Business is first and foremost about generating income. No matter how good your products and services are, if your customers have a hard time processing payments from your shop, they would, in most cases, choose not to proceed with the transaction. You don’t want this happening so as your business evolves, so does the need to explore different payment options for your customer. In this article, we will tackle the world of online payment systems, why they matter, some examples of payment services, and how you can set up your own online payment form using Strikingly.
Why Do Payments Matter and What Is a Payment Form?
Since a lot of companies these days are taking their businesses online, expanding your customer payment options will encourage them to buy your product or service. This also reduces the exit clicks when they don’t know how to pay for it. Having a lot of payment options gives more opportunities for clients to pay in a way they are most comfortable with. When this happens, your business will generate more income — a win-win situation for both buyers and sellers. Giving customers incentive to become your loyal customer base is always a plus.
A payment form contains your customer’s information, details of what they’re buying, and what medium they will use to pay.
This payment form app for Strikingly websites allows you to sell to your customers easily without any headache. One thing to note for payment forms is it should be simple enough so your customers won’t have a hard time filling up your form and decide to shop elsewhere instead. In the sample form, all you have to do is to input your name, email address, what product you want to buy, your complete address, and any special requests. What’s good about this online payment form is that it’s easily customizable (including fonts, colors, borders, and spacing), you don’t need to learn code (just copy and paste to your Strikingly website), and it’s mobile-friendly.
What Are the Benefits of Setting up Online Payment for Your Business?
- Easy to set up: Compared to offline transactions, online payments are easier to integrate into your business software. Almost all online payment services offer the same integration process so once you enroll one, the rest should be easy to follow. You can register one account for multiple providers, all without the need to fill in paperwork.
- Secured payments: While you run the risk of receiving counterfeit cash, you can trust that the money you receive online is legitimate. Trusted providers also layer up on the security to ensure your money is transferred to your account safely. These transactions also come with secondary and tertiary verification so you don’t need to worry about anything.
- Mobile payments: If your shop is set up brick-and-mortar style, some customers might not have enough cash on hand to pay for their purchases. If you have an online payment system set-up, your company would still get a sale and the customer can pay via e-wallet.
- Gain customers: Clients will be able to pay without having to go to your shop. This convenience will make them want to purchase (and even repurchase) items. One more idea is that buyers are more likely to purchase if the payment process is instant. By accepting credit card payments, you can boost your sales without the hassle of the actual billing process.
- Quick transactions clearing: A good online payment system lets you receive your money on time. With technology like InstaPay, it will take a matter of seconds to verify payments and you’ll receive the money immediately.
How to Choose a Payment Method for Your Store
While there are various methods available, you should always do your research first regarding the following:
- Know what online payment option suits your business. It helps to be familiar with these terms:
- Virtual Terminals - Virtual terminals allow you to accept payments from credit or debit cards even without the actual physical card. Usually a web-based software linked to your accounts, virtual terminals allow customers to purchase from you by using their billing information, card number, expiration date, and security date. This method is secured and users shouldn’t worry about credit card breaches.
- Payment Gateways - These serve as the link between your customer’s money to you. When the customer is ready to pay, he or she will type in the information needed to finalize the transaction and it is sent to the credit card processor via the payment gateway.
- Credit Card Processing - By far the most popular method for online shopping, credit card processing provides a service or device that allows merchants to accept credit cards and send credit card payment details to the card provider.
- Debit Cards - If not credit cards, using debit cards for payments are also a popular choice for consumers. With a debit card, the payment is linked to the cardholder’s bank account and when they make a purchase, it is immediately deducted from their account balance. Like credit cards, the cardholder would still need to input a PIN for debit card purchases. The only difference is a line of credit is not involved.
- Merchant Account - Like a regular bank account, a merchant account allows a customer to receive payments through credit or debit cards. However, merchant providers should keep in mind what the card provider’s rules and regulations are since it is specifically designed for business purposes. A merchant account is a way for business owners to grow their loyal customer base by the use of cards and not just cash.
- Know your customers - When choosing a payment method, check what your customer’s preference is. Review the privacy policy of payment options. For example, transactions in credit cards will automatically be recorded by the system. If your customer doesn’t want to let others know what they’re buying, then they might prefer to pay in cash instead.
- Get familiar with the costs - Most online payment services charge a transaction fee. Credit card providers charge service fees and banks charge a cost for every transaction. You would want to choose a payment option that has the lowest fee possible so buyers would more likely want to proceed with the purchase.
With modern technology, different online payment services have appeared. Some examples of online payment systems include Apple pay, WeChat payments, Google checkout, Samsung pay, Amazon payment, WePay, Dwolla, and Braintree. While these examples have different brands, they all have one thing in common: to provide online payment solutions. Although these are the most popular ones, those not mentioned also make use of the same technology and are worth checking out as well.
The good thing about these payment services is customers from all over the world can purchase just about anything online. If the customer’s country doesn’t accept a particular payment service, they can choose other options to complete the transaction. With that being said, Strikingly is a website builder that will help merchants receive online payments. To know how and what payment methods are available, continue reading below.
Strikingly Online Payment Methods
To launch your online payment on Strikingly, just go to the settings tab under Accept Payments. Choose the currency you would like to receive your money and set up a payment gateway from the choices below:
- PayPal: PayPal is notably one of the most popular online payment methods out there. According to a study done by comScore, when customers selected PayPal as their payment method, they went on to complete the transaction 88.7% of the time, on average. It only takes a few simple steps to set one up to your website, and the ROI is more than worth it.
- Stripe: Stripe has been around since 2011 and it lets you accept credit card transactions for your online shop. While it can be done using a physical credit card terminal, Stripe’s software is used by millions of companies to accept payments, send payouts, and manage their businesses online. Follow these instructions to allow Stripe payments on your website.
- Alipay: Alipay is a famous payment gateway for China. Wen you accept payments with Alipay in your online store, you will get paid in your local currency. Learn more about it here.
Strikingly Offline Payment
If you decide to go the traditional route of offline payments, Strikingly also provides a way for you to do this. In offline payments, the clients won’t pay via PayPal, Stripe, nor Alipay when they place an order. Strikingly has a payment form which you have to fill up:
As seen in the photo, you should enter the name of your chosen payment method and instructions for your customers as to how they can pay for your product. Take note that you have to set up the offline payment process yourself and make it as specific as possible so as not to confuse your customers. To read more on how to do this, click here.
Now that you know how important setting up your online payment system is in your website, don’t waste another day and set it up using the most user-friendly web-builder available. Whether you choose to integrate PayPal, Stripe, or your personal offline payment process, Strikingly can do it for you. Contact a happiness officer today and get ready to accept payments online.
