One time checkout
A customer chooses the product, enters payment information, and completes a single purchase through the online checkout.
Online Stores
The storefront may be fine.
The storefront may be fine.
The payment flow may not be.
Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and custom storefronts can sit on top of very different gateways, processors, fraud tools, subscriptions, and checkout flows.
We start by mapping what the store already uses and where payments are actually breaking down before recommending anything new.
How the money comes in
Not every online payment
Not every online payment
happens the same way.
Some customers buy once. Others return, subscribe, or pay from an invoice instead of the storefront. Start with the payment flows the business actually uses.
Returning customers
When the approved setup supports it, returning customers may use an approved stored payment method instead of entering the same payment details again.
Subscriptions
Approved recurring billing can support subscriptions, memberships, and other business models that charge on an agreed schedule.
Invoices and payment links
Some remote payments do not need to happen through the storefront at all. An invoice or payment link can handle those transactions when the setup supports it.
You may use one of these. You may use all four. The payment setup should follow the business model.
What has to work
Getting to checkout
Getting to checkout
is only half the payment job.
The payment still has to authorize, survive the fraud decision, handle declines, support the business model, and match the order when the money settles. These are the workflows we look at before recommending anything.
Payment authorization
The checkout needs a clean path from the customer payment request to an approved or declined transaction without unnecessary steps added along the way.
Fraud decisions
Fraud tools should help the business evaluate risk without pretending every good order and bad order can be identified perfectly.
Declines and retries
When a payment fails, the business should understand what happened and what retry options are available through the approved payment setup.
Subscriptions and stored payments
Approved stored payment methods and recurring billing should support the business model when customers have agreed to future charges.
Refunds and disputes
The business needs a clear process for refunds and useful transaction records when a payment is disputed later.
Order and payment reconciliation
Orders, captures, refunds, and deposits should leave the business with reporting that helps explain what was sold and what was actually paid.
If the current payment stack already handles these well, we should not replace it just to create a project.
Before we rebuild anything
Like your storefront?
Like your storefront?
Keep it if we can.
Your storefront may already handle products, content, customers, and orders exactly the way you want. A payment problem does not automatically mean the website needs to be rebuilt.
The storefront is fine
If the store works and the payment relationship is the problem, we first check whether the approved payment setup can change without replacing the storefront the business already knows.
The payment layer needs work
Gateway connections, authorization, fraud decisions, declines, approved stored payment methods, subscriptions, refunds, or reporting may need attention even when the storefront itself is doing its job.
You are not sure which it is
Show us the current storefront and payment flow. We will map where the transaction goes before recommending a new gateway, processor, checkout connection, or storefront change.
Keeping the right storefront is a good outcome too.
Three different decisions
Processing cost,
Decision one
Decision two
Decision three
Processing cost,
payment risk,
and customer pricing
are not the same problem.
An online payment stack can have good pricing and poor decline handling, strong fraud controls and expensive processing, or a checkout that works perfectly without any customer pricing program at all. We separate those decisions before recommending anything.
What does acceptance cost?
A recent processing statement gives us the real starting point. We look at the processing cost, gateway fees where applicable, card mix, transaction volume, and other payment costs before deciding whether the economics need to change.
Do not assume a lower advertised rate means the total payment stack costs less.
- Current processing cost
- Gateway cost where applicable
- Card mix
- Transaction volume
- Refund activity
- Recurring payment volume where applicable
How does the payment get approved?
Authorization, fraud controls, declines, retries, approved stored payment methods, and subscriptions can all affect how the payment stack behaves after the customer clicks pay.
A cheaper processing relationship is not automatically better if the payment workflow creates different problems somewhere else.
- Authorization
- Fraud decisions
- Declines
- Retry behavior
- Approved stored payment methods
- Recurring billing
Should the customer see a pricing difference?
Surcharge, dual pricing, cash discount, and other pricing structures may depend on the platform, checkout flow, processor setup, card type, applicable rules, and how pricing is presented to the customer.
The answer may be yes. It may also be no. We do not force a customer pricing program into an online store simply because Phase 3 offers one.
- Platform compatibility
- Checkout presentation
- Card type
- Program rules
- Customer experience
- Processor setup
One change does not require the other two
An online store may need a different processor and keep its fraud tools. It may need better decline handling and keep its current pricing. It may need no change at all. We map the payment stack before deciding which problem is actually worth solving.
Want to model surcharge or dual pricing first? Run the estimate →
What changes
Change the payment layer.
Change the payment layer.
Test it before customers do.
Once we know which part actually needs to change, we map the current stack, configure the approved payment path, test the important transaction flows, and only then move live payments over.
Map the current stack
We document the storefront, checkout, gateway, processor, fraud tools, approved stored payment methods, subscriptions, refunds, and reporting that matter to the current payment flow.
Configure the new payment path
The approved gateway, processor connection, payment methods, recurring workflows, refund process, and other required settings should be configured before the store depends on them.
Test before cutover
Test purchases, approvals, declines, refunds, approved recurring payments, and the other critical transaction flows before real customers are asked to use the new setup.
Know support and terms
Phase 3 payment support is available 24/7 from a US based team. The merchant should also understand the gateway, processor, platform, pricing, and cancellation terms that apply before anything changes.
The goal is to know what changes before the first live customer sees it.
The payment layer
The customer sees the storefront.
The customer sees the storefront.
The payment layer does the work.
The storefront is what the customer sees. Behind the checkout, the gateway and processing connection handle the payment request, authorization, approved stored payment methods, recurring billing, refunds, and reporting that the business actually depends on.
- Storefront
- Checkout
- Payment gateway
- Processor
- Approval or decline
Authorize.Net
Established gateway connections
A gateway option we use when the storefront, processor relationship, and checkout configuration support it. It can sit behind the online payment experience without requiring the merchant to replace a storefront that already works.
The exact integration path depends on the ecommerce platform and current payment stack.
NMI
Flexible online payment stacks
Another gateway option for ecommerce businesses that need a payment layer configured around the storefront, processor relationship, recurring payment needs, and other approved payment workflows.
Compatibility still gets confirmed before anything changes.
Phase 3 VT
Online, remote, and recurring payments
Phase 3 VT is our branded payment environment for businesses that need online payment tools plus remote payments outside the storefront.
Depending on the merchant setup, it can support payment entry, invoices, payment links, approved stored payment methods, recurring billing, and ACH when enabled.
We use more than one gateway because the storefront should help determine the payment layer, not the other way around.
The current gateway may still be the right one
If the current gateway and processor setup already handles the checkout, subscriptions, refunds, and reporting well, keeping it may be the better answer. We do not replace a working payment layer just to sell another one.
The online payment flow
From clicking pay
From clicking pay
to a settled order.
The checkout is only the beginning. The payment still has to reach the payment layer, receive a decision, complete correctly, leave useful records, and match the order when the business reviews the money.
-
Send the payment request
The checkout sends the payment request through the approved payment connection using the information required for that transaction.
-
Make the authorization and risk decision
The payment stack evaluates the transaction using the processor, network response, configured fraud controls, and other approved payment rules.
-
Capture the transaction
When the approved payment flow calls for capture, the transaction moves from authorization toward settlement using the merchant's configured process.
-
Keep useful transaction records
Orders, approvals, declines, captures, refunds, and disputes should leave useful records that help the business understand what happened.
-
Match the order and payment
The merchant needs reporting that helps connect the order, payment activity, refunds where applicable, and the money that reaches the business.
A good ecommerce payment setup does more than approve the card. It leaves the business able to explain the transaction afterward.
Online store FAQ
Before you change
Before you change
the payment stack,
get these answers.
The storefront, gateway, processor, subscriptions, fraud controls, and reporting can all be separate pieces. We map what is already working before deciding what should change.
Can I keep the online store I already have?
Possibly, and that is usually the first thing we check. If the storefront already works and the payment layer is the problem, we look at whether the approved gateway and processing setup can change without rebuilding the store.
Do I have to rebuild my checkout?
Not automatically. The checkout may already work well. Whether anything needs to change depends on the storefront, gateway connection, processor relationship, payment methods, recurring billing, and other parts of the current stack.
What is a payment gateway?
A payment gateway is part of the software layer that carries an online payment request from the checkout toward the approved processing environment and returns the transaction response. The exact architecture varies by platform and merchant setup.
Which gateway does Phase 3 use for ecommerce?
We use more than one because different storefronts and payment stacks need different tools. Authorize.Net, NMI, and Phase 3 VT are among the options we may use depending on the platform, processor relationship, checkout architecture, recurring needs, and compatibility.
What is Phase 3 VT?
Phase 3 VT is our branded payment environment for businesses that need remote payment tools outside the storefront. Depending on the merchant setup, it can support payment entry, invoices, payment links, approved stored payment methods, recurring billing, and ACH when enabled.
Can you move the saved payment methods we already have?
Sometimes, but never assume it. The ability to move approved stored payment credentials can depend on the current provider, token structure, receiving provider, security requirements, agreements, and technical capabilities. We confirm what can actually move before planning a migration.
Can you support subscriptions and recurring billing?
Yes when the approved gateway, processor, storefront, and merchant setup support the recurring payment model. Existing subscriptions may require migration planning, and customers must have provided the required authorization for future charges.
What happens when a recurring payment fails?
The exact behavior depends on the gateway, processor, decline reason, subscription system, and configured retry rules. Some setups can support retry workflows, but we do not promise that every failed payment can or should be recovered.
Can Phase 3 prevent fraud and chargebacks?
No payment provider or fraud tool can honestly promise that. Fraud controls can help the business evaluate risk, and good transaction records can help when a payment is disputed. They do not eliminate every fraudulent order or chargeback.
Can I add a credit card surcharge online?
Possibly. A credit card surcharge does not apply to debit cards, and the approved setup also has to fit the storefront, checkout, processor, applicable rules, card brand requirements, and customer pricing presentation. We confirm compatibility before recommending it.
Can I use dual pricing or cash discount online?
Possibly, but do not assume every ecommerce platform, gateway, checkout, or processor supports every pricing structure. The approved program has to work correctly with the actual payment stack and customer pricing experience.
How long does switching take?
It depends on what is changing. A processor change behind a compatible gateway is different from changing the gateway, moving subscriptions, changing checkout behavior, or rebuilding several payment connections. We map the current stack first and give the merchant a realistic implementation plan before live payments move.
Does Phase 3 Digital include my online store?
The standard Phase 3 Digital Website plan is for the managed public business website and does not include an online store or ecommerce checkout. Ecommerce work is scoped separately. Website pricing is $99 a month with Phase 3 processing or $199 a month as Standalone Digital.
Phase 3 Digital
The online store is one thing.
The online store is one thing.
The website around it is another.
If the business needs public pages for the brand, company story, locations, contact information, resources, policies, campaigns, or other content outside the store itself, Phase 3 Digital can build and manage that website.
The standard Website plan does not include the online store, product catalog, cart, or ecommerce checkout. Ecommerce work is scoped separately.
Use Phase 3 Digital on its own, or pay less when you also process with Phase 3.
Website plan
With Phase 3 processing
$99 / month
Standalone Digital
$199 / month
Same managed Website service. Processing customers receive the lower price.
- Written and designed for your business
- Hosting, SSL, and Cloudflare
- Forms, calls, maps, and analytics
- Technical SEO and schema
- Normal website updates by email
Not included in this plan
Online store, shopping cart, product catalog, and ecommerce checkout
No setup fee. Month to month.
Your domain, logo, and original photos remain yours.
Ecommerce work is scoped separately.