We will now outline the steps to become a payment provider.

First step. Build infrastructure.

You can host your gateway on a third-party server or prepare your own. The latter gives you enough power, but you need to maintain the data center and undergo an annual pCI audit. If you decide to host outside, I recommend considering AWS. They have a well-developed equipment base and provide solutions for various businesses.

Second step. Integrate with payment processors.

A payment processor is a company or financial institution that processes online transactions. It is either a bank or a payment system like Visa, Mastercard, Amex, etc. To integrate with the processor, you need to get their ApI documentation and follow the instructions. You will also need to develop an external ApI for your client. They'll use it to send payments (one-time or recurring) and receive feedback on payment status.

The third step. Develop CRM.

Customer relationship management systems are powerful tools for storing customer data, managing transactions, and controlling managers. It allows you to make intelligent predictions and avoid many mistakes. CRM is basically a huge customer base. As a payment provider, it will be a huge help in managing new and existing customers.

The fourth step. Implement tokenization.

Tokenization means putting credit card data on credit card data, not on the e-commerce store's servers. The purpose of tokenization is to avoid storing sensitive data during periodic charges. Therefore, the buyer's card number is replaced by a token for further use by the online store.

If you plan to run the internet payment gateway on the server, you must set up tokenization. The process includes preparing the hardware to encrypt the card data and the software to comply with pA-DSS rules. If you choose to host elsewhere, those troubles will be on the shoulders of the server provider.

Step 5. Get 3DS certificate from EMVCo.

EMV is the abbreviation of Europay+MasterCard+VISA. It is the international standard for chip bank card transactions. To get a certificate, you need to do the following.

Contact EMVCo to obtain an EMVCo product supplier registration number.

Register and sign a quote in the lab with access to the Open Lab 3DS test platform.

Wait for official approval of test results.

Received confirmation letter from EMVCo.

Contact the certification center for certification procedures.

Obtain certificates and licenses.

Sixth step. Apply for pCI.

This is a mandatory step if you want to process online payments. The pCIDSS standard aims to set 12 mandatory rules for the use of credit card software to reduce fraud. Additionally, it divides companies into four tiers based on transaction volume. In order to get approved, you should order a pCI audit. Note that this is an expensive affair and you should repeat it at least once a year.