About custom payment gateways

A payment gateway is a service that can be integrated with myschool to handle online fee payments. Once your institution configures a gateway, myschool users can pay fees securely online using methods such as credit cards, debit cards and online banking. These transactions are handled securely over encrypted channels.

Parameters you will need

To configure a custom payment gateway, you need the configuration parameters from the gateway provider you have chosen. You enter these parameters in myschool, and they are used to map requests to that provider. Parameters differ slightly between providers, but most can be grouped into the following types:

Configuration fields

Configuration parameters stay the same for every transaction a merchant processes through a given gateway. Create them as name–value pairs on the custom gateway creation page.

They include merchant credentials such as the merchant ID, transaction password and currency, which are sent to the gateway to authenticate the merchant for each transaction.

You must also create a parameter named target_url. It specifies the URL to which the payment form is sent.

• Mandatory configuration parameter: target_url

Variable fields

Variable parameters change with every transaction — for example the amount, the redirect URL or the item name. Create them as name–parameter type pairs on the custom gateway creation page. Parameter types are predefined in myschool and must be selected. Only one parameter name is allowed per parameter type.

• Mandatory variable parameters: Amount, Redirect URL

Response parameters

Response parameters are the values the gateway sends back after a transaction is processed. Like variable fields, they are created as name–parameter type pairs.

• Mandatory response parameters: Amount, Success Code, Transaction Status, Transaction Reference

Payment processor

Most payment gateways need a payment processor to process debit/credit card information and execute the transaction. For the built-in gateways, myschool provides its own payment processor. If you integrate a custom gateway that requires a payment processor, you will need to use your own processor or obtain one from a third party.