How does enabling new online payment methods benefits your business?

According to the cybercrew, 76% of people use internet banking UK-wide. Their usage keeps increasing by the day, and why shouldn’t it? 

Paying with digital methods is naturally more convenient, easier to set up, and allows customers to pay from anywhere and at any time. 

• 51% of adults aged 25 to 34 have a positive attitude towards a cashless society
• 46% of Londoners will use digital-only banking in 2021

Online payments are excellent alternatives to traditional payment methods, speeding up the transaction process. 

This is beneficial not only for customers but also for businesses. 

Here are nine ways in which digital payments can boost your business.

Lower operational costs

Unlike traditional payment methods, modern online payments occur within a much more automated environment. 

Because receipts get delivered via email and SMS, companies can save money on printing receipts, postage material, and paper usage.

As fewer humans are required to handle payments, your business can save costs on human resources.

Flexible payment options

For a business to remain relevant in today’s fast-paced world, it’s necessary for you to provide your customers with multiple payment options.

An online payment system ensures your business can accept all major payment options — credit cards, debit cards, and contactless transactions — Apple Pay, QR scans, etcetera. 

You will most certainly increase your customer base by accepting all payment methods. 

Knowing that you provide easy access payment options will make them more likely to shop with you.

Having a tech-savvy payment infrastructure gives your customers the impression that you are forward-thinking and stay on top of the payment trends.

Secure and Reliable

Security is one of the most critical features of online payments. 

Online payments employ technology such as encryption to keep your customer information secure, which is impossible to do with traditional transaction methods.

Some of the security measures that online payment service providers equip in their infrastructure are:

• SSL Protocol: It encrypts sensitive information shared by customers during the checkout process, such as credit card numbers.

• PCI compliance: PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is a set of regulations that require organisations to comply with 12 general data security requirements every merchant needs to follow.

• Tokenisation: It helps to authenticate the customer during the purchase without affecting the security of a transaction

• 3D Secure: 3-D Secure is a protocol designed to be an additional security layer for online credit and debit card transactions.

With online payments, the cash is sent to your acquiring bank account immediately after the transaction process completes.

Cost-effective

Compared to internet banking, most online payment providers don’t charge set-up fees or transaction fees. 

Some providers even offer zero transaction fees until you reach a threshold. It proves to be a massive benefit for small businesses.

Moreover, small businesses aren’t the only ones acquiring this benefit. Companies can also get discounts after crossing a certain payment threshold. 

As your business grows, your transaction costs go down.

Time-saving

Online payments save you and your customers time. How?

Your customer saves time by paying online rather than waiting in queues, and you get rid of the long in-store lines waiting for manual checkout. 

In addition, collecting payments and maintaining a record becomes less of a hassle. 

With the inbuilt dashboard of online payments, you can retain reconciliation, manage refunds, find any payment status, and get a real-time overview of your business efficiency. 

And, if that doesn’t scream ‘time-saving’, then what does?

Real-time transaction tracking

A dashboard attached to various new online payment modes helps you track and verify the transactions received and monitor their payments deposits in bank accounts on a real-time basis.

Attracting global buyers

Accepting online payments can offer a business the chance to open up your business to the entire world. 

Digital payments provide the advantage of expanding your sales reach globally.

Your offering can be available to more than just your local customer base as an online seller who can accept all payment modes.

Automating Recurring payments

Setting up recurring payments to collect fees for memberships, subscriptions, and services is efficient for your business.

Traditionally, you can get paid for subscriptions with cash or a check. 

However, today fewer buyers use these methods, particularly when services are bought and sold online. 

You can accept recurring payments easily with a payment processor that manages the billing process and protects the data of your customers. 

Plus, you get a dashboard attached to the payment processor that helps you to keep tabs on your transaction history.

Online payment infrastructure can provide your customers with many payment choices — paying in one go or partial payments, easily unsubscribing to services, upgrading the existing plan, etcetera.                                   

Better Customer Experience

Many businesses are vouching for online payments because it provides a better customer experience. 

Traditional methods don’t work as well anymore because of what newer generations value in a business.

Saving time and money while being more convenient will be essential parts of a positive customer experience. 

Extra benefits like this will make people want to stay since it adds value.

Takeaways

Irrespective of the business size, finding the right online payment provider is critical to accessing more business and operational capabilities.

Online payments will become the norm in the coming years, and social distancing will accelerate this trend. 

Ensure your business stays modern and efficient by including options to accept online payments and gain benefits.