Now more than ever, the way you get paid must be fast and efficient. The less time you spend chasing payments, the more time you’ll spend growing your business!
So, how to find the best payment method for small businesses?
With so many choices on the market, it can seem overwhelming to understand the differences – and choose between all the payment options available.
Online payment methods for small businesses are changing the game – and the best payment methods for small businesses are those which are cost-effective and simple for you and convenient and accessible for your customers. Read on for our tips on how to choose the most effortless payment systems for you and your customers.
The days of cash and card are long over – and when was the last time you heard the word “cheque”? Easy and usually instant, the best payment methods for small businesses bring both flexibility and choice.
Online payment methods for small businesses take place via a merchant service provider. Some providers facilitate debit and credit card payments, some bank transfer, and some direct debits. Which providers you choose will depend on what is the best payment method for your small business.
As a merchant, your business can accept card payments. While it’s the banks and other financial institutions that issue debit and credit cards, it’s the payment processors that provide the technology for these transactions.
With credit card payments, customers don’t immediately pay your business out of their own pocket; the credit card company pays on their behalf, until they pay them back later.
Debit card payments use the same technology, but in this case the money does come from the customer, rather than from the credit card company.
Visa and MasterCard have a near duopoly, with close to a 90% share of the credit card market. These payment processors set the interchange rates, which determine how expensive it is for businesses like yours to accept payments from customers.
One of the best payment methods for small businesses, this technology is many decades old but still innovating. Credit and debit cards can be linked with digital wallets – such as Google Pay, Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.
There’s a good chance you already use this online payment method for your small business. When you pay bills from your bank account, send or receive a salary, or use Paypal, these all use bank transfers to send payments.
Bank transfers process your payments as bank-to-bank money transfers. The bank transfer bundles together all the payments from merchants such as your small business, rolling them together into larger, more efficient transfers.
What makes bank transfers one of the best payment methods for small businesses, when all their customers have credit cards? Because of the cost. A bank transfer usually costs businesses less for the payment to be processed, than for credit cards to do the same.
Credit cards are convenient, and credit card terminals give you the ability to approve or deny payments in real-time. However, the higher cost will eat into your business’s profit margins over time – especially if your business accepts regular, recurring payments. Services like Paypal make this form of payment just as easy for your customers.
A direct debit is an automatic transfer, scheduled to send money from one bank account to another.
Direct debits are how a customer can authorise ongoing payments to your business. For regular bills that are due on a recurring basis, it’s easy to schedule automatic payments using direct debits. It’s the best payment method for small businesses that offers a subscription model of payment, such as gyms and sports club memberships.
Direct debits are used to pay for regular bills, subscriptions and memberships. They also allow customers to pay for a large item in instalments – such as paying off a loan or a buy-now-pay-later service.
This online payment method for small businesses is also a cheap, simple and convenient way for customers to pay. It helps customers to keep on top of regular payments – they don’t ever have to remember a payment date themselves.
However, they have to be confident that your business is trustworthy. After all, they’re giving the service provider permission to withdraw money from their account.
Cheap for you, simple for your customers – while it can be difficult to work out which payment system is best, the criteria is clear.
In a world swimming with options, customers want the flexibility to choose the option that suits them best. Increasingly, this means taking your payments online. Everything is going cashless, and there’s no reason for small businesses to be left out.
Businesses that take the step to offer the most convenient ways to pay may be able to put themselves one step ahead of the competition.
Leading the charge is online payment methods for small businesses. Choosing the right payment methods can help your business to win customers – while the wrong payment methods will cut deep into your margins.
Payleadr offers some of the most convenient and secure ways to transact online. We’re a leading Australian payments processor that specialises in cost-effective recurring payments for small businesses.
If you run a gym, beauty salon, school, sports club, or any other type of small business that takes regular subscription payments – Payleadr is the right choice for you.
Our seamless online portal can improve the way you do business, with fast and efficient solutions for your team and your customers. Why not create an account today and see for yourself!
