How to choose the best Payment Gateway for your e-commerce store for Africans
Are you planning to start an e-commerce website? Have you gone through the research and are busy setting up your store? Have you thought of which payment gateway you will use if you are from Africa?
Starting a business is never an easy task. It is even more difficult when you find yourself in developing areas around the world such as Africa. If you have tried finding online opportunities then you know it is not as easy here as it is for people who live in the US or UK.
The opportunities are not easy to come by and even when you do come across them, the task of landing one is tough. This is because Africans are aggressive and we are on every online platform offering our services. Name one online platform with worldwide online opportunities and I’ll name one with hard-working Africans ready to seize the opportunities!
It is no different in the world of e-commerce. While giants like Amazon and Aliexpress are running the show, Africans also have their online stores these days. E-commerce is growing all across Africa and clients come from all around the globe to buy what we are selling.
One of the biggest challenges of starting an online store is setting up a payment method that can accept and process payments with ease. Most people who set up an online store usually use services like Shopify which are easy and cheap to set up. However, choosing an online gateway can be very difficult sometimes.
Most cart abandonment happens at the checkout page of e-commerce websites. Sometimes it is because the customer cannot use the available payment method or the process is just daunting! Once a customer is tired they will usually just leave and go to another website.
With all this in mind, today we will briefly touch on a few factors to consider when setting up your payment gateway for your store.
Factors to consider when choosing a payment gateway
Countries your clients come from
By knowing the countries your clients come from, it will help you to know which payment methods they like to use. Understanding the most convenient way your clients make online payments, will help you to choose a gateway that offers that service.
User reviews
What are other people saying about this gateway? User reviews will save you a lot of unnecessary disappointment and pain. Take your time to read through the reviews of other users and talk to others who have done e-commerce. This will help you to choose a payment gateway that is reliable and easy to use.
Costs of using the gatewayÂ
Every gateway has a cost to using it. Most tend to charge a processing fee on transactions. Some charge you per month or annually. Compare these charges as you select your gateway and check which one will work best for you.
Setting up the gatewayÂ
How easy is it to set up the gateway? Setting up a gateway should not be rocket science to do. If the process of setting up is complex it may be due to security matters which can be good, but also balance that against the period you have to launch your e-commerce store. PayPal is usually easy and direct to set up.
If the process is daunting then pick an alternative and work with it. Alternatively, you should be able to get customer support to help you set up with ease.
Customer support
Client support is very important. If your payment gateway does not offer reliable customer support you may have money lingering to reach your account or have a high rate of cart abandonment.
Therefore, in such instances, you may need to get in touch with customer support. So how available and helpful they are matters a lot. Remember having a gateway on your website is like having a business partner. Therefore, the more reliable they are the easier it is for you to focus on other aspects of your store.
As you choose your online payment gateway, take your time and do not rush the process. One of the major mistakes online startups make is not doing adequate research. Which leads to them making costly mistakes they could have avoided.Â
Therefore, as you start your e-commerce business, take time and make sure you have everything you need to make it a successful venture down before you launch. We wish you all the best with your online business.
