Given the advancement of technology and online invoice and payment processing in this 21st century, it’d be an eyesore and totally weird if one says that their business is still an offline venture alone.
The online world gives business owners the leverage to take advantage of more people and reach out to a wider volume of customers and clients across the globe.
So, most business owners who have been manually accepting and processing payments alone have switched to asking the question of possibility: is there a sure way to accept payments from our customers online?
If this question was asked fifteen to ten years ago, it would have met several roadblocks of NOs and skepticism given the situation of fear and disbelief in the heart of people concerning supplying their credit card details online. However, we have more internet banking services and even better online retail operations which easily bank a YES on the online payment operations.
Now, several people and business owners alike interpret the reality of accepting online payments as a more complex and complicated one but online payments are just as easy and convenient for the success of your business.
The attitude of people towards the adoption of these operations of online payment has changed over the years. Thus, offering business owners the chance to expand their payment options instead of sticking to only what works and missing out on a whole new batch and base of interested buyers.
Let’s take, for instance, a business owner named Roberts started a tennis club a few years ago before the emergence of online payment services. Then, he discovers a better way to sort out his payment issues by accepting online membership payments and expanding their management software for the tennis club members.
What do you think will happen? The club will gain more promotion and publicity which equally increases the cash flow too. This is the story of Gary Reubens and his ski club membership triumph.
Gary says, “our board of directions is tremendously in awe of the sales we made compared to the last few years”
This is the power of accepting online payments which Gary Reubens saw and took advantage of to reach more people.
If you have been wondering how to get started on taking online payments in your business, we’ll dissect this process for you so that it seems less intimating and more approachable for you.
The importance and advantages of Online Payments
Every business structure out there can decide to operate manually through checks and mail bills. This means that without online payment, they can still make sales and generate profit. However, think about the other opportunities and conveniences that your business will enjoy when you take advantage of the online payment solution at your disposal.
Your business can benefit from online payments due to the following advantages:
Reach more customers and clients
Receiving every possible form of payment whether manually or online expands your opportunities in the market. This is because you’re able to solve the problem and meet the convenience of every single person that comes around to purchase without any issues at all. This also promotes the likelihood of repeat transactions with you.
Easy membership and subscription offers
Stripe and Paypal which are part of the payment providers ease the process of accepting and processing recurring payments for any business. This also saves the business owner the stress of receiving payments and issuing invoices as well. Due to the retention provision, one can decide whether they should set their subscription and membership to automatic renewal, depending on the consistency of use.
Faster payment
Receiving payments through invoices and checks in the mail may take days and even weeks in some instances. However, online payments are faster and instant compared to manual payment processing.
Increase convenience and comfort
Most people are becoming at home with online payments. This means that costumes, supporters, and members are willing to sign up, book a ticket or register for your events even donate to a worthy cause of their choice via online payments. However, they’d also like to do so fast without unnecessary delays.
What are the ways of receiving Online Payments?
Following the emergence of online payments and acceptance from people, various ways of accepting online payments are out there for you to make a choice depending on the kind of business that you operate.
Online payment service provider
Every business owner who sells products and services online If you run a service-based business or sell products online can make use of the online payment service solutions in the market to accept payments from customers or clients.
Some of these popular payment solutions including Stripe, Payoneer, and PayPal are counted to be among the best online payment services for business owners and entrepreneurs around the globe.
WordPress, Squarespace, Kajabi, and a few other modern websites easily integrate these payment providers for their users to collect payments from their customers too.
The advantage of using online payment providers is that you can collect credit card payments directly from the account of the customer to your account through the ad of the payment service provider.
Automated Clearing House Transfer
Automated Clearing House (ACH) allows people who reside in the United States of America to move money from one account to another electronically This is how direct deposits are made and received if any occur.
Generally, ACH transfers are done simply by supplying your deposit details to the customer for payment processing. This includes
- The routing number of your bank
- Account number.
- In some cases, you may need to provide a voided check. This includes an authorization form or numbers from your bank.
ACH payment is often dependent on the person making the payment. They are the ones who decide which service providers to use. A few of them include Stax or Gusto. Also, the payer covers any processing fee for the transfer as opposed to when the recipient receives a credit card payment.
Stripe also offers ACH payments at a transaction rate of 0.08% but the payer must be connected with their bank account through the Plaid network.
Mobile Wallets
A few mobile payments in existence like Google pay, Samsung, and Apple pay ensure that your customers enjoy convenience with their payments.
IOS users can relate to the Apple Pay service which demands a supply of your credit card details that is automatically used to settle bills anytime and anywhere without unnecessary fumbling and searching for your credit card every single time.
E-billing and E-invoicing
Business owners can easily generate online invoices and bills for their customers online through the aid of invoicing platforms and service providers. These payment solutions offer a one-click instant payment through email.
Qukcibooks, ZOHO, Wave, and the rest are a few invoicing platforms that one can easily integrate with Paypal and Stripe for easy processing of payments. You can send bills and invoices to the email via these platforms for receiving payments with a payment button to allow them to pay easily.
Popular Online Payments Solutions for receiving payment
Stripe
Stripe offers flexible and easy-to-use API for its users around the globe. This allows anyone to easily tailor their use with the platform’s sophisticated tools. Whether you’re running a subscription-based brand or an on-demand service. The best use of Stripe is that one can integrate it easily with any website or application even if they lack coding skills. This way, you can get it running quickly without additional support.
Apple Pay
Merchants, business owners, and service providers may like to consider Apple pay for their transitions needs, Apple pay over the years has made it easier, faster, and more secure for their users to make payments and seal transactions with a one-touch feature, Touch ID and fingerprint for ordering their favorite snack.
Payoneer
Being one of the oldest payment solutions around the globe so much is expected of Payonner and luckily they have surpassed these expectations and more. The platform accepts payments in over 200 countries and different currencies combined.
The most impressive thing is that they do this all for free including a flexible API for business owners who wish to grow or expand their enterprise.
Payoners also offer their users a physical card for payments just like Paypal does.
Amazon Payments
Customers always desire peace of mind and convenience at all costs especially with making payments online. Accepting payments through Amazon guarantees that. This is because purchases are made through the Amazon checkout from your website. They can always make use of their automatic Amazon details instead of entering new ones.
Payza
Payza is fast becoming a home staple payment service provider. With Payza, you can send and receive transactions, and payments around the globe in a few minutes. The software also has a cool interface that anyone can easily understand and use, customer support, and a unique security solution for their users. Most importantly, it is a free sign-up for anyone. Bitcoin users can also make their conversion and receive bitcoins through Payza.
Skrill
An alternative to Paypal for receiving and making payments is Skrill. This means that anyone can easily make withdraws and transfers from their account anywhere in the world.
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