# What is Payment Gateway?

What is Payment Gateway? A service for accepting payments. Stripe, PayPal, Tranzila, Cardcom. Fee: 1.4-3.5% plus a fixed amount.

## How it works in practice

The right gateway means more conversions and lower fees. A gateway that adds friction to checkout causes abandonment.

## Related metrics

- Merchant Account — receives the funds
- PCI DSS — the standard the gateway implements
- Chargeback — passes through the gateway
- Checkout UX — a gateway that adds steps causes abandonment

## Common misconception

'All gateways are the same.' Stripe is global. Tranzila/Cardcom serve Israel. PayPal offers trust. Shop Pay is Shopify's own.

## How to fix it

High abandonment? (1) how many steps does the gateway add? (2) is 3DS mandatory? (3) does it support Apple Pay / Google Pay?

## Real-world example

A clothing store switched from an old gateway to Stripe plus Shop Pay. Checkout went from 4 steps to 2. Abandonment dropped from 72% to 54%. $7,800 more per month.

## Where to start

Re-evaluate your gateway once a year.

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Category: Payments · From the [Jimmy OS KPI Glossary](https://jimmy-os.com/glossary/kpi.md) · Source page: https://jimmy-os.com/glossary/kpi/payment-gateway