Accept online payments securely and centralise your payment management with a payment gateway

Accepting online payments is a fundamental part of managing bookings. To do this securely, you need a technology that connects the customer with your business and the financial institutions involved in the transaction.

An online payment gateway allows you to process payments over the Internet using methods such as credit or debit cards and, depending on the provider, other payment methods.

It is the technology that enables payments to be processed securely over the Internet using cards and, depending on the provider, other payment methods.

It acts as an intermediary between the customer, the merchant, and the financial institutions, securely managing the transmission of transaction data and the authorisation request for the charge.

What will you learn in this article?

You will learn what an online payment gateway is, how it is involved in a transaction, and what features it can offer to manage the payments for your bookings.

Advantages

Processes online payments securely.

Centralises certain operations related to your charges.

Provides additional features such as authentication, tokenisation, or refunds.

Allows you to manage different payment needs from a specialised solution.

When should you use a payment gateway?

You should use a payment gateway when you need to charge your customers online via card or other methods supported by the provider.

It is also particularly useful when you want to incorporate additional features related to security or payment management, such as 3DS/SCA authentication, card tokenisation, recurring payments, or refunds. All payment gateways that can be integrated with Avantio offer these features.

Before you start

It is worth being clear on:

What payment methods you need to offer your customers.
What features the gateway you are going to use provides.
Which provider best suits your business needs.

Keep in mind that the available features may vary depending on the payment gateway.

How does a payment gateway work?

In simplified terms, the process is as follows:

The customer makes an online payment.
The gateway securely transmits the data needed to process the transaction.
Authorisation for the charge is requested from the relevant financial institutions.
The gateway returns the result of the transaction.

Expected outcome

The gateway allows the payment to be processed and communicates whether the transaction has been authorised or not, acting as an intermediary between the different parties involved in the transaction.

What other features can a payment gateway offer?

In addition to processing charges, some gateways may include features such as:

Card tokenisation, to manage payment data using secure identifiers.

3DS/SCA authentication, to strengthen the security of certain transactions.

Refunds, to return a charge in full or in part.

Recurring payments, to manage subsequent charges according to the available configuration.

Fraud protection tools (although this depends on the type of platform, they can be configured with stricter or more lenient settings).

The specific features will always depend on the provider.

Best practices

Review what features each provider includes before choosing a gateway.

Check what payment methods you need to offer based on your business model.

Evaluate the security features available for your online charges.

Periodically review whether the solution you are using continues to meet the needs of your operations.

Practical case

Challenge:

An agency needs to collect online payments for bookings made by its customers.

Analysis:

Directly managing the communication between the customer, the merchant, and the financial institutions requires specialised technology that allows the transaction to be processed securely.

Strategic decision:

The agency uses a payment gateway integrated into its operations to manage online charges.

Expected outcome:

Payments can be processed through the gateway, and the agency also has access to the additional features offered by the provider.

Payment gateways compatible with Avantio

Avantio can work with different payment gateways to manage online charges, which are:

Planet Payments
Stripe
Comercia Global Payments
SysPay
Mercado Pago
Tilopay
Ascent Payment Solutions
Redsys via Worldline
Axerve
PowerTranz
Amazon Payment Services

Availability and specific features may depend on the gateway used and the conditions of each provider.

Classification in Avantio

In Avantio we classify payment gateways into different levels, which are:

Elite partner: Natively integrated into Avantio Payments with no additional activation cost from Avantio. You will only need to cover the fees and charges set by the selected platform.

Premium partners: No additional activation cost from Avantio. You will only need to cover the fees and charges set by the selected platform.

Other partners: Activation of these integrations has costs associated with Avantio.

Elite partner	Premium partners	Other partners
Planet Payments	Stripe	Redsys via Worldline
	Comercia Global Payments	Axerve
	SysPay	PowerTranz
	Mercado Pago	Amazon Payment Services
	Tilopay
	Ascent Payment Solutions

Classification by market

USA and Canada	Latin America	Central America and the Caribbean	Europe	International
Ascent Payment Solutions *	Mercado Pago *	Tilopay	Planet Payments	Stripe
		PowerTranz	Comercia Global Payments	Amazon Payment Services *
			SysPay
			Redsys via Worldline
			Axerve - Italy only

* different countries, depending on provider availability.

Frequently asked questions

What is an online payment gateway?

It is the technology that enables payments to be processed securely over the Internet using cards and, depending on the provider, other payment methods.

What happens when a customer makes a payment?

The gateway securely transmits the transaction data, requests the corresponding authorisation, and returns the result of the transaction.

Is a payment gateway only used for collecting payments?

Not necessarily. Depending on the provider, it can also offer features such as card tokenisation, 3DS/SCA authentication, refunds, recurring payments, or fraud protection tools.

Do all gateways offer the same features?

No. The available features depend on each provider, so it is worth reviewing their characteristics before choosing the most suitable solution