A gateway (also called payment gateway) is a system that transmits the data of purchases made in your store.
It's responsible for sending this information to acquirers, card brands and issuing banks then obtain a response about the continuation of the process or its cancellation.
In other words, the gateway sends data and receives responses so that you know whether or not a particular purchase should be confirmed.
VTEX platform has its own gateway with PCI certification, which means that data on all payments made in your store is protected according to high security standards.
By activating the connectors and registering gateway affiliations, your clients' shopping data can be sent to acquirers or other gateways and thus move on through the approval flow in financial institutions.