Accepting Alternative Payment Methods
As the global payment landscape evolves, offering alternative payment methods to your customers has become increasingly important. These methods can include a wide range of localized payment options tailored to meet the unique preferences of your end-users, such as digital wallets, online bank transfers, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), and more.
In this guide, we will walk you through the various aspects of incorporating alternative payment methods (APMs) into your application using ProcessOut.
ProcessOut offers two flows for managing alternative payment methods: Redirect and Native. Each of these flows has its own set of advantages and use cases, allowing you to adapt the payment experience to your needs.
Alternative Payments Flows
Payment methods can vary significantly based on factors such as location, industry, and customer demographics. Some will require your customers to complete their transactions on a third-party payment provider’s website, while others seek a fully integrated, in-app payment experience. To support these needs, ProcessOut offers two payment flows:
- Redirect Flow: This method involves redirecting your customers to a third-party payment provider's website to complete their payment. It is commonly used for web-based applications.
- Native Flow: In this approach, the payment process occurs entirely within your application, providing a seamless and integrated user experience. The Native flow is suitable for both web and mobile applications.
By offering both Redirect and Native payment flows, you can maximize payment method coverage, ensuring that your customers have access to their preferred payment options. This flexibility allows you to cater to a broader audience and increase your conversion rate.
Integration Methods
ProcessOut offers two integration methods to implement alternative payment methods effectively:
- Client SDKs: Our client Software Development Kits (SDKs) are designed to simplify and streamline the integration process. We provide client SDKs for both web and mobile platforms, making it easier for you to add alternative payment methods to your application and supporting both possible flows described above.
- Server to Server: We recommend this method for merchants seeking greater control and customization over the payment process, or clients interested in avoiding a frontend SDK requirement. This method allows you to manage API calls to ProcessOut entirely on your server, offering flexibility and advanced customization options.
Comparison: Client SDKs vs Server to Server
To help you make an informed decision, we’ve listed the pros and cons of using client SDKs versus the Server to Server integration method.
| Client SDKs | Server to Server | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosted Payment Page | Embedded Components | Hosted Payment Page | Embedded Components | |
| Redirect Flow |  Hosted by providers |
 |
Hosted by providers |
|
| Native Flow | Hosted by ProcessOut |
|
Hosted by ProcessOut |
|
| Customization |  Low |
 Medium |
Low |
 Very high |
| Effort to integrate |  Very low |
Low |
Very low |
 High |
Next steps
We advise you to follow the prerequisites documentation to start integrating our APIs!
Updated 4 months ago