Every time customers want to purchase something online and click on the checkout button, they are directed to a payment page. Hosted payment pages are essential in delivering the seamless and safe payment experience that customers are expecting. However, you may have not heard of the term “hosted page” before. In this article, we discuss the meaning of hosted payment page, the fundamental components of a hosted payment page and its benefits for merchants.
A hosted payment page (HPP), also known as a hosted payment gateway, is an external web page that enables customers to add their card details and finalise a payment. Think of an ecommerce shop, for instance. The ecommerce business needs to deploy an external payment provider so it can process payments. Payment providers are the ones to offer a hosted payment page, so that merchants can allow their customers to safely complete the checkout process.
The difference between a hosted payment page and a regular payment page is that hosted pages are external, and not actually part of your website. Once customers click on the checkout button, they are instantly directed to a different page (the HPP), where they can insert their sensitive data and complete the payment. Customers’ sensitive data will not pass through your website at any point. All the information stays with the external provider and not with the merchant.
Higher security is one of the biggest advantages of having an hosted payment page. Compliance with PCI DSS is mandatory for any business that handles payment data, whether that is storage, transmission or processing. However, merchants pass much of the responsibility of data protection to the payment provider they use because they don’t actually deal with any sensitive data. Outsourcing data protection to a third-party takes immense pressure off the business. It also ensures customers that their data is safe, which is a big plus considering the increasing general concerns with online security.
Hosted payment pages can appear as a separate window or be embedded into a website. If they appear as a separate window, this requires the customer to move tabs, making the process a little less seamless. Either way, the set-up process is fairly simple and usually only involves copying and pasting some code on the website. It doesn’t take a whole IT team to integrate it, so it won’t drain your internal resources.
Most hosted payment pages are customisable, so you can keep your branding throughout the whole customer journey. Merchants are able to change the layout of the page, the images that show up and the colour schemes, amongst other visual items. Customisability also means that your third-party provider’s branding won’t be shown to customers. This way, your customers can have a more seamless payment experience from beginning to end. White-label solutions are great to establish your brand and maintain credibility- you can read more about it on our previous blog post.
Most payment providers offer their own hosted payment page. However, there can be substantial differences between the type of hosted payment page on offer. That is why it is important to consider factors such as how is the integration process, how customisable is the page and how seamless the payment process will be (i.e. is it user-friendly? Is it optimised for mobile usage?). Other factors to consider are the variety of payment methods offered by the provider and how many countries/currencies they support. The choice of hosted payment page will depend a lot on your business’s operations and needs.
Imburse is a cloud-based middleware connecting large enterprises to the payments ecosystem, regardless of their existing IT infrastructure. Through a single connection to Imburse, enterprises can collect or pay out using a variety of payment technologies and providers around the globe.
In a world where consumers payment preferences and technologies are ever-evolving, Imburse works with insurers to future-proof their payment requirements. Regardless of the business area, market, or requirements, Imburse will connect you to your choice of technology and provider.
Reach out to our team below should you want to discuss how Imburse can help you. Our team is happy to show you what our platform can do for your business and offer you a free demo.
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