How to accept cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay on your website

Accepting cards on your website no longer requires a bank contract or a terminal. A payment gateway processes the card and deposits the money into your account. You just connect your site to the gateway.

What you need before you start

• A gateway account in your business's name. They'll ask for ID, tax information and a bank account for payouts.
• Products or services with clear prices, plus your shipping, exchange and refund policy.
• A site with HTTPS (the padlock in the browser). It's standard today.

Stripe: card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and OXXO on one checkout page

Stripe processes credit and debit cards and, on the same checkout page, shows Apple Pay on iPhone and Google Pay on Android: your customer pays with their fingerprint or face, without typing their card. It also accepts cash payments at OXXO (Mexico) and handles subscriptions with automatic billing, with a portal where customers change their card or cancel on their own.

Mercado Pago

Well known among Latin American shoppers and offers interest-free installments. A good second option if many of your customers already have an account.

Both charge a fee per sale, and their rates change over time. Before choosing, check each one's current pricing and run the numbers with your average ticket.

How your customers' data is protected

• The card never touches your site. Set up properly, the customer types their card on the gateway's secure page. Neither you nor your developer ever sees it.
• Gateway keys are secret. They live on the server, never in the code the browser sees, and never in a chat.
• The account is yours. If someone else opens it in their name, the money and control stay with them. Insist that it's created under your company's name.
• Confirmation comes from the gateway. An order is marked as paid only when the gateway confirms it to the server, not because the customer landed on the “thank you” page.

What's best to start with?

Stripe, because a single account accepts card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and OXXO, and handles subscriptions. If your customers ask for it, Mercado Pago can be added.

At PX Digital Studio the gateway is available from the Pro Plan and included in the Premium Plan, always in an account under your company's name.