Online Checkout
Payment Gateway for Online, In-Store, and Phone Orders
A payment gateway is the checkout technology that encrypts card data, routes the authorization request, and returns approve or decline in seconds. Zen Payments provides gateways for ecommerce, retail, and phone orders, with integrations for the platforms and terminals you already use.
You can pair the gateway with a merchant account in one application. If a mainstream processor has declined your category, we also offer high-risk merchant account setups backed by acquiring banks that will board the account.
The basics
What Is aPayment Gateway?
A payment gateway is the technology that authorizes and routes credit card transactions between a customer, a merchant, and the banks that process the payment.
Every time a customer pays with a card online, in store, or over the phone, a gateway handles the sale behind the scenes. It encrypts sensitive card data so it never travels in plain text, sends the authorization request through the processor and card network to the issuing bank, and returns an approve or decline to your checkout in seconds.
Gateway vs. payment processor: what is the difference?
The gateway is what your customer sees at checkout. It captures the card, encrypts the data, and sends the sale onward. The processor is the behind-the-scenes relationship with card networks and banks that actually authorizes the transaction and moves money. One is software. The other is a financial account.
You need both on every card sale. Zen Payments can supply the gateway and a merchant account together, so you are not piecing together two separate vendor relationships. Ecommerce merchants can also review ecommerce merchant accounts.
How it works
How a Payment GatewayWorks, Step by Step
- Customer submits payment. Card number, expiration, and CVV entered at checkout or keyed into a virtual terminal.
- Gateway encrypts and sends. Card data is encrypted and transmitted to the payment processor.
- Processor routes to the card network. Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or Amex forwards the request to the issuing bank.
- Bank approves or declines. The issuing bank verifies funds and fraud signals, then responds.
- Response returned to checkout. Approve or decline reaches your storefront in 1–3 seconds. Approved transactions batch to your merchant account and settle within 1–3 business days.
Who it's for
Who Needs aPayment Gateway?
If you sell online, you need a gateway to take cards at checkout, whether the cart is WooCommerce, Shopify, or something you built. Phone and mail orders use the same kind of setup through a virtual terminal, and so do invoices, subscriptions, and shops that sell both in person and online.
The gateway is the checkout technology. You still need a merchant account to settle the funds. Zen Payments provides both, so you apply once and go live on the same account whether you sell online, over the phone, or in store.
Get startedCapabilities
What Our GatewayIncludes
Encryption and PCI complianceCard data is encrypted in transit and tokenized at rest. Gateway use keeps you inside PCI scope instead of handling raw card numbers on your own servers.
Fraud toolsAVS, CVV, velocity rules, and optional 3-D Secure on card-not-present sales. See our fraud prevention guide for how those tools fit together.
Recurring billingTokenized card storage for subscriptions, memberships, and installment plans. No asking the customer to re-enter card data each cycle.
ReportingApprovals, declines, settlements, and refunds in one dashboard so accounting and operations can reconcile without exporting from multiple vendors.
Virtual terminalKey phone and mail orders in the same system as your online checkout with a virtual terminal.
Dispute toolsChargeback alerts and representment support. Details in our chargebacks guide.
Pricing
Pricing andFee Structure
Gateway pricing is disclosed before you go live. Most accounts use interchange-plus: the network's interchange, plus a clear processor markup, plus a small per-transaction fee (often around $0.10 to $0.30). A monthly gateway fee is typically in the $10 to $25 range depending on integration and volume. Chargebacks, when they happen, are billed per dispute. Some files also carry a reserve, which is disclosed in underwriting before you sign and is not universal.
Your rate is confirmed in the merchant agreement before you start processing. See our processing fees guide for a full breakdown of how interchange-plus pricing works.
Integrations
Ways to IntegrateYour Gateway
WooCommerce and ShopifyKeep your storefront. We handle authorization and routing. If the native checkout will not board your category, see our WooCommerce high-risk payment gateway and high-risk Shopify merchant account guides.
Authorize.netUse the Authorize.net interface and API your team already knows, backed by a Zen merchant account. Read how Authorize.net pairs with specialist processing.
API and custom checkoutCustom storefronts, mobile apps, and non-standard flows get API-based gateway access with technical support that goes beyond standard plugins.
Mobile payment solutionsCard readers and mobile terminals for in-person sales that connect to the same gateway account as your online checkout. See mobile payment solutions.
Specialized setups
High-RiskPayment Gateways
Some businesses cannot stay on Stripe, Square, PayPal, or Shopify Payments. A high-risk merchant account with a specialized payment gateway provides the same checkout technology, backed by underwriting and acquiring banks that will board the account.
A specialized setup is usually the right fit if a mainstream gateway has already terminated or declined you, if your product category gets extra scrutiny from networks or banks, if dispute volume is higher than a consumer payments app will tolerate, if you sell mostly on subscription or card-not-present, or if you have a prior closure or MATCH listing.
These setups typically include individual underwriting, multi-acquirer routing, and enhanced chargeback alerts. Pair them with a high-risk merchant account when you need both the gateway and the settling bank to understand your business model.
Ask about a specialized gateway
Already shut down?
If You Have Already BeenTerminated
A prior termination for chargebacks, industry type, or risk review may already be on your record, including MATCH. That does not automatically disqualify you. Zen reviews your current model and practices, not only your history.
Closures from Stripe, Square, PayPal, or a previous processor are common. Bring whatever you have from the old account: processing statements, the reason you were given, and a clear picture of how you sell today. Underwriting will look at that file and tell you whether a gateway and merchant account can be boarded, including a specialized setup if the last processor would not keep you.
Why Zen Payments
Why Merchants Choose OurPayment Gateway
Checkout That Fits How You Sell
Online carts, virtual terminal, and API access so you can take cards on the website, on the phone, or in a custom app without stitching together extra vendors.
Security Built Into the Sale
Encryption, tokenization, AVS/CVV, and optional 3-D Secure to protect card data and reduce fraud on card-not-present volume.
Gateway Plus Merchant Account
One application for the technology that captures the sale and the account that settles funds, with a team that will walk through rates, reserves, and go-live. Specialist underwriting is available when mainstream processors decline your category.
Integrations With the Stack You Already Use
WooCommerce, Shopify, Authorize.net, and API access so checkout stays on the storefront or app you already run. Most plugins go live quickly after credentials are configured.
Recurring Billing Without Re-Keying Cards
Tokenized card storage for subscriptions, memberships, and installment plans. Customers are not asked to re-enter card data each billing cycle.
Pricing You See Before You Sign
Interchange-plus markup, per-transaction fees, monthly gateway cost, and any reserve are written into the merchant agreement. You know the structure before the first sale runs.
Related solutions
Tools That WorkWith Your Gateway
Pair the gateway with the account that settles funds and the checkout tools you already use.
High-risk merchant account
Specialist banks for categories that mainstream processors decline. Same checkout, different underwriting.
Learn moreEcommerce merchant accounts
Card-not-present volume for online stores, settled on the same account as your gateway.
Learn moreShopping cart
Keep checkout on the storefront you already run, including Shopify and WooCommerce.
Learn moreVirtual terminal
Key phone and mail orders on the same account as your website checkout.
Learn moreACH
Bank transfers for invoices and subscriptions, processed alongside cards.
Learn moreMobile payment solutions
Card readers and mobile terminals that connect to the same gateway as your online checkout.
Learn more
Answers before you apply
Frequently Asked Questions
Still have questions? Contact our support team
Apply for a Payment Gateway
Tell us how you sell (online, phone, in store) and the platforms you use. We will match you with a gateway and merchant account, including a specialized setup if a mainstream processor will not board you. Call 877-715-4501 or fill out the form to get started.
sales@zenpayments.com
877-715-4501
