Glossary / E-commerce & payments

Payment gateway

A payment gateway is the service that carries a customer's card or wallet payment from your checkout to the banking system, securely, and reports back success or failure. It handles the parts you must not build yourself — card data, fraud screening, 3-D Secure — so your system never touches raw card numbers. Choosing one is about fees, supported methods, payout timing, and how well its API fits your flow.