Let us ask you a question – what do you want from your business? You started this adventure because you were passionate and excited about bringing something to the world – trust us, we feel the same way. The cherry on top though is getting paid to do something that you love, that way you can keep doing it, right?
In our previous web article, we covered the importance of Booking Calendars and how securing custom is crucial for forecasting your incoming business and incoming cash-flow. But what about taking that cash online?
According to Shopify “just as in real life, a customer’s experience with your brand is all about the journey.” We couldn’t agree more. Helping to guide your customers using appropriate touchpoints, such as links, call to actions and buttons all point them in the right direction to your shop product, service or booking area and, ultimately, to make a payment.
The psychology of the user journey runs deep, with a set of subtle micro directions, ensuring they find what they need and follow it through. Webflow hit the nail on the head, in that “a met expectation — for example, that clicking a link called “Shop” will take them to an e-commerce gallery — will result in a positive emotional reaction. An expectation that is not met — say, the “Shop” link takes them to a contact form instead will provoke a negative reaction.”
So, whether you have an e-commerce shop, a service to book, or anything in between, your customers will thank you for having a user journey that ends with an effective payment gateway. Here’s our list of the best online payment platform options to get your business booming.
PayPal
Here we have one of the main players, the Big Dog, the one that almost everyone and their pooch knows, or has used at one time or another. Similarly to other payment systems like Square and Stripe, PayPal takes a small cut of transactions that are done using the platform.
If you have a business that takes payments, Paypal makes it simple for your clients to make purchases via a PayPal business account. They don’t always have to have a PayPal account themselves either, as they have the option to shop as a guest or they can choose to pay any of these methods, either online or in the flesh:
– Credit cards
– Debit cards
– PayPal
– Venmo
– PayPal credit
They even allow your customers to pay by scanning a QR code through the PayPal app.
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– A payment method that’s safe and secure
– Multiple options for financing
– Several ways to pay in person as well as online
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– Can be at a higher risk of scams or phishing attempts
– No current cryptocurrency option
– Potentially higher transaction fees could discourage sellers
Use this link to get £10 credit to your account if you choose to sign up (it also drops a tenner to us too!)
Check out their options and sign up here!
Opayo
Opayo was born through the rebrand from Sage Pay. The company’s mission is to help businesses accept payments from customers, grow, and thrive. It is one of the UK’s most trusted payment providers and they are great with small businesses. They changed their name because Elavon, a U.S. Bank subsidiary and major player in payments, acquired them.
Their tools for helping businesses grow, backed by expertise and service, have been available for almost two decades. With them, you can be confident in the future because packages and pricing are clear and transparent.
Whenever you need assistance, you can contact their UK-based team anytime, regardless of time via email, phone, or through social media. The company’s website offers a wealth of useful resources as well.
Opayo is PCI DSS Level 1 compliant, so your credit card data is protected to the highest standard. In order to guarantee enhanced fraud prevention, the company continuously invests in the latest technology and increases testing. It’s a worry-free way to handle your payment security.
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– Fraud detection tools are available for free
– E-invoicing lets you collect payments simply and quickly
– Excellent customer support
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– Payment fees can be higher in a more well-known company
– Lengthy contracts with some packages
Check out their options and sign up here!
Stripe
Based in San Francisco, California, Stripe is a widely used online merchant service. It is one of many online payment processors established for online and e-commerce businesses. It accepts over 135 currencies so it is considered more of a global payment system. There’s real clarity and transparency with Stripe’s pricing, and they also offer discounts for merchants with a high-volumes. It’s an easy and viable solution for many startups since they can get instant account approval to begin taking payments immediately – so you can get cracking with what you do best!
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– Cryptocurrency processing through the stablecoin USDC
– ACH Payment Processing
– Payment Fraud Prevention
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– Report creation can be cumbersome
– Better compatibility with accounting software is needed
– The user interface could be more intuitive
Check out their options and sign up here!
Square
Square’s software, alongside its card reader, offers a sophisticated payment solution for many growing businesses.
For businesses with a few thousand pounds in transactions each month, Square charges 1.75%. Depending on your growth plans, however, it might be worthwhile looking into a merchant account with a bank, to ensure that you are always getting the best rates for your transactions.
Saying that though Square’s free basic point of sale software is available to anyone and you can integrate extra Square Apps for your POS software if required. So you get a lot of bang for your buck, it’s just how much buck you have available.
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– Fee-free monthly payment processing
– Transfers on the next business day
– Readers integrated with POS systems
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– A paywall blocks a lot of good features
– There is a limitation in terms of customer relationship management in certain packages
– A high-risk business may not be approved
Check out their options and sign up here!
Found The Best Online Payment Platform – What Next?
So, you found your best online payment platform and are now after some help with web or social content to drive business to your shop products or services? Book a consultation with us and you’ll be Reyt Chuffed with the results! Otherwise, contact us if you have any questions about any of our services!