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E-Commerce & Product Sellingbeginner

Payment Gateway

Definition

The technology that securely processes credit and debit card payments between a customer's bank and a merchant's account, examples include Stripe, PayPal, and Square.

Why it matters

Your payment gateway determines which payment methods you can accept, your transaction fees, and how quickly funds reach your account. Choosing the wrong one can cost thousands in fees.

Example

A founder integrates Stripe as her payment gateway. She can now accept all major cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Buy Now Pay Later, globally, with a 1.4-1.7% fee per transaction.

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