Online payment gateway

The payment gateway is a link between the Payment Processor and your Web site (or the Web site your goods are hosted on). The payment gateway allows your web site to securely accept credit cards in real time. This means your account will be credited within seconds after a customer makes a purchase from your site.

When your customer makes an online purchase, the information from your Web site must be sent through a payment gateway before an authorization is obtained. After the authorization is acquired, the Payment Processor must transfer any funds through the payment gateway.

The shopping cart collects items from your customer, adds up the item’s costs, calculates taxes and shipping costs, and provides a total amount to the customer. A payment gateway’s function is to collect the purchaser’s name, address, credit card number, and expiration date.

The payment gateway securely sends this information and verifies that the purchaser has enough funds in their account to pay for products ordered and that those funds may be deposited into the merchant’s account.

Make sure you understand fully the product/service you are purchasing.