The ability to accept payments online is a great way to grow your business. Accepting online payment for your goods or services helps you reach a wider audience and keep the customer experience running smoothly. Consumers want and even demand convenience, and businesses need to be ready. Luckily, there are a lot of easy options that let you accept payments online, no matter the size of your business.
Top Ways To Accept Online Payments
- Accept Credit Cards and Debit Cards Online
Allowing customers to pay by credit card and debit card on your business is the easiest way to accept payments online. When doing this, you need to decide whether you want to have your own dedicated trading account or use an intermediary deposit account. Before you start accepting credit cards online, however, you’ll need a merchant account. A merchant account is a type of bank account that enables your store to accept online payments. The types of credit card you should accept, the most widely used, include Visa, Mastercard, and American Express.
- Add a Payment Gateway
By adding an online payment form, customers can pay your business directly on your website. A payment gateway connects your website to a payment system. Connect your website to Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, by embedding payment on your website or redirecting your customers to the payment gateway website to complete the purchase.
Payment gateways are easy to set up and offer a variety of services suitable for different industries. Below are some payment gateway options which are easy to use, accept all major credit cards, and offer zero setup fees
- Accept mobile payments
These days, people are more likely to have their phones in their hands than their debit cards, and mobile payment apps are more convenient than ever. Google Pay, Venmo, and PayPal also have mobile apps with a good market share. The majority of eCommerce platforms – including Squarespace Ecommerce, and BigCommerce – will provide your website with the ability to accept digital wallet payments within their most basic price plans.
- Install Recurring Billing Software
If you offer subscription plans or ongoing monthly services, the most efficient and reliable way to invoice and receive payments is via recurring billing also called automated billing software. This software allows your customers to pay automatically each time the payment is due, making your customers’ online payment easier. Sites like Pay simple also offer a suite of tools to set up custom, automated recurring billing. Your customers can commit to recurring payments with just a few clicks, and you won’t have to worry about manually managing your customer base.
- Use eChecks
Looking for how to accept payments online without dealing with cards or cash?
Then check out eChecks. A type of EFT (electronic funds transfer), eChecks works just like a paper check, but online. eChecks will deposit money from the customer’s bank account to your business bank account, via ACH (Automated Clearing House) software. All the customers need a form where the user can input their information, which you can see using payment processing software. It’s a quicker and more reliable way than sending a paper check through the post, so offering this to your customers will make the process run smoother.
- Use email invoicing
Email invoicing is a proactive way to request payments. You can send invoices to your customers via email, who can then pay within a few clicks. You can send invoices to your customers via email, who can then pay within a few clicks. However, there are a couple of issues with this method: Email isn’t the most reliable form of communication, and customers can have trust issues making payments via email.
Wrap up
When collecting payments online, there are many options from which you can choose. While choosing payment processing software, always keep in mind to make the customer pay easily.
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