Fact: modern consumers are increasingly gravitating towards eCommerce businesses. While brick-and-mortar retail isn’t going away, today’s customers value the convenience of shopping online.
As such, selling your products and services on the web allows you to better serve your customers and increase revenue.
eCommerce payment processing plays a critical role in the success of your online store. After all, shoppers won’t be able to make purchases through your website without a robust payment solution.
To further shed light on eCommerce payment processing, we’ve put together a quick post outlining the benefits of online selling and how to implement payments properly.
Here is everything you need to know about eCommerce payment processing and how it can help your business grow.
How Can eCommerce Solutions Help My Business?
From accepting credit cards and debit cards online to setting up your customized web store, there are various eCommerce solutions that can assist when in-person payments are not an option. Whenever your customer is ready to checkout, they can easily do so directly from your website.
After adding items or services to their cart, your customer can go to the checkout page. There, they can enter their debit or credit card details and process their payment digitally. When set up the right way, this process allows your customers to complete their entire purchase process without ever having to leave your site or the comforts of their home.
Why Are These Solutions so Important?
Online payment solutions are crucial to a modern business. Without them, you are unable to accept payment methods that are becoming an industry standard.
This makes these payment services highly essential for any business, whether it’s a brick-and-mortar store or an online service. But the benefits of these solutions do not end there.
To help you understand the larger advantages of online merchant account services, here is a quick overview of their most common benefits.
Cater to a Large Set of Customers
The online payments process allows your business to accept credit card payments in an easy yet efficient way. Instead of driving down the complicated road of bank transfers or check payments, you can give your customers a simpler way to complete their purchases through your own website.
This gives you the opportunity to expand your outreach to potential customers who cannot visit your business location or who are obtaining your services remotely.
Maintain the Consistency of Your Brand
With the ability to design your shopping cart and checkout process the way you want it to be shown, you are also able to maintain the consistency of your brand while also accepting online payments.
This way, you don’t have to direct customers to third-party websites or payment methods to complete their purchases. This gives your customers the assurance of dealing with a business that has a larger and more robust infrastructure, which allows them to have more trust in your operations.
Enjoy Industry-Grade Security
Reliable online merchant account services providers offer their services without putting your customers’ security at risk. They comply with the latest industry and security standards to ensure that you and your customers’ data remain safe from any threats.
By partnering with credible payment processing solutions, you can enhance your customers’ trust in your eCommerce solutions. New customers no longer have to wonder if they can trust your business with their financial information. By seeing that their payments are secured via renowned security standards, they become more comfortable in transacting with your business.
Cut Down Your Revenue Cycle
Online payments can give you a significant advantage in terms of improving your revenue stream. Instead of having to wait to receive payments after the delivery of goods, you can accept your payments at the time of order placement.
This helps you manage out-of-pocket costs more efficiently and cuts back on collection times. It is also one of the most glaring reasons why more and more businesses are turning to online payment solutions as they manage their operations.
The convenience and security of eCommerce payment processing make it a sought-after solution for businesses of all types.
What You Need to Accept Online Payments
Now that we’ve covered the benefits of eCommerce payments, let’s get into how the process actually works. Accepting online payments typically involves three main components:
- Payment processor. The payment processor is the entity that transmits payment data between the customer, their bank, and your bank. The processor interfaces with these parties to verify available funds and transmit transaction approvals.
- Payment gateway. The role of the payment gateway is to capture the payment information entered into the eCommerce platform, in order for the data to be sent to the payment processor. Think of the gateway as the online equivalent of a card reader or point of sale (POS) system in a brick-and-mortar store.
- Merchant account. The merchant account is where the funds will be deposited.
Together, these three parties facilitate the online payments process. That’s why it’s essential to ensure that all of them are tightly integrated.
Choosing the Right eCommerce Payment Providers
Online payments have several moving parts, so choosing the right partners is a must. Implementing online payments will look different, depending on where you are in your business.
Consult with your current merchant services provider. If you already have an existing store or business and are just looking to add an online store, then tap into your current merchant services or payment processing provider.
In many cases, they may already offer payment gateway and shopping cart capabilities so you can easily set up shop online.
Be sure to ask about the payment systems they integrate with, so you can keep all your tools and data in sync.
Look for providers that integrate with your eCommerce platform of choice. If you don’t have a payment processor yet, it may make sense to look for a preferred eCommerce provider and then see which solutions can connect with the platform.
Whatever the case, the important thing is to ensure that your eCommerce store, payment processor, and payment gateway can “talk” to each other so that data flows smoothly and you get paid quickly.
What to Look for in a Payment Provider
There are numerous payment systems and providers in the market, so finding the right one can be overwhelming. To help, here are the factors to consider when evaluating payment processing services.
Supported payment types
Go with a payments platform that enables to you accept all payment types. Debit and credit card processing are table stakes but bear in mind that some shoppers may choose to pay via ACH, eChecks, SMS, and more.
Choosing a provider that covers all these payment options will enable you to better serve your customers. Stax, for example, supports multiple modes of payment. From credit and debit cards to mobile payments (like Apple Pay), ACH, and invoicing, Stax’s platform has everything you need.
Processing fees
Accepting payments comes with a price. Interchange fees, assessment costs, monthly fees, and other expenses—all factor into your overall payment processing costs. These things can add up, so make sure to ask providers about how much they charge and compare different rates.
For best results, choose a payments partner that doesn’t take a large cut out of your sales. Stax, for example, gives you access to the direct cost of the interchange (i.e., wholesale transaction fees).
Unlike traditional processors, which charge a certain percentage per transaction, you’ll simply pay Stax a flat membership fee. This makes payment processing expenses more predictable, plus you get to keep more of your profits.
Security
Go with a provider that offers a high level of payment security. Having a PCI-compliant provider is obviously a must to ensure card transactions are secure. Bear in mind that not all providers are created equal when it comes to security.
There are different levels of PCI compliance—the highest of which is Level 1. Stax is a Level 1 PCI Service Provider, which means we offer the strongest level of compliance available.
Customer support
You need a payments provider that has your back. From answering questions about the platform’s functionality to navigating issues like security or chargebacks, having a partner with strong support offerings will go a long way.
At Stax, we offer 24/7 support along with a comprehensive knowledge base to ensure you have everything you need to accept payments online, offline, and everywhere in between.
Your Online Store, Connected With Stax
Partnering your online store with the Stax Platform puts your entire payment experience into one easy-to-use location. Along with statements, deposit reports, and PCI compliance, each online payment you process will be accessible and accounted for within your dashboard.
With quick payments, a simple setup, and modern solutions, it is easy to see how eCommerce solutions can benefit your business. If you want your business to succeed in today’s day and age, then having these payment services is a must.
We at Stax offer state-of-the-art conventional and online merchant account services that take care of all your needs while also being affordable. Through our secure, seamless, and customizable solutions, we can help your business scale according to your expectations.
To learn more about our services or to receive a custom quote reach out to us at Stax today. We will be happy to discuss your needs and help you set up online payment solutions that are a perfect fit for your business.
