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How to integrate a payment gateway into a mobile app

Last updated on March 26, 2025

Any company that wants to sell products or services through a mobile app will need a payment gateway. Payment gateways are responsible for securely transmitting sensitive cardholder data and are essential for facilitating online payments.  

Integrating a payment gateway into a mobile app can be straightforward or complex depending on how much manual, backend development is required. There are many modern, off-the-shelf payment gateways that seamlessly integrate into mobile apps and cater to the mobile user experience. However, for companies with complex or bespoke needs, integrating a payment gateway is more involved, requiring in-depth knowledge of app development, IT security, and compliance requirements.  

What is a payment gateway?

A payment gateway allows you to gather credit and debit card information from customers. It then securely transmits payment information for processing. Customers may easily pay for products and services with a credit or debit card thanks to gateway technology. Because clients engage with a gateway directly, it is commonly referred to as "front-end" software.

Factors to consider when choosing a mobile payment gateway 

1. Security, compliance, and hosting 

When researching a payment gateway, it’s crucial to ensure it has security measures in place to protect your customers’ sensitive data. These security features may include encryption, tokenisation, multi-factor authentication, 3D Secure, and real-time fraud detection, among others.  

Your security and compliance requirements will vary depending on who is hosting the payment gateway. There are three main options for payment gateway hosting.  

  • API-hosted gateways (Recommended for most merchants)  
    With API-hosted payment gateways, customers remain in the app without being redirected during checkout. However, it’s the payment gateway provider—not the merchant—that manages their sensitive card data. 

  • Self-hosted gateways 
    A self-hosted payment gateway is one the merchant hosts directly on their app or website. This option requires extensive backend development and places all security and compliance responsibilities on the merchant.   

  • Hosted gateways 
    With hosted payment gateways, customers are redirected to the payment gateway provider’s website during checkout. This disruption in the user experience can distract and deter customers from following through with their purchase, particularly mobile app users who have come to expect a quick, seamless checkout process. 

2. Fees and fee structure 

When selecting a mobile payment gateway, it’s essential to understand the costs and fee structure involved, as these can vary significantly from provider to provider. Payment gateway providers typically charge merchants in one of the following ways: 

  • Fixed monthly fees 

  • Transaction fee 

  • Combination of fixed monthly fees and transaction fees 

Card transaction fees are usually structured as a percentage of the payment amount, plus a small, fixed cost. For example, a gateway may charge 2.9% + £0.20 for every transaction. Other costs to consider are any once-off setup fees, refund fees, withdrawal fees, chargeback fees, PCI compliance fees, and account termination fees.  

Depending on the size of the company and the volume of transactions, merchants may also be able to negotiate fees with their payment gateway provider. Many gateways may offer reduced fees as the volume of card payments increases.  

3. Currencies and service area 

If you’re planning on processing international payments through your app, it’s important to choose a payment gateway that caters to international customers.  

Check to make sure that the payment gateway will work in each country where you plan to do business. It can also be worthwhile to choose a payment gateway that automatically translates into the local language and allows customers to pay in their own currency.  

4. Available payment methods and types 

Not all payment gateways can process all card types and all mobile wallets. Consider which payment methods you would like to offer your customers and make sure your gateway is set up to support them. For example, which card types do you want to accept (e.g. Visa, Mastercard, Discover, etc.)? Do you want to allow customers to pay with mobile wallets, like Apple Pay or Google Pay?  

If you need to process recurring payments, such as subscription products or services, or recurring charitable donations, then you must also ensure your gateway can facilitate this.  

5. Branding and customisation 

Many payment gateway providers recognise the importance of customising the checkout experience to match each merchant’s specific brand. Choose a payment gateway that allows you to add your company’s logo and use your brand colours and fonts.  

Customising the look and feel of your mobile app payment gateway isn’t just about aesthetics. It also reassures customers that they’re in a familiar and secure environment, overseen by your trusted brand. It also helps seamlessly transition customers into the checkout process without any distractions or confusion. All of this serves to increase conversion rates and, subsequently, revenue for your business.  

6. Mobile user experience 

A seamless checkout experience is of the utmost importance when it comes to mobile shoppers, who are often “on the go” and unwilling to go through a multi-step payment process. 

When choosing a payment gateway for a mobile app, merchants can look for gateways designed specifically for mobile apps and mobile users. This ensures the gateway interface is responsive to the user’s device and that all aspects of the checkout process take place within the app. Mobile users are also more likely to prefer paying with a mobile wallet, such as Apple Pay or Google Pay, so it’s worthwhile to choose a payment gateway that allows mobile wallet payments.  

7. Customer Service 

In order to offer your customers the best possible service, it’s worth choosing a payment gateway that provides merchants excellent customer service as well. When researching a payment gateway, look into the type of support and availability they provide merchants and their IT teams.  

Consider choosing a provider that offers the following types of support: 

  • Knowledge centre with helpful guides and documents  

  • Community forum where developers can ask other developers questions about integrating and managing the gateway 

  • Multiple ways of contacting the support team, including: 

  • Phone support 

  • Email support 

  • Live web chat 

  • 24/7 availability for troubleshooting crucial issues in real-time 

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