Online Payment Options

Using an Online Payment system is fast becoming essential for many businesses. For online-only businesses, it can be the sole channel through which their customers can pay, while larger traders can add it to their existing payment options to capture more sales opportunities and simplify their recurring payments. Without the option of letting customers make a secure payment online then businesses may very likely be losing out to competitors as many customers expect to be able to buy there and then. It makes sense therefore to investigate the benefits of what investing in an online payment solution could do for your business.

Having an online payment solution is a fast and simple way for businesses to accept credit or debit payments through their website. It has become the preferred payment choice for many customers over the last few years as it gives them greater choice for how and when they can purchase a product or service, as well as the range of items they can discover.

It has also greatly benefitted businesses as they can use it in addition to an existing Merchant Account, but with a lower per-transaction cost, which is ideal for a small business, which is more likely to regularly take smaller payments. Crucially for the business, having the ability to let customers make, for example, mobile payments, greatly increases their sales opportunities as Online Payment allows customers to view their range of products or services at their own leisure, and then pay for them without having to wait for a store to open, capitalizing on their impulse to buy. What’s more, this experience can be enjoyed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and from anywhere in the world, meaning the only person who has to be present during the purchase is the customer. These advantages also mean the breadth of their businesses customer base opens up greatly, and with it their distribution. It also means better cash flow for businesses, as money will continue to come in, outside of business hours and they do not always have to distribute stock around the country for it to be sold.

Of course, with platforms like Amazon, you don’t have to worry about setting up all of this yourself. However, you do need to be mindful of other businesses on these platforms trying to copy you. You can report Amazon infringement if this is something you notice, so do keep this in mind.

How Does A Secure Online Payment Solution Work?

Secure online payment works by setting up a ‘shopping-cart’ for customers to drop their desired items into as they search your website. It will then add up all of their items, any additional charges such as tax or shipping and then provide a final total. It will also collect the customer’s account details with you, as well as their delivery details. Taking payments online like this holds even more benefits for the business. New information is now available to the business that wasn’t before, such as buying habits and contact details, as their online payment solution will store the customer’s details so they can be used for any return visits to the website, to ensure a faster payment process. It can also delay the payment if it needs to be charged later. In addition, online payment can let you store payment details for a subscription service you may offer, or if your customer is paying off the product in instalments. This means you can guarantee the payment will be triggered at the same time each month, rather than having to invoice each month and wait for payment.

Peace of mind for both customer and business comes from the fraud protection offered by the banks. For the customer it allows them to shop on a new businesses website without any fears of the product not turning up, and for the business they do not have to release their products or services until the payment has been cleared.