As a merchant business, once you’ve decided to go online, there’s no getting around the options available to you – the internet is where everything happens. For a fact, you know that people will patronise you over the internet. And in a similar vein, pay you through the web too.
The question now is, how do you intend to accept payments for the services or goods you’re offering online? Will you be accepting wire transfers, card-not-present transactions, or will you be taking payments directly into your local bank account?
Be it as it may, there are various options for you to explore. The only restriction is that they all happen over the internet.
To help you decide on how you’ll be accepting payments from customers online, check out the list of payment options we’ve compiled in this guide.
Credit and debit card options
If you want to appeal to a larger group of customers, then you’ve got to set your store up to accept this option of payment. Credit and debit cards are the commonest groups of payment options adopted by most online shoppers. So, when they come to your store, they expect to find the option there.
On the downside, though, there is a huge potential for fraud (credit card scams) and chargebacks when you accept payment this way. As a result, most payment processing companies might be unwilling to deal with you. And even those that agree to deal might charge you hefty fees.
The good news?
There are some payment processing companies like iPayTotal that specializes in helping high-risk merchants like yours create their own dedicated merchant accounts, while also catering to their payment processing needs, all at an affordable cost. So, if a payment processor has rejected or overcharged you before, you’re in luck. Just visit the iPayTotal website to get your high-risk credit card processing done.
Click-to-pay email invoicing
What about payment through an email? Don’t you think that would seem more professional? Of course, it will! Send your buyers a payment invoice by email and let them complete their purchase within a matter of seconds by simply making a few clicks from their email to your website payment form.
Accept eChecks
What about those customers who want to pay directly using their checks and not cards; how will you cater to them?
It’s pretty simple. Just create an online form on your store or site for them to enter their paper check details, such as routing and account number, amount, number, and authorization. Through the aid of a service known as the ACH processing, customers will be able to pay through their paper checks in a virtual format.
Payment through a payment gateway
Alternatively, you can accept payments directly on your store or site by simply adding a payment interface where interested buyers can pay through. With this payment form, prospective buyers can pay using their credit cards, debit cards, prepaid cards, or eChecks. All they have to do is enter the details of whatever card or check they’re paying with.
To facilitate this payment option, however, you will require the service of a payment processor – a company that specializes in routing payments from the bank of the buyer through the card support service (e.g., MasterCard) to your merchant account.
But you need not stress yourself scouring the internet for a company like this. Remember the high-risk merchant account service provider – iPayTotal.com – we mentioned in tip #1 above? Well, they also offer payment gateway processing services. So if you’re looking for a merchant account service, as well as a payment processor, you’re in luck. You can get all done under one roof, thereby saving yourself additional fees for using multiple service providers.
Schedule recurring billing
If your merchant runs businesses like mentoring, online coaching, online gym services, and other service-based merchants, wherein clients pay for the service they enjoy on a monthly basis, you might want to consider a recurring billing system as your payment method.
With this system, clients will be billed automatically upon the due date agreed at the time of applying for the service, and any payment taken from the attached account will either be moved directly into the business bank account or other allied payment options.
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