How does a hosted checkout work?
The merchant’s backend creates a checkout session through the platform’s API, passing the customer, amount, currency and segment details. The customer is redirected to the checkout or sees it embedded in the site. The hosted checkout shows the methods that customer is eligible for, collects card details inside the platform’s PCI DSS environment or redirects to the method provider, and returns the customer to the merchant. The final status reaches the merchant’s backend by webhook.
Why does a hosted checkout matter for conversion?
It decides which methods the customer sees and in what order, which is one of the largest factors in payment success. Local methods can be shown first in markets where they work better than cards, saved cards can be offered for repeat purchases, and after a decline the customer can pick another method without leaving the page. As an illustrative example: if 15% of declined card payments are completed with another method shown on the same screen, a merchant with 4,000 card declines a month recovers 600 payments.
How does a hosted checkout compare with a direct API integration?
A direct integration gives full control over design and flow, but the merchant has to build every method’s screens, handle card data and its PCI DSS scope, and keep up with provider changes. A hosted checkout is faster to launch and maintain, with less control over every detail of the interface.
Where does Omno use it?
Omno’s hosted checkout is set up in a no-code checkout builder: layout, branding, method categories, minimum and maximum amounts, routing and fields. It embeds with the drop-in Web SDK or an iFrame. The methods shown depend on PSP eligibility rules, customer group and customer verification level, saved cards and accounts let returning customers pay faster, and Omno forms collect and store the extra customer details a provider needs. Results are sent by webhook. Merchants who keep their own checkout can take cards with Card Fields and alternative methods with Direct Links.