PrestaShop and high-risk payment gateways: a software spotlight
PrestaShop has been around for years and is a great choice for startup high-risk e-commerce merchants who need a scalable platform at a minimum cost. We wrote about PrestaShop years ago, but want to update you on some recent changes. When last we mentioned PrestaShop, they had announced a new plugin with NMI, one of our preferred payment gateways for high-risk e-commerce.
PrestaShop makes high-risk e-commerce easy
As of April 2018, they now have over 53 payment gateway options. In our opinion, the most notable is the addition of Authorize.Net, another of our preferred payment gateways. This and some other features we’ll discuss below make PrestaShop a great choice for anyone looking to create a scalable à la carte high-risk e-commerce website. Both NMI and Authorize.Net specialize in certain high-risk markets; there is some crossover but also some distinct differences.
Authorize.Net and NMI, through PrestaShop
With both NMI and Authorize.Net available through PrestaShop there are now more possibilities through a great platform that works with almost any budget. Whether you’re a vape or premium tobacco merchant, or FFL-licensed seller, setting up your payment gateway and getting your website started will often be fairly easy. That is, as long as you go through the proper setup and open a merchant account that is appropriate for your business and what you’re selling. Of course, you also need to consider all local, state and federal laws that apply to your products. Best of all, we can help guide you through the process at no additional cost to you as we are paid by providers, not website owners. Contact us using the form at the bottom of this page so that we can learn more about your business and how we can help.
Free open-source platform with premium add-ons
While PrestaShop as a platform is free to download, there is a fee for using most of their payment gateway options. In other words, it’s not completely free to operate a high-risk e-commerce website on PrestaShop. Considering the built-in benefits, however, you won’t be spending anywhere near as much on things like SEO, business operations, or order management. PrestaShop also includes a built-in marketing program that allows you to create discounts and special offers. Through this marketing program you can also access email marketing and connect social media channels to help you reach more potential customers. Additionally, there is a customer management/loyalty program as well as a built-in analytical program, so you can keep track of all relevant data and improve your website. There is even a full set of developer features in case you want to dive deep into the programming of your site. For a free e-commerce platform, PrestaShop is packed with useful free features. There are also a host of plugins available, should you wish to add new functionalities and features to your site.
High-risk payment gateways & PrestaShop
NMI recommends their plugin on PrestaShop as a good solution for those looking to utilize their gateway, and that says a lot. If you’ve been having trouble with integration or are just looking for a simple solution for integrating PrestaShop with NMI, this may be an answer. We have not had a chance to see it in action with more than a customer or two ourselves, but when NMI directly recommends a solution we tend to listen. With Authorize.Net in addition to the high-risk payment gateway choices, there is even more reason to consider using PrestaShop. Considering features like running multiple stores from one “back office,” you could set up both Authorize.Net and NMI for specific product stores to maximize your revenue stream and diversify your market base.
Getting started with high-risk sales on PrestaShop
It’s important to remember that to set up your payment gateway you will also need to set up a merchant account that is compatible with your industry type.
Going directly to a payment gateway provider can be a recipe for frustration, held funds, and closed accounts.
If you need some recommendations, we will help match you up with the right type of account for you and your products. After all, not setting up a proper merchant account will end up with your payment gateway unable to process transactions.
PrestaShop features and advantages for high-risk merchants
When last we wrote about PrestaShop, we discussed how great it was that they made sure that the checkout process stayed on the same website. These days this is a standard feature, but it shows that for a free platform PrestaShop is usually ahead of the curve. One thing they haven’t changed is their active interest in helping you with things like recovering abandoned carts, available email features to remind people of their potential purchases, and other smart ways of helping you turn those timid shoppers into returning customers.
If you have any other questions about integration with PrestaShop or other gateways, please let us know. We are happy to help in any way we can — even if you use another firm for your services and plan on continuing to do so, we’re glad to offer an outside opinion or give you additional information.