Best Mobile App Payment Gateway Solutions In 2023

Mobile apps have become a vital part of the online retail and service sector, allowing users to make purchases from their smartphones. To ensure a secure payment process, small and medium businesses require a reliable payment gateway for mobile apps. With an abundance of available technologies and payment processing apps, it can be difficult to determine which one is best suited for a particular business.

Our team of experienced professionals is dedicated to staying abreast of the latest trends in software development. Therefore, in this article, we will discuss how you can choose the most suitable payment gateway and provide you with a detailed comparison of the current leading solutions.

What Is A Payment Gateway For Mobile Apps?

A mobile payment gateway is a service that allows users to authorize and process online payments in apps and facilitates financial transactions between the merchant and customers. It secures transaction data by employing security protocols and SSL encryption. 

The entire procedure takes only a few seconds:

1. The customer adds items to their cart, which is linked to the payment gateway.
2. When a cardholder completes the checkout process, the payment gateway collects the entered payment data and sends a request to the card-issuing bank.
3. If everything goes as planned, the bank confirms the transaction, sends the notification to the mobile app, and the merchant receives their funds.

What To Consider Before Integrating A Payment Gateway For Mobile Application

In the ever-evolving world of digital transactions, finding the ideal mobile app payment gateway that is compliant with your business goals can be problematic. Here are the most important factors to assess when selecting the right payment gateway.

Types Of Merchant Accounts

A merchant account serves as a virtual bank account and makes it possible for you to collect payments online. It keeps the funds you receive from sales in your mobile app for 2–7 days before transferring them to your regular business bank account.

There are two types of merchant accounts available – dedicated and aggregated. A dedicated merchant account is devoted to an online business, offering tailored fees based on sales volume and type of transactions. This type of account is more expensive but gives you more control over financial operations.

An aggregated merchant account is capable of holding funds for multiple merchants, offering a convenient and efficient payment solution. Merchants are increasingly opting for aggregated merchant accounts due to their fast approval time (up to 24 hours) and less rigorous Know Your Customer (KYC) documentation requirements.

Types of Goods you Deal With

You should assess the capabilities of each app payment gateway to ensure it will be compatible with your product’s needs. For example, if your Android/iOS app requires social media integration, then you’ll want to look for a payment gateway that can support it. Similarly, if you’re offering monthly subscriptions, you’ll need to find a gateway that is equipped to handle recurring billing. Ultimately, what makes a payment gateway the perfect match for your business is how well its features align with your product’s and users’ needs.

Key Features of the Gateway

To ensure a smooth and successful integration, it is important to select a payment gateway that offers an extensive range of features. A payment gateway for mobile apps is not considered top-notch if it does not provide an extensive range of features. First of all, it should enable smooth integration with your app, minimising the risk of errors, provide multiple online payment methods and reporting tools, apply high-quality security measures and offer round-the-clock customer support. These features are essential for monitoring transactions and providing a positive user experience.

Security 

The payment gateway for mobile apps should implement all the innovative security measures in order to guarantee the protection of customers’ payment data. Therefore, the first piece of advice is to choose a PCI-compliant payment gateway. The PCI DSS is a set of security protocols that are designed to protect the data of users who make electronic payments. In addition, check if the payment processing system is equipped with SSL certificates, tokenisation, 3DS2 security, and multi-factor authentication.

Pricing

Each app payment gateway may impose different fees such as transaction fees, setup and cancellation charges, chargeback fees and monthly fees. Some payment gateways establish fixed monthly fees, whereas other ones impose charges for every single transaction. Make an informed choice based on the size of your app and your monthly transaction volume, as paying per transaction can become too expensive.

Served Zones

Research a provider’s supported countries and currencies prior to adopting a mobile app payment gateway. Knowing the served countries you might want to expand your business to and the payment methods that are used the most there will help you avoid a decrease in buyers. Additionally, when researching a payment gateway provider, make sure they do not charge high fees for currency conversion.

ALSO READ: Understanding the nature of Payment Gateway For Your Mobile App

Top 5 Mobile App Payment Gateway Providers

As you already know all the main criteria for choosing the best payment gateway for apps, you may now proceed to look into the available options. To save you the trouble, below, we outline the most influential online payment gateway providers.

Exactly

Exactly® is revolutionising the way businesses accept online mobile payments. The payment gateway provider enables online store owners to incorporate a secure and convenient checkout process into their mobile apps. This system provides a convenient solution for connecting to a wide range of content management systems. Its streamlined software development kits (SDKs) make it easy to develop applications on mobile platforms, such as iOS and Android. These SDKs simplify the development process, allowing for a more efficient workflow.

Pros:

• Flexibility in languages and payment methods
• Easy execution of mass payments
• Smart dunning
• Simple reconciliation process

Cons:

• Free account trial is not available
• exactly®
  • Payment gateway for mobile apps Connect

Zooz

Unlike some payment processing systems, Zooz only provides business owners with a payment gateway, but not a merchant account. The provider of payment gateway for mobile apps allows businesses to securely connect to a variety of (PSPs). These connections facilitate data extraction, aggregation, and optimisation of payment operations. Furthermore, Zooz’s solution is flexible, allowing businesses to adjust, scale up, and scale down payment stacks to meet their needs, regardless of size or business objectives.

Pros: 

• Seamless integration procedure
• Intuitive interface
• Tailored pricing
• Advanced tools for data analysis

Cons:

• No live chat customer support
• Paid plans are not subject to free trial

Dwolla

Dwolla provides businesses with a wide range of payment options, enabling them to invoice up to 2,000 customers. Customisable pay buttons, plug-ins for shopping carts, and recurring payments are available. Partners are offered comprehensive pre- and post-integration support. Furthermore, Dwolla charges quote-based transaction fees, allowing businesses to tailor the cost of payments to their specific requirements.

Pros: 

• Low transaction fees
• Configurable API and SDKs
• Compliance with PCI DSS standards and tokenisation
• No setup fees
• Dedicated support team

Cons:

• No credit transactions

SecurePay

A reliable mobile app payment gateway provider that allows businesses to link their existing merchant accounts. SecurePay’s portal is renowned for its detailed reporting capabilities that let them set up regular reports and view transaction history. It is compatible with all major bank cards, including Visa, MasterCard, and JCB, as well as PayPal, POLi and Apple Pay and phone payments. Upon registration, SecurePay provides a “sandbox version”, letting you freely test SecurePay on your mobile app.

Pros:

• Customisable card payment UI
• Easy set-up and integration
• Transparent fees
• Top-notch digital security
• Compliant with PCI DSS standard

Cons:

• Available only in Australia

Authorize.net

Authorize.net is able to provide small and medium businesses with a payment gateway and a merchant account. However, its Payment Gateway Only plan allows business owners to use their existing merchant accounts. The platform offers payment gateway software for mobile applications and websites, as well as built-in fraud detection to protect customers and merchants alike. The app payment gateway provider charges a $25 monthly fee and 2.9% + $0.30 for each transaction.

Pros:

• Dynamic currency conversion
• Recurring payments and subscription management tools
• Customised invoicing 
• Advanced security system
• Seamless integrations

Cons:

• Relatively high pricing
• Live chat is not available for customer support

Amazon Pay

With its competitive transaction rates and zero setup fees, Amazon Pay has become a popular choice for e-commerce merchants looking to integrate a payment gateway into their mobile applications. Customers can conveniently make payments on third-party websites using their existing Amazon Pay account or E-wallet without giving any credit/debit card details. Furthermore, Amazon Pay’s featured voice booking, simple steps for adopting the Amazon Pay widget, and faster and secured transactions help merchants reduce cart abandonment.

Pros:

• Multiple options for checkout optimisation
• A-to-Z Guarantee
• An extensive library of APIs and SDKs
• Effective marketing tools

Cons:

• No account free trial

Stripe

This mobile app payment gateway supports a huge variety of payment methods comprising major credit card processors, electronic wallets and local payment methods like Alipay, ACH, SOFORT banking, etc. Although Stripe does not have fixed monthly fees, it still charges a 2.9% fee for each transaction. The gateway provider also offers merchants SDKs for both Android and iOS apps. 

Pros:

• Custom APIs
• Detailed documentation
• IRC channel for developers
• Supported by Bigcommerce, WooCommerce and Shopify

Cons:

• Geo-restrictions
• Integration requires technical skills

PayPal

PayPal is widely recognised as one of the best mobile app payment gateways available on the market. It offers app payment services at a reasonable cost, though there may be a 1% fee for instant transactions. For business transactions, PayPal charges a rate of up to 2.9% with no setup or per-transaction fees, making it an ideal payment gateway for small businesses. Additionally, the ease of setting up an account and the ability to make worldwide transactions have increased PayPal’s user base.

Pros:

• Broad range of payment solutions 
• Cryptocurrency payment processing
• Quick access to money via PayPal Balance
• Reasonable fees
• Customised quotes

Cons:

• Extended response time from the customer care team
• Delayed transfer of funds due to dispute resolution

Braintree

As one of the leading providers of mobile payments, Braintree is a full-stack app payment gateway solution that has been adopted by many renowned companies in more than 40 countries. To ensure smooth integration with existing systems, Braintree offers a user-friendly SDK for Android and iOS. This facilitates the implementation process and reduces the cost of development for businesses. As the company grows, Braintree ensures that its payment solution remains reliable and secure.

Pros:

• Multiple online payment methods accepted 
• High-quality services for preventing fraud
• Subscription billing and recurring payments
• Premium tools for detailed reporting and disputes management

Cons:

• High transaction fees

EWAY

EWAY has released APIs to enable seamless integration of mobile payments into applications. APIs are available for both the iOS and Android platforms, allowing users to make payments with a single touch. Moreover, card information can be securely stored for returning users. EWAY provides world-class support throughout the integration and usage process, offering customers web-based, email and phone support.

Pros:

• Responsive customer support
• PCI DSS Level 1 certificate 
• Simple SDKs
• Multiple currencies accepted 

Cons:

• No free trial
• Hidden fees

How To Integrate The Solution Into a Mobile Application

Having selected a mobile app payment gateway for your business, you can move on to its integration. Below, we provide step-by-step instructions on integrating the chosen solution into your mobile app.

Decide On The Method You’d Like To Pursue

You have an array of payment gateway solutions to consider when deciding how to offer payment options to your customers. Review the list of the best payment gateways, evaluate the proposed payment types and determine which best meets your business needs.

Visit Gateway’s Official Website

Payment gateway provider will offer you a range of software development kits (SDKs) to facilitate integration with your existing app. These SDKs can be found on the provider’s website and are used by developers for mobile app integration.

Provide Developers With SDKs

Introduce the gateway’s SDK to your developers in order to check whether your application meets all the necessary technical requirements. Developers can then move forward with integrating the app payment gateway.

Contact The Provider To Discuss the Detail

Software Development Kits are a collection of tools and software products used to design applications. Many SDKs are platform-specific, enabling users to integrate secure payment mechanisms and data sharing. It is important to contact the provider and request all the SDK’s official documentation before beginning integration to avoid any errors.

Come Up With An Agreement 

One more significant step is to reach an agreement with the payment gateway provider of your choice. This is the point at which a contract will be signed, formalising the terms and conditions that both parties must abide by.

ALSO READ: Top 10 Trusted Mobile App Development Companies in UK

Exactly – Successful App Payment Gateway For Your Business

Exactly is a flexible all-in-one payment processing solution for your business. Use our app payment gateway to provide a flawless checkout experience for your customers and increase your conversion rates. We guarantee seamless integrations, the acceptance of numerous payment methods and access to premium tools for customising and managing your checkout pages.

As Exactly is PCI compliant and features 3D Secure 2 and tokenisation, you may rest assured that all your customers’ data is securely protected. Send your application today and prepare to take your online business to the next level with Exactly.

Every type of business that offers shopping in mobile applications needs a suitable payment solution to increase revenue and improve the customer experience. The search for a payment gateway for mobile apps that meets your needs can be a time-consuming process, and the integration of the payment system itself is just as difficult. Fortunately, you now know the steps to take when integrating a payment gateway into your app and the essential steps to ensure the safety and security of your customers. If you require more information or assistance, our experienced team is on hand to help you implement a payment gateway.