If you do any or all of your business online, online payment services is exactly what you need.
It’s a digital frontier out there!
Your customers shop online… a lot. How are they able to shop online? Because the businesses and companies they buy from are equipped with software that allows them to accept their online payments.
And how does that online payment occur? With the assistance of a reliable (and hopefully a reasonably priced) online payment service.
While the most common form of online payments remains credit and debit card payments, there are a lot of other forms of payment customers can shop with now too.
But let’s address credit and debit card payments since first, since they are the most common and what you will probably see the most.
So, when your number one customer (we’ll call him #1) comes knocking on your digital storefront door because he has an itch only your awesome merchandise can scratch, of course he is welcomed in with open digital arms!
As he finds his merch or adds whatever service he needs to his shopping cart, he makes his way to your digital checkout stand.
He verifies the items in his cart are correct (and maybe adds the “suggestion” you have displayed in the corner of the screen while he’s there).
He enters his credit/debit card information along with his email and physical address he would like his items shipped to, checks the total, and then clicks “buy!”
Whoosh!
The digital wizard connecting his computer to yours waves his wand and you receive a notification of his order needing to be fulfilled, along with the payment for it.
Of course, there’s a lot more going on once #1 hits the button than just a fictional digital wand waving wizard, making dreams come true! (Although, we think it would be pretty awesome…)
His information is digitally transferred to your payment processor through an online gateway. Once his credit card or bank account information and funds are verified to authorize the transactions, the payment is processed.
Here’s a tad more of a breakdown of how the process happens:
Your online shopper adds all of the cool new gadgets he wants to buy to his “digital shopping cart” and after he’s input all of his personal info, including his credit/debit card number and such, he clicks the “submit payment” button.
All of his information is then encrypted by the web browser he’s using and transferred to the online merchant’s web server.
Once this occurs, you the merchant then forward the payment information to your payment gateway, through an encrypted connection to protect the information.
The gateway then sends info to the card association for approval, or denial, of the payment.
Then, the card association or issuing bank sends a notification back to the payment gateway with a code for either approval or denial.
The gateway then forwards the message to your website to let the customer know their payment was received and processed.
At the end of the day (and often automatically) your payment services submits all approved transactions to “batch.” This goes to the bank via your payment service for settlement.
The bank makes a “batch” settlement request for the credit card issuer.
The card issuer sends a settlement payment to the acquiring bank (usually within a day).
Then cha-ching! The bank deposits those funds to your account (usually the day after).
The entire process, up until about step 7, all happens in just a few seconds! Wizardry, right?
(For a more detailed description of the process, read up on payment gateways and how they work.)
#1 gets his gear 7-10 days later and he is a happy camper! He can’t wait to do it again.
Now you, Mr./Mrs. Business Owner, don’t want to deny #1 the joy of buying from you (at lightning speed) do you?
Heck, you don’t want to deny yourself the satisfaction of providing excellent products and services to #1, right?
You most certainly don’t want to deny yourself the money! Let’s be honest. This is why you’re in business, yes? To provide quality, to be successful, and to make money.
Business 101, right there!
Depending on the type of business you are running, you may want to consider an online payment service which allows you to take multiple forms of payments. While card payments are the most common, like we already stated, customers have many other options.
But can they utilize those options in your online store? This is the million dollar question.
Some of your customers might prefer to pay by check. People still do this, you know.
There are services available which will allow you to accept checks online. Basically the way it works is, you provide your customer with a “digital check” they fill out the same way they would a physical check, minus the ball-point pen.
Once they have filled out the check with all the pertinent bank information and so on, your system verifies the information and notifies you whether it is legitimate and if the funds are available.
Whoosh!
OK, so there is no wizard. We know. But a very similar process occurs and the funds are transferred from your customer’s account to your merchant account.
There are also other more “modern” forms of online payments out there too. A lot of payment services supply #1 a digital wallet to store his money and credit/debit cards in (bank and credit accounts). These are called e-Wallets.
Basically an e-Wallet mimics a physical wallet. Physical wallets are used to store credit cards and debit cards, as well as gift cards and loyalty cards.
A digital wallet allows #1 to add his account information for each card into one e-Wallet so when he is shopping online, all he has to do is select which digital card or account he wants to use.
It is quick and convenient and it doesn’t require him to manually type in all of his card or account information. Not all online stores are equipped to sell via this method, yet. But with its growing popularity, it could very well become the preferred method for online shopping.
Gift cards are also a very popular method of paying online and act the same as a credit or debit card.
The online payment services you choose, especially if through a merchant service provider, will probably have a gift card program you can customize for your business and offer your customers. This helps with bringing existing customers back to your business and spreading the good word about your wares and services.
We know every business is run differently and each one has its own challenges, but if you hope to develop a successful online presence and you want to provide your customers with as many options to pay online as possible, do your research on these and other forms of digital payments.
Especially if you are a small business just starting out, our guess is you probably can’t afford to see your business let any extra revenue slip away!
Be smart. Step into the 21st century!
You might have guessed by now, RedFynn specializes in everything related to business growth, and that includes online payment services. Of course, our super low rates and stellar customer service set us well apart from the pack.
Speaking of, we’d be happy to talk with you about any questions you have. Just call us at (888) 510-9871.
