There are many avenues of payment on the market currently that enable your clients to make payment for the products and services they order from your company. Basic payment methods like wire transfers (Electronic Funds Transfers), cash, direct bank deposit and cheques are accepted by most businesses and offer your clients a good couple of general payment methods. But it is always a good thing to give your clients choice.
There are a myriad of options available to the small business when it comes to getting paid online. Traditional methods like wire transfer, cheque, cash and direct bank deposit are great basic payment methods for any business, but because there are so many great online payment gateways out there it is possibly a good idea to offer at least one for you customers to utilize.
Global vs local clientele
Ask yourself if most of your customers are based in your own country or do the majority of your sales come from clients that are outside of your country. Whether you use a geographically general or specific payment gateway is up to where the most of your clients resides. If most of your clients are from your country you can use a local payment gateway. If most of your business is done with global clients you need to get a gateway that supports this.
It is also important to ask yourself what currency your clients will be paying you in. Most payment gateways have support for certain currencies only. So always pick one that supports the currencies your customers will want to pay in.
Once-off versus recurring payment
Now you need to determine the types of payments you will be collecting. Ask yourself if your clients will be making once off or recurring 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 immediate secure payments between businesses who have an account with them.
If your customers need to be billed on a subscription basis for the products or services you sell - e.g. a monthly subscription to a magazine - you can look into a payment gateway that facilitates the collection,debiting of recurring debit orders to credit cards or bank accounts. Most of these services only allow for certain currencies, so make sure you select one that supports collections in the currencies your customers need to be billed in.
Costing & level of service
After you have drilled down what kind of payments you need to debit and in which currency you can use the following criteria to determine which of the payment gateways that remain will best for your company:
- Online transactions cost money, to save as much as you can shop around for the gateway that charges you the least in transaction fees. Saving few cents on each transaction can save you thousands over time.
- Reporting: Does the gateway provide adequate information for accurate account reconciliation? Do they inform you of bounced payments and securely store client payment information.
- Some payment gateways provide you with an integrated merchant account while others require you to have one with a financial institution. Find out what is needed and if you qualify for an account before joining.
- Do they comply with local and international laws governing payment gateways? Check with your local governing organization to make sure the payment gateway you want to use are compliant.
There are a myriad of options available to the small business when it comes to getting paid online. Traditional methods like wire transfer, cheque, cash and direct bank deposit are great basic payment methods for any business, but because there are so many great online payment gateways out there it is possibly a good idea to offer at least one for you customers to utilize.
Global vs local clientele
Ask yourself if most of your customers are based in your own country or do the majority of your sales come from clients that are outside of your country. Whether you use a geographically general or specific payment gateway is up to where the most of your clients resides. If most of your clients are from your country you can use a local payment gateway. If most of your business is done with global clients you need to get a gateway that supports this.
It is also important to ask yourself what currency your clients will be paying you in. Most payment gateways have support for certain currencies only. So always pick one that supports the currencies your customers will want to pay in.
Once-off versus recurring payment
Now you need to determine the types of payments you will be collecting. Ask yourself if your clients will be making once off or recurring 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 immediate secure payments between businesses who have an account with them.
If your customers need to be billed on a subscription basis for the products or services you sell - e.g. a monthly subscription to a magazine - you can look into a payment gateway that facilitates the collection,debiting of recurring debit orders to credit cards or bank accounts. Most of these services only allow for certain currencies, so make sure you select one that supports collections in the currencies your customers need to be billed in.
Costing & level of service
After you have drilled down what kind of payments you need to debit and in which currency you can use the following criteria to determine which of the payment gateways that remain will best for your company:
- Online transactions cost money, to save as much as you can shop around for the gateway that charges you the least in transaction fees. Saving few cents on each transaction can save you thousands over time.
- Reporting: Does the gateway provide adequate information for accurate account reconciliation? Do they inform you of bounced payments and securely store client payment information.
- Some payment gateways provide you with an integrated merchant account while others require you to have one with a financial institution. Find out what is needed and if you qualify for an account before joining.
- Do they comply with local and international laws governing payment gateways? Check with your local governing organization to make sure the payment gateway you want to use are compliant.
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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