Online shopping has become an integral part of our daily life. More and more consumers choose contactless payment methods over cash. As a business owner, if you want to attract as many buyers as possible, the first step is to explore intelligent billing options. The more popular payment methods you can offer, the wider your audience will be.
Online Payments Benefits
While there are still buyers who have security concerns regarding e-payments, most use this method frequently. Of course, merchants should carefully consider ways to protect customer data from potential fraudsters and put a lot of effort into it. Otherwise, online payment has really undeniable advantages in comparison with cash:
- Through the Internet, it is possible to make purchases at any convenient time, anywhere;
- You will be able to accept payments in various world currencies;
- The number of transactions per minute significantly exceeds the capabilities of cash payment methods;
- If the site has an online shopping option, it will not be a problem for you to expand your business and go global or conquer a new target audience;
- Reliable payment service providers offer high-quality customer support, so in the event of an emergency, you will not be left alone with a problem.
Online payments have great benefits for both customers, improving their user experience, and for your business, increasing revenue.
Online Payment Types
The more payment methods you have on your site, the better, as there is a guarantee that each client can find a suitable option for themselves and will not go to a competitor.
1. Credit and debit cards
Card payment is one of the most popular and fastest ways to pay. To offer your customers the most convenient method, find out which system they use most often: Visa, American Express, Mastercard, UnionPay, RuPay, etc. You should be able to accept payments from the cards of major suppliers. For buyers, this type is one of the easiest. As a rule, everyone has at least one bank card. The owner just needs to enter its details in the form on your website and prove their identity. The main thing on your part is to ensure reliable protection of financial information by establishing SSL/TLS protocols and regularly passing PCI DSS certification.
2. eChecks via ACH
An Automated Clearing House or ACH payment is another option for electronic money transfer relevant for the United States. Since transactions are carried out directly between two bank accounts, it eliminates possible complications and additional fees for processing payments by intermediaries. This method is also as safe and secure as the first one, but funds transfer can take several days. As with bank cards, customers need to enter their check details into a form on your website to make a payment.
3. Mobile payments
Mobile phone transactions have grown in popularity in recent years. They are really convenient because customers do not need to constantly think about whether they have forgotten their cards at home. As a rule, they always have a smartphone at hand. Google and Apple offer their users an opportunity to open mobile wallets and almost completely abandon using a plastic bank, discount, and other cards. All financial information is now collected in one place, and customers can add, delete, and edit card details and pay bills in seconds.
4. Email invoices
Some clients find it more convenient to get invoices to pay for goods and services. You can make the process paperless and send documents to email so that shoppers can process them at their convenience. Depending on the size of your business, you can manually issue invoices or set up an automatic mailing for every order. If you work with repeat orders, consider using templates and automatically submitting the necessary documents regularly, for example, once a week or a month. It will significantly simplify your task since you do not have to fill out the same papers every time.
5. Mobile app
Many modern services, together with sites, offer their users convenient applications for quick access to their goods and services. To make their experience even more comfortable, integrate the payment option on a separate page of your mobile application. You probably know how inconvenient it is when you are redirected to another resource to complete a transaction. Be on-trend and make the purchase of your products more accessible to customers.
Things You Need to Accept ePayments
Thanks to modern providers, finding the right tools for accepting online payments and customizing them the way you need is not a problem. By and large, every owner of a company operating in the e-commerce field should have a payment gateway and merchant account.
Merchant account
Such an account allows you to accept online payments from your customers from all over the world. When a buyer has paid and the payment system has processed the transaction, all the funds are transferred to it. After some time (usually a couple of days), the money will be moved to your business bank account. The merchant account is used as an “intermediary” between customers and you in case a client requests a chargeback due to a mistaken payment or fraudulent activities.
Payment gateway
A payment gateway is software that connects you (the business owner) to the payment network. It creates a special form where a client enters their card details, collects financial data, and in encrypted form transfers it to the bank or payment processor. After that, depending on the response, it lets you know whether this or that transaction is possible or not.
Payment processor
A payment gateway transmits information about payments, and a merchant account receives money in case of successful completion of a transaction. In between is the so-called payment processor that handles payments. It contacts banks, verifies the data, and transfers funds from one account to another if everything is fine.
To make your company’s online work full, you need all three tools as they are interconnected. Despite their complexity, they ensure the transaction execution and the money transfer from clients to you in a matter of seconds. You can visit this to know about the chair cover.
More Payment Options, More Customers
Many companies have switched to online work and, accordingly, started accepting electronic payments. As a merchant, you need to do your best to stay one step ahead of the competition and offer your customers the most convenient and flexible payment options available. Check out all the current options, study consumers’ needs, and adjust your product following this information.
