The Top 7 Ways Your Business Can Accept Payments

Does your business accept online payments? If not, then you’re missing ample opportunities. Being a business owner, you only get paid if your consumers pay you on time and regularly. That means ensuring your ability to accept payments by offering multiple payment modes should be your priority.

No matter your business’s size and type, you can offer several payment options to your customers to get paid continuously without any delay. Accepting business payments in various ways is the best deal to boost your customer experience and make money quickly.

This post has put together a few top ways your business can accept payments from customers. Let’s take a closer look at the details.

1. Accept Debit Cards and Credit Cards

This survey states that 75% of clients prefer to pay with a credit card or debit card – whether paying in person or online. The way you will go about accepting these payments relies on the business type you’re operating.

For instance, if you own a brick-and-mortar store, you will require a merchant account. A merchant account is a bank account that allows companies to accept payments from their consumers in multiple ways. On the other hand, if you run an online business, you will require an e-commerce site and a payment gateway. The payment gateway encrypts any data entered on your payment page and ensures secure transmission of customers’ sensitive information.

Besides, remember if you’re accepting online payments, it’s your responsibility to keep confidential customer information secure. For this, make sure to select a Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant payment gateway.

2. Accept eChecks through ACH Processing 

ACH (Automated Clearing House) processing is another popular method to accept payments from your customers. This option enables consumers to provide you with their routing and bank account details for electronic payments. There are many other benefits of picking ACH processing – it comes with lower charges than debit or credit cards. ACH is more secure than having consumers who write you checks every month. This system also saves you time as you will require to submit the details only once, and the amount will be deducted automatically as arranged. Moreover, it will help you make your cash flow smooth and generate predictable revenue.

3. Offer an Online Payment Gateway 

By including a simple online payment form, people can pay their bills directly on your business site. Returning clients can even create accounts to save their payment details for easy and quick repeat payments. You can outsource this property to firms that specialize in online payment systems, such as hosting the payment form, offering secure payment processing, managing secure client account storage, and more. You can even personalize your payment form to match your branding based on your provider.

If you operate a service-based business, providing consumers an online payment form allows them to pay you quickly by accepting payments online by debit card, credit card, or eCheck. Another plus point is that online payment forms offer you an online destination for services you market through social posts and email.

4. Schedule Recurring Billing 

When it comes to paying invoices or bills, customers do not like to keep track of multiple due dates. A recurring billing system is a method for consumers to pay for different monthly services. This is not only a convenient option for people to pay their bills online but also guarantees that businesses will receive their payments on time. Therefore, give your clients the choice to sign up for a recurring billing plan. With this, consumers can register for automatic monthly payment deductions on their debit or credit cards.

5. Use PayPal, Square, and Stripe 

Undoubtedly, PayPal, Square, and Stripe are top players in accepting online payments. None of them needs you to create a merchant account – though each one is different. The method you choose to receive payments depends on your business type.

If you are new to accepting online payments, then PayPal is an excellent deal. The system enables companies to accept payments without even setting up a merchant account. To accept PayPal payments personally, you’ll require to have the PayPal app downloaded and buy a card reader.

If you own a physical store, Square is the best option as it enables you to turn your smart device into a POS (Point-of-Sale) device by attaching a chip, magstripe, and Bluetooth card reader.

Like PayPal, Stripe is also usually used online. It is easy to implement and known for its efficient and seamless checkout procedures.

6. Offer Contactless Payment Systems

Contactless payment systems enable consumers to pay by waving their credit or debit cards over the Point-of-Sale system, and payments take place wirelessly. With the contactless method, customers are not required to enter their PIN, etc. to make payments – accurate and quick process.

Companies, including Mastercard and Visa, are offering contactless credit or debit cards to their consumers. Also, Android and Apple are encouraging their customers to use mobile wallets – making contactless payments easier.

Apart from this, incorporating contactless payments into your business payment system is more accessible than it appears. The first place is to begin by updating your equipment with an NFC (Near-Field Communication) reader. Also, you may require to update your software based on your current payment system.

7. Integrate Chip Card or EMV Solutions

Chip card or EMV solutions are an essential consideration for businesses in today’s marketplace. Cards with chips and magnetic stripes make it challenging to build counterfeit cards or run fraud transactions. EMV or chip card solutions are an essential consideration for today’s businesses. Cards with chips, versus just magnetic stripes, make it more difficult to create counterfeit cards or carry out fraud transactions. If you are accepting online payments, make sure your payment solution has integrated EMV into their platform.

Conclusion 

The list of options on how to accept payments for businesses is continually growing and evolving. These are some of the top ways your business can consider investing in to receive payments from customers. The key to determining the right online and in-person payment option for your company is to learn everything about the system you’re choosing, including its pros and cons. Besides, if you are still confused about which payment system will work for your business and customers, consider talking to a professional. One with extensive experience in the field can give you the right tips on payment systems depending on your business type and situation.