So, you are a business 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 searching for a way for your customers to pay you.
There are a myriad of options available to the company owner when it comes to getting paid online. Usual 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 clients to use.
Location, location, location
Ask yourself if most of your clients are based in your own country or do the majority of your sales come from customers that are outside of your country. Whether you use a geographically general or specific payment gateway is up to where the most of your clientele stays. If most of your customers are from your 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 supports this.
Most payment gateways have specific currencies they support. What currency will your customers be paying you in? Find out which currencies these are and always pick a payment gateway that supports the currencies your customers will want to pay in.
Once-off vs recurring payment
Now you need to determine the types of payments you will be collecting. Ask yourself if your customers will be making once off or recurring payments?
If your customers need to make once off payments you can look at services that provide the customer with the ability to make an instant, secure credit card payment. You can also look at an online wallet, like PayPal, that allows instant payment via an account that can be topped up via credit card, bank account or wire transfer.
Let's say that the most of your customers will need to pay on a recurring term for the products or services you offer. For example; a fortnightly payment for the gardening maintenance services your business provides. This means you will need to look at a payment gateway that allows the submission of recurring debit orders to credit cards and bank accounts. Make sure you use a service that supports collection in the currency your customers use.
Overall service and fees
After you have narrowed down what type of payments you require 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 business:
- 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 deal.
- Reporting: Does the gateway provide adequate information for accurate account reconciliation? Do they inform you of bounced payments and securely store client payment details.
- When utilizing some payment gateways you do not need a business or merchant account at a bank to use the collection service. This is perfect if you don't qualify for a business account at a bank. Do your research and find out what you qualify for and what merchant account your gateway requires.
- Do they comply with local and international regulations governing payment gateways? Check with your local governing organization to make sure the payment gateway you want to use complies.
There are a myriad of options available to the company owner when it comes to getting paid online. Usual 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 clients to use.
Location, location, location
Ask yourself if most of your clients are based in your own country or do the majority of your sales come from customers that are outside of your country. Whether you use a geographically general or specific payment gateway is up to where the most of your clientele stays. If most of your customers are from your 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 supports this.
Most payment gateways have specific currencies they support. What currency will your customers be paying you in? Find out which currencies these are and always pick a payment gateway that supports the currencies your customers will want to pay in.
Once-off vs recurring payment
Now you need to determine the types of payments you will be collecting. Ask yourself if your customers will be making once off or recurring payments?
If your customers need to make once off payments you can look at services that provide the customer with the ability to make an instant, secure credit card payment. You can also look at an online wallet, like PayPal, that allows instant payment via an account that can be topped up via credit card, bank account or wire transfer.
Let's say that the most of your customers will need to pay on a recurring term for the products or services you offer. For example; a fortnightly payment for the gardening maintenance services your business provides. This means you will need to look at a payment gateway that allows the submission of recurring debit orders to credit cards and bank accounts. Make sure you use a service that supports collection in the currency your customers use.
Overall service and fees
After you have narrowed down what type of payments you require 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 business:
- 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 deal.
- Reporting: Does the gateway provide adequate information for accurate account reconciliation? Do they inform you of bounced payments and securely store client payment details.
- When utilizing some payment gateways you do not need a business or merchant account at a bank to use the collection service. This is perfect if you don't qualify for a business account at a bank. Do your research and find out what you qualify for and what merchant account your gateway requires.
- Do they comply with local and international regulations governing payment gateways? Check with your local governing organization 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 saas invoicing system.
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