer support facilitates your operations
It is crucial for an IPG to provide customer support to merchants for the service it offers. You are likely to have many questions from the moment you initiate integration, as well as later in your operational activities – ranging from inquiries about how to perform certain tasks to assistance in understanding specific situations and advice on improvement. The IPG acts as a bridge between merchants and acquiring banks, and it is essential that it offers support for situations that merchants cannot resolve independently.
5. Support for new markets
If you want to sell more and expand, you need to enter new markets. Since there are differences in available payment methods and customer habits from one market to another, an IPG should be able to support them. When choosing an IPG partner, investigate the markets it operates in, how many banks it is connected to, whether it educates and advises its clients, tracks trends, and develops new functionalities. Imagine how much easier it is to enter a new market when you don’t have to worry about and allocate resources for a certain aspect of your business because your existing partner takes care of it for you.
I hope I’ve helped you realize the importance of choosing a reliable IPG partner. However, don’t forget about other elements of your web shop’s business mentioned at the beginning of the blog – they are all equally important for the success of online operations.
I guarantee that with CorvusPay, your transactions will safely soar through the Internet. So, join us in this journey, and you won’t regret it!
Edgar