Most companies rely on third-party vendors to provide their payment gateway software, but isn’t it possible for a company to set up something of its own? While setting up your own payment gateway is a bit like reinventing the wheel since robust and full-featured solutions are available, it’s possible if you have adequate time and resources.
If you have a team of programmers at your disposal anyway, you may think it’s worth giving it a try. After all, building software is what these people do all day long, right? But there are complexities involved in setting up a payment gateway that go beyond programming.
Three Issues You Can’t Control
Here are three specific areas where your payment gateway project might get hung up because of circumstances beyond your control:
1. Building banking relationships. Relationships between key players in the banking industry and your company aren’t something that happen simply because you request integration. Banks can be very slow to deal with new integrations, perhaps because they realize how many existing gateways are in the marketplace. While you may have resigned yourself to waiting weeks or months for the banking integrations you need, you could wait years just to get some banks to turn their attention to your needs.
2. Dealing with government regulations. The financial industry in the United States is carefully controlled and highly regulated, and meeting government requirements is a hassle, to say the least. You’ll be subjected to the hassles of compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. Called PCI compliance, this process involved a complicated audit of your company to make sure fraud-prevention efforts are in place. Even when you’re doing most things right, meeting PCI compliance requirements can be difficult.
3. Working globally. If your payment gateway will accept payments from outside the United States, the challenges are amplified. There are additional banks to deal with, often in foreign languages. And there are additional governmental regulations you must understand and work within. Again, even if you follow the rules, you can get tangled up in bureaucratic processes and slow-response situations that can derail or delay your project indefinitely.
Nevertheless, some companies have succeeded in setting up their own payment gateways, and you may be able to succeed as well. But is this complicated and expensive process something to which your company wants to devote its time and resources? Or could you better serve your clients and your stakeholders by sticking to your primary business? It’s a decision you will have to make as you’re considering setting up a payment gateway.
Finding A Way To Move Forward
One alternative is to rely on a versatile commercial open source payment gateway solution that can meet your needs right out of the box. The UniPay gateway from United Thinkers is a great choice. And since its open source, your programmers can examine the code, alter it and enhance it as desired. Or you can let United Thinkers adjust the product to meet your specific needs.
If banking and governmental feet-dragging threaten your payment gateway plans, remember that UniPay from United Thinkers offers you an alternative. Why not contact us now to learn more about it?