How can you design secure Payment Systems that don't compromise user experience?

Utilize biometric authentication methods such as fingerprint or facial recognition for secure yet convenient user verification to offer a high level of security without requiring users to remember complex passwords.

Every user has specific needs and criteria while making online payments. The consumer behavior in the third world will vary from that of the first world when it comes to online payments. In every market, the customers have different requirements. Some might use payment gateways for BNPL, while others will prefer credit card payments or wallet payments. Some will doubt sharing their payment info and suspect a fraud or data breach, etc. To understand the demographics, it is essential to discuss with merchants their customer's preferred mode of payment, survey companies to analyze the pain points of users, etc.

After finding out the pain points of the end-users, it is essential to address them in your payment system. It is important to understand in this regard that one solution for all can't work. Every user has a preferred payment method. So, you need to offer the relevant and local payment methods to the customers to choose from. Offer all payment methods available and let customers choose to pay from. Similarly from a business and technical points of view, start with the payment methods which are easier to integrate and are of strategic importance from business point of view.

Integrate real-time fraud detection mechanisms that operate in the background to allow for proactive identification of suspicious activities without disrupting the user's payment experience.

Prioritize responsive design for mobile payment systems, ensuring that the user experience remains seamless across various devices to Optimize the payment process for mobile users without compromising security.

Security should be one of the most important factors in your payment system. It will add to customer's confidence in your payment gateway as their data will be secured and encrypted even in case of a data breach. First, the payment system should be PCI DSS compliant. Second, the implementation of security should start with coding and development practices with validation and sanitization. Third, add TLS/SSL for encryptind data in transit, firewall, and SEIM to monitor traffic and security events, rate-limiting to counter DDoS. Fourth, standardized IAM practices with the least privilege principle will detect unauthorized access and rotate keys, etc. Fifth, the API should be authenticated with keys/OAuth 2.0 & RBAC and encrypt the PII.

If customers and merchants find it difficult to use the payment system, then it is virtually doomed to fail. Both admin panels and payment pages need to be optimized from a UI/UX perspective. The following points can be considered: 1. Simple and clear UI components such as input fields, pop-ups, message notifications, buttons etc. 2. No element layout shift. 3. The messages should be clear to avoid any confusion. 4. Implement multiple versions, get feedback, and do A/B testing. 5. The components must be consistent and follow the same theme and UI.

By now the product is ready and optimized for usage. However, to build trust of users in your payment gateway you need to do some extra actions. 1. Add relevant certification links such as PCI DSS, etc on your website. It is also worth mentioning being PCI-DSS certified and relevant logos of certifications and payment networks on the payment page to build the trust of end users. 2. Gather testimonials and reviews from existing customers and add them to your website/payment page. 3. Add logos of merchants/brands or even integrated banks on the payment page to make it look legit. 4. You can also map the brand's domain on the page to build further trust in customers. 5. Also mention the already connected brands to signal credibility.

Till now, everything is perfect. The payment gateway is as per the customer's requirements, secure, and signally credible to the customers. Now tell users about the wonderful features. On the website, you need to add: 1. Guides, documents, blogs, and FAQs on the website 2. Explaining flow for the users to perform various actions 3. Customer support chatbot with the knowledge base 4. Perform proper onboarding and share the essential documentation 5. Adding onboarding tools such as tooltips and videos to the website or admin panel will ensure each user knows about the steps to using the product. 6. Integrate communication channels for users to connect with your customer support.