5 Most Popular Mobile App Payment Gateways For 2021

Friday, October 8th, 2021

The amount of consumers making purchases via their mobile phone seems to be growing at an alarming rate. According to Statista, in 2021, 73% of consumers made online purchases via their mobile phone. An equally revealing statistic showed that 1 out of 5 customers ultimately abandon their online purchases due to a “too long / complicated checkout process”, according to the Baymard Institute. 

Clearly, this is a wake-up call for retailers to up their mobile app game by including a payment gateway that offers a safe and seamless checkout experience. 

Mobile Payment Gateway Defined

It is via a mobile payment gateway that consumers can purchase anything through a mobile application. Essentially, it’s a mediator between the transaction that a customer wants to perform and the payment processor (or the financial institution). 

The payment gateway solution uses encryption to make certain that the processing of sensitive information, like a PIN number, is safe. Payment gateways take the burden off merchants’ shoulders so that they don’t need to keep this private information in their own self-keeping. 

How To Choose The Best Mobile Payment Gateway

Not all payment gateways on the market are going to be suitable for your business. Take the time to ask yourself these questions to find the perfect fit.

1. Who is your target audience?
2. Which payment methods do your mobile app customers prefer?
3. How much does it cost?
4. Is it customizable and scalable?
5. Does it come with security certificates?

These are great questions to keep in mind as you set out to find the best payment gateway. For now, let’s look at 5 of the most popular mobile app payment gateways that are worth considering for your business:

• Braintree

Considered one of the most “progressive” payment gateways on the market, Braintree takes traditional payments such as credit and debit cards. They also accept bitcoins. It supports platforms such as Magento, BigCommerce, Shopify, and more. Rates are standard at 2.9% after $50,000.

• PayPal

This twenty-year veteran online payment gateway provider is easy to integrate, convenient, and can process debit and credit cards. It charges the standard amount of 2.9% plus $.30 for local transactions and 3.9% plus a fixed fee for overseas transactions.

• Stripe

With billions of dollars worth of online transactions annually, Stripe gives you the flexibility to customize your payment process. APIs are available to create marketplaces, subscription services, and crowdfunding pages. It supports more than 100 currencies. For European cards and users, the fee runs at 1.4% plus 20p per transaction. 

• Dwolla

Dwolla has become well-known for its pricing policy. It offers three pricing quotes: Free, Predictable, and Custom. The Free option allows users to integrate with mobile apps via the Dwolla sandbox. The Predictable plan allows the users to pay a certain amount for every transaction. The Custom plan allows you to “pay as you grow.” The cost per transaction will increase as the business grows. 

• Authorize.net

Authorize.net offers a “dedicated” merchant account, however, if you already have one, the company offers the “Payment Gateway Only Plan”. It offers gateway software for both mobile apps and websites. It also includes built-in fraud detection, recurring billing, information management, and PCI DSS compliance using tokenization technologies. There is a monthly gateway fee of $25. If you don’t have a merchant account, you can register with one for $49. The fee is 2.9% + $.30 for every transaction. 

Closing Thoughts 

When it comes to choosing the best payment gateway for your mobile app, it would be best to consult with your developer in order to determine the right fit for your m-Commerce system. 

Always keep in mind what your customers are looking for in order to decrease abandoned carts. Research each payment gateway provider to determine which would be best for your business.