As a small business owner or freelancer you are always looking for more and better ways to get paid. This is even more true when you sell your products and services online. You may have setup shop online, but finding a payment gateway that suits your billing and business culture can be a bit challenging.
There are a myriad of options available to the small business when it comes to receiving payments online. Traditional methods like wire transfer, cheque, cash and direct bank deposit are great core payment methods for any business, but because there are so many great online payment gateways out there it is probably a good idea to offer at least one for you clients to use.
Location, location, location
First on the list is identifying what type of clients your company has. Are most of your customers based in your own region or country or do the most of your sales come from clients that are outside of your country or immediate geographic region.
The majority of payment gateways have specific currencies they support. What currency will your clients be paying you in? Find out which currencies these are and always choose a payment gateway that supports the currencies your customers would want to pay in.
Instant versus scheduled payment
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 multiple successive payments.
Selling products or services that need a once-off payment only means you can look at a payment gateway that facilitates your clients to make immediate secure payments online. This is commonly a gateway that allows payment via credit card or a service like PayPal that provides instant secure payments for individuals who have accounts with them.
If your clients 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 pick one that supports collections in the currencies your customers need to be billed in.
Service offering & cost
After you have drilled down what type 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:
- Transaction fees: Investigate the fees every gateway charges and compare them. Some gateways also have security deposits that need to be put in place and strict withdrawal policies, so make sure before committing.
- Reconciliation of your payments is vital so find out what kind of reporting services your gateway offers. Ensure they supply reliable results of transactions in a timely manner.
- Some payment gateways supply 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 signing up.
- Safety and security regulations in the payment gateway industry are there to keep you safe. Always follow up with you local regulatory authority to make sure the payment gateway you want to use is a member and complies with their laws.
There are a myriad of options available to the small business when it comes to receiving payments online. Traditional methods like wire transfer, cheque, cash and direct bank deposit are great core payment methods for any business, but because there are so many great online payment gateways out there it is probably a good idea to offer at least one for you clients to use.
Location, location, location
First on the list is identifying what type of clients your company has. Are most of your customers based in your own region or country or do the most of your sales come from clients that are outside of your country or immediate geographic region.
The majority of payment gateways have specific currencies they support. What currency will your clients be paying you in? Find out which currencies these are and always choose a payment gateway that supports the currencies your customers would want to pay in.
Instant versus scheduled payment
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 multiple successive payments.
Selling products or services that need a once-off payment only means you can look at a payment gateway that facilitates your clients to make immediate secure payments online. This is commonly a gateway that allows payment via credit card or a service like PayPal that provides instant secure payments for individuals who have accounts with them.
If your clients 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 pick one that supports collections in the currencies your customers need to be billed in.
Service offering & cost
After you have drilled down what type 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:
- Transaction fees: Investigate the fees every gateway charges and compare them. Some gateways also have security deposits that need to be put in place and strict withdrawal policies, so make sure before committing.
- Reconciliation of your payments is vital so find out what kind of reporting services your gateway offers. Ensure they supply reliable results of transactions in a timely manner.
- Some payment gateways supply 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 signing up.
- Safety and security regulations in the payment gateway industry are there to keep you safe. Always follow up with you local regulatory authority to make sure the payment gateway you want to use is a member and complies with their laws.
About the Author:
Bill Bapsnill has been in the online payment industry for many decades. He suggests that you do your subscription billing via an online invoicing system.
Ditulis oleh:
Unknown - Wednesday, November 7, 2012
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