Payment methods

📝 Note: The Payment Methods page is enabled by default for all new marketplaces, replacing the previous Payment Gateways page. To enable Payment Methods for an existing marketplace, contact your AppDirect technical representative.

The Payment Methods page lets a Marketplace Manager specify the payment methods that are accepted on the marketplace. Unless you are billing your customers completely off-platform, you must enable at least one payment method. These methods can include:

• Credit cards
• Bank accounts
• Alternative payment methods (payment methods that have been developed specifically for your marketplace)

To enable a method, you configure a connector that sends your customers' payment information to a payment gateway. This is a service provider that processes payments, and authorizes credit card or direct payments for online applications and other businesses. You must have your own merchant account with a gateway in order to use that gateway to process payments.

For each marketplace you can select up to one gateway to handle credit card payments, one gateway to handle bank transfers, and any number of alternative payment methods.

AppDirect offers existing support for several credit card and bank transfer gateways, which appear under the appropriate heading when you expand it. You can connect to one of these by supplying the information it requires to identify your merchant account. The exact information required depends on the specific gateway: typically it includes an account username and password, or a merchant key and merchant secret.

If you need to use a gateway that is not listed, AppDirect can create a custom connector which will let you add it as an alternative payment method. Consult your AppDirect technical representative to address your specific case.

After a gateway has been selected, it cannot be changed. However, you can add a new alternative method at any time as long as support for the new method is already in place.

Glossary of payment processing terms

Merchant — The seller of products and services. It is the organization that owns the AppDirect marketplace . To start accepting payments, the marketplace owner registers for a merchant account with a payment services provider (PSP).

Merchant account — An online funds account that a PSP offers and assigns to the merchant. After a sale, the funds are sent to the merchant account and the merchant services provider holds them until fund settlement completes (usually a few days). Then, the merchant services provider transfers the proceeds from the merchant account to the merchant's bank account.

Merchant services—The services that merchant service providers offer vary but often include the following:

• Merchant accounts
• Credit card authorization
• Settlement of funds
• Chargeback management and counter disputes

Payment services provider (PSP) — A company that offers merchant services.

Payment gateway — A payment gateway provides web APIs to route payment requests to the correct payment processors.

Payment processor — A service offered by merchant services providers. It enables credit card transactions by transmitting payment data between the parties involved. For example, the point of sale, the bank that issued the credit card, and the acquiring bank (the merchant's bank).

Settlement of Funds—The management and disbursal of funds between the parties involved in a transaction. Parties that can potentially be involved include the following:

• A merchant service provider
• An issuing bank (the bank that issued the card or provides the bank account to the purchaser)
• A credit card company
• An acquiring bank (the merchant's bank — it acquires the funds from the payment)