API Integration 101: What It Is & How It Can Help Your Business
API Integration 101: What It Is & How It Can Help Your Business
As a business owner, API integration is undoubtedly on your radar.
But what exactly is an API? And how can API integration benefit your business?
We’ll break down everything you need to know about API integration — including how you’re probably already using it in your life without even knowing it.
Business Guide to API Integration
What Is An API?
API stands for application-programming interface. An API is essentially a set of instructions that a software company gives developers so they can design products that work with that company’s technology. The purpose of an API is to allow different softwares to “talk” to each other without needing a human to manage the process.
If that sounds complex, it is. But you’re actually probably already using APIs on a daily basis, whether you know it or not. A few common examples of APIs include:
- Travel booking sites that display hotel information from hundreds of websites
- Google displaying weather information from Weather.com or definitions from Wikipedia
- Logging in to a website using your Twitter, Facebook or Google account
The last instance is a good example of how APIs make online activity seamless. Rather than creating a new account for every website you visit, inputting your information over and over again, the API accesses information you’ve already given Twitter, Facebook or Google. Businesses set up their interfaces to work with those APIs, and they can collect that information in seconds.
Why Does My Business Need API Integration?
It’s easier for customers — simple as that.
For businesses, convenience is crucial, and APIs facilitate that. API integration ensures that your business is hooked into the services and platforms your customers already use, which makes them more likely to buy products and services from you. If you have an online storefront, shopping carts are a key part of that equation.
What Advantages Does PayGround Offer When It Comes to API Integration?
At PayGround, we do more than manage API integration.
PayGround was designed to help businesses of all sizes accept online payments easily. That means we handle all the nitty gritty, behind-the-scenes details of programming, security and processing. It also means that we give you the information you can use from those transactions in an easy-to-understand format.
When it comes to API integration, that includes:
- Analytics that show how and when people are paying you.
- Proactive customer support — We contact you when there’s a problem; We don’t wait for you to contact us.
- Lower and more transparent costs than our competitors. (Don’t pay Stripe too much!)
- Uninterrupted access to the token.
What’s a token?
Tokenization is a process that replaces your customer’s sensitive card data with a string of letters and numbers that are useless to a hacker but that we can use to process payments.
NerdWallet explains it well:
- If there’s a tokenization system in place, it intercepts your card data and replaces it with a random string of numbers and letters.
- Instead of Jane Smith, account number 4567 8910 1112 1314, expiration date 10/2025, there’s a token like HX46YT794RG.
That string of numbers and letters is only useful to the merchant who can decrypt it, which means hackers are out of luck.
But honestly? You don’t need to know all of that. You’re busy running a business, which is exactly why you need a partner like PayGround to handle API integration for you.