Payment Gateways
The invisible infrastructure connecting merchants to the payment ecosystem
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Payment gateways are the software layer that securely transmits payment data between merchants and banks. They encrypt card details, route transactions through the correct networks, detect fraud, ensure PCI compliance, and return authorization responses—all in under 2 seconds. Without gateways, every merchant would need direct connections to Visa, Mastercard, and thousands of banks.
⚡ The Critical Role
Gateways solve an impossible scaling problem: a small online store can't maintain relationships with 200+ card-issuing banks globally. The gateway acts as a single integration point, handling tokenization, encryption, network routing, fraud scoring, and compliance—letting merchants focus on selling instead of payment infrastructure.
Annual Volume
Global payment gateway transactions (2024)
Standard Fee
Plus $0.30 per transaction for most SMBs
Processing Time
From checkout to authorization response
Uptime SLA
Enterprise gateways guarantee availability
🎯 Core Functions
Tokenization & Encryption
Replace card numbers with tokens, encrypt sensitive data end-to-end
Network Routing
Identify card type, select optimal network, route to correct processor
Fraud Detection
Real-time risk scoring using ML models, velocity checks, device fingerprinting
PCI Compliance
Handle card data securely so merchants don't need Level 1 PCI certification
💡 Why It Matters
• Abstraction: One API call replaces 200+ bank integrations
• Security: Gateways handle PCI compliance, reducing merchant liability
• Speed: Pre-negotiated processor relationships enable fast onboarding
• Global reach: Accept payments worldwide without local bank accounts