As a small business owner or freelancer you are always looking for more and better ways to get paid. This is especially true when you sell your products and services online. You may have setup shop online, but sourcing a payment gateway that suits your billing and business style may be a bit difficult.
Your customers can pay for their online orders via many payment gateways. Traditionally most businesses offer wire transfer, cheque, cash and direct bank deposit, but there are many other payment methods out there that can help you to get paid. Let's take a look at the criteria you should use when choosing a payment gateway for your business.
Location, location, location
First on the list is identifying what kind of clients your business has. Are the majority of your clients based in your own region or country or do the most of your sales come from customers that are outside of your country or immediate geographic region.
Most payment gateways have certain 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.
Instant vs scheduled payment
Now you need to decide on 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 your clients with the ability to make instant, secure credit card payments. You can also look at a payment gateway like PayPal that provides instant secure payments between individuals who have an account with them.
If the majority of your customers will need to pay on a subscription basis for the products or services you offer you will need to look at a payment gateway that facilitates the submission of recurring debit orders to credit cards and bank accounts e.g. a monthly payment of rental of self storage units. Remember to make sure you use a recurring payment collection service that supports collection in the currency your customers utilize.
Service offering and cost
After you have drilled down what kind 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:
- 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 crucial so find out what kind of reporting services your gateway offers. Ensure they supply accurate results of transactions in a timely manner.
- Merchant account: Do you have a merchant account at a financial institution? If not, some gateways act as your merchant account. Find out what kind of bank accounts you will require to withdraw funds from or use a specific payment gateway before joining up.
- Check with local and global governing bodies to confirm the payment gateway you want to use complies with their laws. Regulations in the payment gateway industry are there to protect you, so make sure you make use of the protection they provide.
Your customers can pay for their online orders via many payment gateways. Traditionally most businesses offer wire transfer, cheque, cash and direct bank deposit, but there are many other payment methods out there that can help you to get paid. Let's take a look at the criteria you should use when choosing a payment gateway for your business.
Location, location, location
First on the list is identifying what kind of clients your business has. Are the majority of your clients based in your own region or country or do the most of your sales come from customers that are outside of your country or immediate geographic region.
Most payment gateways have certain 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.
Instant vs scheduled payment
Now you need to decide on 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 your clients with the ability to make instant, secure credit card payments. You can also look at a payment gateway like PayPal that provides instant secure payments between individuals who have an account with them.
If the majority of your customers will need to pay on a subscription basis for the products or services you offer you will need to look at a payment gateway that facilitates the submission of recurring debit orders to credit cards and bank accounts e.g. a monthly payment of rental of self storage units. Remember to make sure you use a recurring payment collection service that supports collection in the currency your customers utilize.
Service offering and cost
After you have drilled down what kind 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:
- 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 crucial so find out what kind of reporting services your gateway offers. Ensure they supply accurate results of transactions in a timely manner.
- Merchant account: Do you have a merchant account at a financial institution? If not, some gateways act as your merchant account. Find out what kind of bank accounts you will require to withdraw funds from or use a specific payment gateway before joining up.
- Check with local and global governing bodies to confirm the payment gateway you want to use complies with their laws. Regulations in the payment gateway industry are there to protect you, so make sure you make use of the protection they provide.
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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