Online business owners have to decide one key thing before they start taking orders from their customers: how they will accept digital payments. Unlike with a retail store POS system, you can’t take cash from your customers. Even if they were to mail it to you, it would take too long for the payment to arrive and would be subject to several downsides, like the possibility of theft or underpayments.
However, online commerce has come a long way since it was first invented. Today, let’s break down five different ways to accept payments online so you can get paid for the quality work you do and the products you sell.
1. Payment Cards
The most common method to accept payments online as an eCommerce store operator is to accept payment cards, including credit and debit cards. Payment cards are a very popular payment method both at brick-and-mortar stores and to use at online marketplaces for one reason: convenience.
At retail stores, payment cards give customers the ability to pay for goods and services without carrying cash on hand. This is far more convenient than having to take money out of your wallet and count it by hand, as well.
Of course, online shopping necessitates that payment cards take precedence over other payment methods like checks. Cash payments are impossible. Fortunately, eCommerce store owners can sign up for payment processing services and payment gateways to accept credit and debit cards for their consumers.
Doing so brings a whole host of benefits, including:
- Extra security for your payments and customers
- More convenience for your customers
- Faster check out
- And more
Crypto Debit and Credit Cards
Although most credit and debit cards deal in fiat currency, cryptocurrencies are now entering the payment card sphere.
Crypto debit cards have been around for several years now. These inventive cards let crypto coin holders quickly access their funds and spend them at marketplaces that accept Bitcoin and altcoins. It’s a fantastic way to actually use crypto coins rather than just holding them or trading them speculatively.
Prior to the advent of crypto debit and credit cards, crypto users needed to convert their coins into at least one kind of fiat currency, then wait for the currency to reach their bank accounts before they could use a regular credit or debit payment card.
Crypto debit cards have changed all that. They can be used at many merchants like a regular debit card and, rather than being backed by a normal bank account, are backed by your crypto wallet. Crypto debit cards work by converting coins into fiat currency before the currency is loaded onto the debit card.
In this way, crypto debit cards are like prepaid cards rather than debit cards connected to a fiat currency bank account.
Crypto credit cards are a relatively new tool that has popped up more commonly over the last year. Crypto rewards credit cards now offer various incentives and bonuses, just like regular cashback rewards credit cards.
How do they work? All crypto credit cards work with MasterCard or Visa: the world’s two largest payment processing networks. However, these cards don’t let you spend your crypto coins.
Instead, they reward you with Bitcoin or other crypto-focused benefits for using the card and paying back the balance on time. You accrue more points or rewards the longer you use crypto credit cards. You can, of course, pay down the balance on the credit card using coins converted into fiat currency or simply paying down the card bill with money in your bank account.
Bottom line: business owners that give their customers the ability to pay with crypto debit and credit cards could see increased business and greater customer satisfaction across the board.
2. Online Payment Gateways
Online payment gateways are a cornerstone of eCommerce shopping. Payment gateways are consumer-facing interfaces, like POS systems at physical stores, that collect payment information from cards so that customers can purchase goods or services.
A payment gateway is simply the checkout portal or page where customers enter their credit card information or other credentials with an eCommerce store. Through payment gateways, customers can pay with both credit or debit cards and with services like PayPal.
Note that payment gateways are not the same thing as payment processors. Payment processors take customer information and collect payments on behalf of a specific merchant. Gateways are intrinsically connected to processors, however.
Crypto Payment Gateways
Naturally, the rise of cryptocurrency acceptance has facilitated the development of crypto payment gateways. Like their fiat currency counterparts, crypto payment gateways let merchants accept transactions in a variety of crypto coin types, including Bitcoin, Litecoin, and other altcoins.
Also, like their fiat currency versions, crypto payment gateways guarantee that transactions will be processed quickly and securely. With a crypto payment gateway, you can collect information about a customer’s crypto wallet or currency and then use a crypto payment processor to facilitate the transaction instantly.
Naturally, integrating a crypto payment gateway onto your eCommerce site can do wonders for increasing your company’s accessibility. The more payment methods your customers have, the more likely they’ll be to make a purchase.
Plus, given the security of cryptocurrencies relative to fiat currency, crypto payment gateways can help you double down on security for your online customers.
3. E-Checks and ACH Payments
E-checks or electronic checks are a less known but still popular way to accept payments from your customers online. As their name suggests, e-checks are digital versions of regular paper checks. They use the ACH or Automated Clearing House to directly debit money from a customer checking account into a merchant’s business bank account. This is all done with the help of a payment processor, of course.
E-checks have a few benefits compared to their paper versions. For example, e-checks are transmitted electronically. This necessarily makes all transactions much quicker and easier for both you and your customers. So integrating e-checks into your business can help people pay you more reliably and more quickly than before.
This may be especially true if your business primarily takes checks from clients rather than sells products using a standard payment gateway. For example, if you’re a freelancer or small business that provides services, invoices may be better at accurately summarizing all of your costs while accounting for hours worked, overtime, and more.
Buying Bitcoin with E-Check
These days, many people are also able to buy Bitcoin and altcoin using e-checks. They do this because of the added security and fast transaction time inherent in e-check use.
If you design your website to allow e-check payments, you could access this part of your consumer base and get more people to use your site than ever before.
Plus, if someone pays you with an e-check, you can also use that same check to buy Bitcoin for your own purposes, especially if a significant amount of your company’s wealth is in a digital coin rather than a fiat currency. You can then trade the Bitcoin for other coins or convert it into a fiat currency.
4. Email Invoicing
Some customers prefer to receive invoices, so the vast majority of businesses have at least some invoicing functionality.
Invoices are great for a few major reasons, including:
- They record all the details of the transaction
- They clearly state how much money is owed and by when it needs to be delivered
- They serve as excellent accounting records for future review or in the event of an audit
If you have an online business, you can email invoices to your customers. Then they can pay you using one of the accepted methods you list on the invoice document. For example, you can list payment methods like credit or debit card transactions, crypto transactions, and more.
Sending Cryptocurrency Invoices
Even better, evolutions in technology now allow you to send cryptocurrency invoices. With these invoices, you can build customers directly in Bitcoin or any altcoin. This can be very beneficial since crypto coins are quickly spreading in their use around the world.
Having a record of your crypto transactions is excellent for verifying your records.
Any user that invoices clients for their products or services can take advantage of CoinPayments Invoice Builder to create an invoice for a client and email them the link. When the customer decides to pay the invoice, they just have to click the link and follow the prompts.
Bitcoin itself now uses Blockonomics, which lets all users create peer-to-peer crypto invoices. Along with the rest of the blockchain system, Blockonomics uses encryption technology to stop any third parties from intercepting or reading accounting documents like invoices.
Currently, Blockonomics only works with Bitcoin core plus a few fiat currencies, but this service is expected to expand sometime in the future.
Using Blockonomics, users can create single invoices all without making an account. All you need is a valid BTC address from your Bitcoin wallet. You can then use Blockonomics to make a peer-to-peer invoice, add a description and amount in your chosen fiat currency, and put an expiration date for the invoice.
It’s a fast and secure way to send electronic invoices to your customers and get paid in the world’s most secure and flexible currency ever.
5. Digital Wallets
If your online store already has a Bitcoin or altcoin wallet, you can also accept payments directly to those wallets. Many services will allow you to set up your Bitcoin wallet, though the security and features will also vary.
All digital wallets come with a Bitcoin or altcoin address. The address is always unique to individual wallets, and you share the address with others to send and receive Bitcoin payments. The address can be converted into a QR code for easy scanning, which can also be pasted on your eCommerce store for your customers’ convenience.
Your wallet will also have a private key, a unique mathematical gateway for your Bitcoin currency.
CoinPayments Payment Gateway and Wallet
CoinPayments is a revolutionary crypto payment gateway and coin wallet in a single, easy-to-use platform. We serve customers and clients in over 190 countries and territories and can allow you to accept payments in hundreds of altcoins.
It all stems from our secure servers, which let you set up a dedicated crypto wallet and use that wallet to both send and receive payments for your business. Simply sign up for a CoinPayments Merchant Account to get started!
Once you have an account, you’ll be able to integrate several different methods of coin acceptance for your online website, including easy payment buttons, QR code scannable icons, and more.
Through the CoinPayments’ website and the mobile app, you’ll be able to accept Bitcoin and any other type of coin for your business on the go, anywhere, anytime. Plus, our merchant payment gateway comes with various customizable settings and features, allowing you to specify exactly which types of coins you want to accept, how often those coins automatically transition into fiat currency, and more.
Conclusion
As you can see, it’s more than possible to accept payments online, especially if you want to start accepting cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Through secure payment gateways and wallets like CoinPayments, you can give your customers the flexibility to pay in whatever way works best for them.
In turn, you’ll see greater profits, boosted customer satisfaction, and enjoy the versatility that comes with trading in coins. Sign up for CoinPayments today to get started.
Sources:
Are Crypto Rewards Credit Cards A Good Idea? | Forbes
Payment gateways ≠ payment processors. Here’s your 101 | PayPal
What is an eCheck? How they work and how to accept them | QuickBooks
