8 Questions to ask yourself before selecting the RIGHT online payment provider
No matter what business you are into, if you want to streamline your payment collection process and enhance cash flow, online payments are the way forward. This cannot be completed without the right Online Payment Provider. Selecting the right Online Payment Provider can make or break your business’ digital agility, reputation, and brand loyalty among customers.?
Online payment solutions help customers make payments quick and hassle-free. To start receiving payments, a safe and secure system must be in place. Secure because sensitive customer card data has to be maintained and this is achieved by a payment gateway. It authorizes payments and deducts the authorized amount from your client’s card securely.?
Now, how does a payment gateway achieve this? By going through these steps one by one,?
All this process is done via encryption so that you or your business will be relieved of all liability of handling the client’s sensitive card details.?
How to start receiving payments??
The three things you need to start receiving payments online are?
What is a merchant account??
A merchant account is essentially a temporary account that receives your payments from a payment processor which then get deposited into your bank account. There are two types of merchant accounts-?
A dedicated account is similar to a bank account. In the case of a dedicated account, the account provider does a thorough risk analysis before account activation. Nonetheless, once the account has been created, you will have greater control as in, you can negotiate the charges, even preset holding intervals, and much more. A dedicated account is best suited for a brick-and-mortar business that wants to enable online payment options.?
Aggregate account- Here the money is stored in a shared account, along with other business’ money. Naturally, these are much easier to get started but you can enjoy only limited control since it is a shared account. Transaction rates cannot be negotiated. Hence, this is the best fit for e-commerce.?
It is good to be informed at this point that there are a few emerging gateways that don’t require you to even have a merchant account at all.?
Certain modern payment processors come with an in-built merchant account. But naturally, these will be more costly than traditional payment processors. ?
Now that you have gained significant knowledge regarding online payment processing and online payment gateways, let’s start analyzing the
Top 8 factors before choosing the right payment partner.?
Every business is unique and you must ascertain that the payment provider you choose must be tailor-made to meet your business' unique demands.?
When it comes to online payment partners, there is no one-size-fits-all solution.?
Let’s dive right in?
领英推荐
1. What is the ACTUAL Cost??
Enabling an online payment solution will enhance cash flow and empower your business as it scales. Such a solution should not break your bank. Hence, the first and foremost question is what is the actual cost you will have to incur??
To help you sort this out, first, weigh both the volume and the value of your business transactions. Several payment providers are vying to get a foothold in the market and hence you have the benefit of multiple options. Competitive rates start from as low as 2.9%. ?
If you are an emerging start-up or an SME whose transactional value is not very high, then this will not be an issue. However, if transactional values are high then it befits your business to try for a monthly fee and a relatively low transactional value. The last thing you want is for your payment provider to eat away large chunks of your money.?
2. Which all CARDS are allowed??
Most payment providers accept all major card providers. Visa, Mastercard, and Amex have almost monopolized the card industry but it is always better to ensure your payment solution covers other key players as well. The last thing you want is your customer who is willing to pay for your product but doesn’t have their preferred card integrated into your payment solution. Debit cards or Diners Club cards may be the preferred choice of certain clients. Ensuring all these cards are covered is crucial for your business.?
3. What is the HOLDING TIME??
One major drawback of online payments is that even though payment approval is done quickly, the money is not transferred immediately to your account. This delay is called the holding time. On the surface of it, holding time looks unnecessary but it is indeed a necessary evil. Holding time has been initiated to handle refunds and chargebacks. It can vary from anywhere between 1 to 7 days. Choose a payment provider wisely so that you don’t have to wait too long for that hefty payment to be credited to your account and you can release the yelp of joy seeing that message blinking on your mobile screen!?
4. What about Multi-Currency Support??
Being able to sell your products globally is every entrepreneur’s dream but how do you get paid successfully and in time?if you don’t have a trusted payment provider? Now, cross-border transactions can be time-consuming and risky, not to mention the currency exchange fees and other hidden charges. No matter what payment provider you choose, ensuring that your customers have the agility to pay in the currency of their choice is mandatory. ?
5. Does it support Subscription billing??
Businesses are increasingly switching to subscription-model. This not only opens up multiple streams of income but also establishes a long-term relationship with customers rather than the traditional one-off buyer-seller relationship. In this scenario, even if you are not in a subscription business, keeping your options of switching to one in the future open is crucial to ensure business flexibility and agility. Saving customer card details securely for all future deductions is essential for a smooth and frictionless?day-to-day activity. If your payment service provider doesn’t offer this option, all the work will have to be done manually. ?
6. Is Security the TOP Priority??
Every online transaction requires sensitive card details to be stored safely. Different payment service providers adhere to different security standards and businesses can be wary of selecting the right payment partner with the right compliance. Be informed to choose a payment service provider that is DSS compliant and a payment gateway that is level-1 PCI-DSS compliant. Ensuring that your payment provider has high fraud detection and screening tools is mandatory.?
7. Does it support Mobile Payment options??
75% of all customers use a mobile phone to make online transactions. The very reason why the majority of consumers prefer online payments to traditional ones is due to the convenience. That convenience is further increased when mobile payments are enabled. Giving consumers the ability to make payments regardless of what device they use is crucial not only to ensure timely payments but also to establish customer loyalty.?
8. Is the solution easy to integrate??
Businesses might have more than one solution to manage their myriad activities. Large enterprises will have elaborate?ERPs and any online payment provider must be easy to integrate with the existing CMS (Content Management System), PMS (Property Management System), ERPs (Enterprise Management System), etc. If these systems are easily integrated, then updating one solution will automatically reflect in all other systems. This saves a lot of time and effort and no manual updation is required. ?
I hope that this article will help you narrow down your options easily. Choosing the right payment service provider that meets your business’ unique demands can be quite tricky. You have to ensure that it is a solution that suits your needs, meets security checks in your region, allows you to collect international payments, and the solution must be aligned with your accounting software so that all updates are reflected automatically, and all this at a pocket-friendly cost.
The last thing we want is a solution to collect your payments only to shell out huge service charges to the provider whose job was to collect your payments for you!
This is why Abzer has left no stone unturned to come up with a payment solution tailor-made for a specific industry. Eduzer- for your educational institution, SmartCheckInn for the hospitality sector, SmartInvoice- Your go-to invoice generation software with an in-built Subscription Management Solution, Clinzer- for the Healthcare sector, and other solutions like QuickPay and many more solutions catering to various industries for the past decade.?
Visit us at www.abzer.com for more information or write to us for a free demo at [email protected].?