So, you are a company owner or freelancer looking to expand your business and make some more money. You come up with the idea of supplementing your income by selling your products or services online. So you have setup your website and added your services and products. Now you are looking for a way for your clients to pay you.
Online orders can be paid through several alternative payment methods. Join me as I take a look at what payment methods are available to the small business owner and recommend easy to follow methods of identifying which payment gateway would suit your businesses' style best.
International vs local customers
Location, location, location. Whether you use a geographically general or specific payment gateway is up to where your customers reside. If most of your customers are from your one country you can use a local payment gateway. If most of your business is done with international customers you need to get a gateway that facilitates this.
Which currency will your customers be paying you in? This will help you decide on a payment gateway that's right for your business. Most payment gateways only support billing and payments collection in specific currencies, make sure the gateway you pick supports the currencies your clients want to make payment with.
Payment scheduling type
Do you sell a product or service that the client needs to make one payment for or is the product or service paid for in installments? i.e. comes as part of a recurring subscription that requires a few successive payments.
If your clients need to make once-off payments you can look at services that provide your clients with the ability to make immediate, secure credit card payments. You can also look at a payment gateway like PayPal that provides instant secure payments between individuals who have an account with them.
Let's say that the most of your customers will need to pay on a recurring term for the products or services you provide. For example; a fortnightly payment for the gardening maintenance services your company provides. This means you will need to look at a payment gateway that allows the collection of recurring direct debits to credit cards and bank accounts. Make sure you use a service that supports collection in the currency your customers use.
Service offering and cost
So you have decided on a few gateways that meet your currency, target market and payment type needs. To help you make your final decision you can use the recommendations below:
- Find out what fees you will be paying on the transactions you make through your gateway. These vary, so always go for the gateway that gives you the best overall rate and service.
- Remember that you will need to reconcile payment made via your payment gateway. It is therefore cirtical to ensure that the gateway you choose provides adequate and accurate reporting.
- Merchant account: Do you possess a merchant account at a bank? If not, some gateways act as your merchant account. Find out what kind of bank accounts you will require to extract funds from or use a specific payment gateway before joining up.
- Do they comply with local and international regulations governing payment gateways? Check with your local governing body to make sure the payment gateway you want to use complies.
Online orders can be paid through several alternative payment methods. Join me as I take a look at what payment methods are available to the small business owner and recommend easy to follow methods of identifying which payment gateway would suit your businesses' style best.
International vs local customers
Location, location, location. Whether you use a geographically general or specific payment gateway is up to where your customers reside. If most of your customers are from your one country you can use a local payment gateway. If most of your business is done with international customers you need to get a gateway that facilitates this.
Which currency will your customers be paying you in? This will help you decide on a payment gateway that's right for your business. Most payment gateways only support billing and payments collection in specific currencies, make sure the gateway you pick supports the currencies your clients want to make payment with.
Payment scheduling type
Do you sell a product or service that the client needs to make one payment for or is the product or service paid for in installments? i.e. comes as part of a recurring subscription that requires a few successive payments.
If your clients need to make once-off payments you can look at services that provide your clients with the ability to make immediate, secure credit card payments. You can also look at a payment gateway like PayPal that provides instant secure payments between individuals who have an account with them.
Let's say that the most of your customers will need to pay on a recurring term for the products or services you provide. For example; a fortnightly payment for the gardening maintenance services your company provides. This means you will need to look at a payment gateway that allows the collection of recurring direct debits to credit cards and bank accounts. Make sure you use a service that supports collection in the currency your customers use.
Service offering and cost
So you have decided on a few gateways that meet your currency, target market and payment type needs. To help you make your final decision you can use the recommendations below:
- Find out what fees you will be paying on the transactions you make through your gateway. These vary, so always go for the gateway that gives you the best overall rate and service.
- Remember that you will need to reconcile payment made via your payment gateway. It is therefore cirtical to ensure that the gateway you choose provides adequate and accurate reporting.
- Merchant account: Do you possess a merchant account at a bank? If not, some gateways act as your merchant account. Find out what kind of bank accounts you will require to extract funds from or use a specific payment gateway before joining up.
- Do they comply with local and international regulations governing payment gateways? Check with your local governing body to make sure the payment gateway you want to use complies.
About the Author:
Bill Bapsnill has been in the online payment industry for many decades. He suggests that you do your subscription invoicing via an online invoicing system.
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