What is a hosted payment page?
A hosted payment page, often shortened to HPP, is a checkout page provided and hosted by a payment provider rather than by the merchant’s own systems. Customers are directed to this page to enter payment details securely.
Why do merchants use hosted payment pages?
A hosted payment page reduces the merchant’s direct exposure to sensitive card data. This often lowers the merchant’s PCI DSS compliance burden, speeds up implementation, and allows the provider to manage security and payment form maintenance.
How does a hosted payment page work?
When the customer reaches checkout, they are taken to the provider’s secure payment page or shown an embedded hosted form. The customer enters payment details there, and the provider processes the transaction before returning the user to the merchant flow.
What are the benefits of hosted payment pages?
They offer faster deployment, strong security, easier compliance, and often built in features such as alternative payment methods, tokenization, and fraud tools. They are especially useful for merchants without large engineering teams.
What are the drawbacks of hosted payment pages?
The main drawback is reduced control over the checkout experience. Branding, user flow, and conversion testing may be more limited than with a fully custom payment form. Some merchants also worry about redirect friction, though modern hosted solutions often try to minimise this.