One of the most common obstacles for local online stores is payment. The customer wants to pay by card on your site, and you wonder how to connect that to a bank. In this article we explain how card payment works on a WooCommerce store in North Macedonia.
How does card payment actually work?
When the customer clicks "Pay", the card details do not pass through your site — they go straight to the bank, on a secure page. The bank checks the card, charges the amount and returns a response to your site: successful or not. This matters, because it means you do not store card numbers and do not carry that risk.
This check is called 3D Secure — that same step when the bank sends you an SMS code to confirm. It protects both the buyer and the seller.
What do you need?
Three things go together:
- A contract with a bank for internet payments. You sign this with the bank — it gives you the access details for its payment system.
- A module that connects WooCommerce with the bank's system.
- An SSL certificate on your site (that padlock by the address) — today it is standard and usually included with hosting.
Local banks and WooCommerce
Macedonian banks use their own payment platforms. WooCommerce on its own does not know how to talk to them — that is why a separate module is needed for each bank. That module "translates" the conversation between your store and the bank: it sends the amount, receives the response, and marks the order as paid.
A good module also offers things that make your life easier: refunds with one click straight from the order (without logging into the bank portal), installment payments if the bank supports them, and the option to test first before going live.
What to watch out for
Payments are a sensitive part of the store — if they do not work, you lose the sale at the very end, when the customer is closest to buying. So it is worth doing it right:
- Run a few test transactions before opening.
- Check that refunds work — you will need them sooner or later.
- Make sure the module is maintained and keeps up with new WooCommerce versions.
If you need help
At ArkaHost we build and maintain payment modules for local banks for WooCommerce. We set it up for you, connect it with the bank's details and run a test transaction — you only give us what the bank gave you. Take a look at our banking modules or get in touch for advice.