Online shopping has taken over globally, and day by day, the demands will rise. Therefore, business owners need to make the entire online shopping approach, from stocking products to payment processing. Let’s talking about payment processing today. What are payment processing solutions actually? When a customer buys something and transacts using debit or credit cards, the payment processing solutions or companies handle the transactions on your behalf. The company relays information to the merchant’s bank and the customer’s bank and verifies the transaction. In short, payment processors help the transaction between the seller and customers happen smoothly.
Factors to Emphasize While Choosing a Payment Processor
Transactional Fees
For most payment processing companies to do your work, they require you to pay transactional fees. Average fees range from 1.7% to 3.5% per transaction. The percentage actually varies depending on which processor you choose. Some processors charge a monthly fee, while others charge fees per transaction.
Contract
A few merchant services require signing contracts before doing business, although most payment processors don’t. The contract term might range from three to five years, depending on the processors. It is a smart move to carefully research services, read the contract, and ask if you need to sign an agreement that will be a year above.
Technology
For online transactions, a payment gateway is necessary. A payment gateway is an encryptor that encrypts financial data using your website. Some payment processors have their own payment gateways, while others use third-party gateways. For a brick-and-mortar business, you need a credit card terminal, POS, and readers for mobile payments.
Payment Process
Most payment processors support multiple ways of payment types. If a business is overseas, the payment processor needs to recognize multiple currencies, allowing multiple gateways to make it easier. Aside from accepting the payment cards, your processor has to eligible for mobile wallet payments as well.
3 Best Payment Processing Solutions
Stripe
Stripe has become famous past few years. They charge a flat 2.9% transaction fee for each product purchased. They charge no monthly fees, and their data reporting shows you the transaction in real-time. Stripe has a package called Stripe Atlas, which allows business owners to open a US-based bank account and process payments. Stripe supports more than 100 currencies, including cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. For digital currencies, they charge 0.8%.
WePay
WePay is focused on delivering an experience for its customers. They charge a fee of 2.9% for every card transaction. They also charge a fee of 1% for 30 cents for ACH transactions. The great thing about WePay is its user-friendly payment system. They have an intuitive website and app for ease of usage for customers.
ZipBooks
ZipBooks is free accounting software. It offers cash flow management tools to small businesses. ZipBooks can’t be termed as a sole payment processor; however, it provides traditional payment services like credit card processing and PayPal integration. ZipBooks has a responsive web application and works smoothly on any device.
These are the things you need to know about payment processing services. Before choosing to work with a processor, take the factors into considerations, and read contracts if they give you any.
