Planet, a global technology leader providing integrated software and payment services, has today announced the launch of a new Online Payment Gateway as part of its connected commerce platform.

The new Online Payment Gateway fully integrates the specialist digital payment capabilities of Datatrans, which Planet acquired in November 2021, with its global connected commerce platform. The new product brings together business software, integrated payments and revenue-generating services that put the customer experience first.

Consumer demand for rich, highly personalised experiences is transforming the hospitality and retail sectors, which places new demands on in-person, online and cross-channel payments. The new Online Payment Gateway provides merchants in both sectors with a full suite of integrated multi and omnichannel payment products for eCommerce shopping platforms or integration with in-person payment methods.

The Online Payment Gateway integrates the capability of Planet’s acquiring services so that merchants can deliver the ultimate customer experience across all channels when combined with other aspects of Planet’s connected commerce platform.

Planet streamlines the management of payment flows within a merchants’ business software and systems. Customers will now be able to operate complex unified commerce use cases, such as click and collect, buy in-store, ship to home, or buy online pick up in-store, order online exchange in-store, exchanged or refunded in-person, pay by secure link, and pre-authorise payments.

Merchants can offer customers multiple payment options, currency services, and split basket management. Currency conversion and multi-currency pricing give customers the option to use international cards or the option to pay in the local currency with a local payment method. Alternative payment options, such as buy-now-pay later, will lead to less cart abandonment as customers can be more flexible with payments.

The platform will initially be available in Europe and rolled-out across further regions later. It is fully compliant with local regulations and will also include security measures such as two-factor authentication.

Customers can make safe and secure payments thanks to tokenisation as Planet limits the amount of sensitive data merchant systems encounter. This process involves replacing sensitive information with unique identification symbols referred to as ‘tokens’ so that data can be stored without containing exploitable values. Automated fraud screening gives merchants the reassurance that customers are protected at each stage of the payment journey.

Discussing the announcement, Tim Goodwin, Chief Product & Technology Officer said: “We are making our merchants’ connected commerce journey seamless with the introduction of the Online Payment Gateway and the integration of Datatrans with Planet Merchant Services.

“By integrating our existing platforms into one unified solution, keeping track of payment flows will be easier for merchants. They will now be able to provide customers with multiple payment options and provide an omnichannel shopping experience, globally. Customers can choose the way they want to spend, and trust that their transactions are safe and secure.”

Planet completed the acquisition of Datatrans in November 2021, with the aim to extend its connected commerce experience offering.