The aim of any Prestashop online store is to generate sales, and consequently to get customers to pay for their orders.
To achieve this, you need to offer customers a secure, simple and convenient online payment solution.
Prestashop natively offers an integrated payment solution: Prestashop Checkout.
Let’s take a look at what this solution is, how to use it, and its advantages and disadvantages. 
What is Prestashop Checkout?
Prestashop Checkout is an online payment solution natively integrated into all Prestashop stores.
This feature enables Prestashop customers to use a variety of payment methods to pay for their orders.
Prestashop Checkout natively supports credit card, bank transfer, direct debit and Paypal.
Prestashop Checkout is based on thePaypal Commerce Platform’s secure payment solution.
With this offering, Paypal provides a fast, simple and secure online payment solution.
It is particularly well suited to merchant sites and their customers.
To pay and finalize an order via Prestashop Checkout, the customer never leaves the e-commerce site, and has no need to create a Paypal account.
Payment is made directly on the payment page of the Prestashop online store, using the payment method chosen by the customer. 
What are the advantages of Prestashop Checkout?
Prestashop Checkout offers many advantages for setting up a secure payment system on an online store.
1- Guaranteed transaction security
By using Paypal technology, the benchmark in online payment, Prestashop Checkout guarantees the security of bank transactions.
Paypal provides a highly advanced system of protection against fraud and disputes.
All critical data is encrypted and stored on Paypal servers.
This means that merchants do not have to worry about storing and protecting sensitive data, or complying with strict regulations.
2- A simplified payment process
Thanks to an ergonomic, intuitive interface, the number of steps required to validate an online payment is greatly reduced.
With simplified payment, the number of shopping cart abandonments before the order is placed is reduced, and the conversion rate increases significantly.
3- Choice of payment method
Having a choice of payment methods, each as easy to use as the others, is a considerable asset for an e-commerce site.
Prestashop Checkout naturally offers the classic payment methods such as credit cards.
But it also offers a range of other convenient payment methods, such as payment in instalments, deferred payment and payment by invoice.
4- Allows you to rely on Paypal
Last but not least, Prestashop Checkout takes advantage of all the services and benefits of Paypal.
This means you can manage payments in over a hundred different currencies, and draw on a network of over three hundred million users.
Analysis and reporting tools are also available, enabling precise monitoring of site activity and payments received. 
What are the drawbacks of Prestashop Checkout?
While Prestashop Checkout has many advantages, it is not without its drawbacks.
1- Paying a commission to Paypal
Using Prestashop Checkout entails additional charges.
To provide this service, Paypal charges a commission for each transaction carried out via Prestashop Checkout.
The amount charged varies according to the country in which the online store is based, the country in which the customer is located and, of course, the amount of the payment and the currency used.
The Paypal commission can be as high as 3.4% of the transaction amount, plus a flat fee of 0.25 euros.
2- Module configuration
Use of Prestashop Checkout requires activation and configuration of the module.
The “Paypal Commerce Platform” option must be activated in the payment module of the online store, and the general terms and conditions of use must be accepted.
Of course, the merchant’s Paypal account must also be configured to enable the link between the Prestashop store and Paypal.
3- Paypal’s visibility on the site
Regardless of the payment method selected by the customer, they must accept the Paypal Commerce Platform terms and conditions of use in order to finalize their order.
This can be confusing if the customer has not selected Paypal as a payment method.
An explanatory text should be provided if necessary. 
Finally, should you use Prestashop Checkout?
The question is naturally too complex to answer simply.
It all depends on the needs and objectives of the Prestashop store.
If you’re looking for a secure, optimized payment solution that’s almost turnkey, then Prestashop Checkout might be a good choice, especially as its functions are integrated into Prestashop.
All you need to do is activate and configure them.
Paypal is a tried-and-tested solution.
Using it to make payments on your online store can be very reassuring.
On the other hand, you need to bear in mind that using Prestashop Checkout in your online store will represent an additional financial burden that you’ll need to take into account. 
To conclude about Prestashop Checkout
Prestashop Checkout is an integrated online payment solution based on Paypal’s long-proven services.
Transaction security, ease of use, user-friendliness and a wide range of accepted payment methods are just some of the advantages.
On the other hand, the need to configure the module, display a link to Paypal and pay a commission for each transaction carried out via Prestashop Checkout are disadvantages that need to be taken into account.
Do you have questions about online payment for your store?
Are you hesitating to set up Prestashop Checkout, or do you really not know how? Contact me today! Thanks to my experience in e-commerce, and with Prestashop in particular, I’ll be able to provide you with the expertise you need to make the right choices.
