Payment Methods for Online Purchases
Businesses can accept payment from customers in many different ways. From credit cards to Paypal for online purchases, the different methods offer advantages and disadvantages for both you and for your customers. If you decline to accept a particular payment method, it could cost you customers. However, you want to make sure the payment methods you choose make sense for your business as well. By carefully weighing the pros and cons of different payment types, you will be better able to make the right decision. In a recent blog post, we discussed the benefits of offering multiple payments. In this post, we hope to give more detail into the advantages and disadvantages of these different payment methods and which ones we offer here at BMT Micro.
BMT Micro accepts and processes many different payment types that include: Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Eurocard, American Express, Diner’s Club, Carte Blanche, Novus, JCB, Switch/Solo, Maestro and Optima. Customers are given the option of ordering through PayPal™, Amazon Payments™, Money Orders/Cashier Checks (US Funds only), Visa/MC Debit Card (UK Debit Cards), paysafecard, or wire transfer in Euros directly on the BMT Micro order form. Now we will discuss a few of these and talk about a new payment method we recently began using.
Credit Cards/Debit Cards are the most popular form of online payment. They are very popular among the younger generations. It is a lot easier to carry around a credit card compared to cash and it is convenient for online purchases. Most people these days have a credit card as well. It is very important for businesses to offer credit cards as a form of payment in the eCommerce world to avoid having consumers go elsewhere. One downside from a business perspective is that credit card companies do charge a percentage of sales for a company to be able to perform transactions with the credit card. Another thing to worry about with credit cards is fraud. For small businesses, accepting credit cards can become more a burden than a benefit. Companies like BMT Micro make it to where you do not have to worry about the risk of accepting credit cards because we do all the work for you.
Money orders/Checks are also a convenient way with which older generations or people without bank accounts choose to pay. Banks do not charge extra to process these payments. There is risk with accepting checks because if the product is delivered before the check clears, and the check bounces, you may not get paid. Some businesses just forgo accepting checks. A solution if you are concerned about checks bouncing is to hold delivery of the product until the check clears.
In the ecommerce industry there are no brick and mortar stores for customers to walk into and purchase your product; however, sometimes people prefer to speak with a human. In this case they may prefer to speak to someone on the phone to make the transaction. Being able to take money over the phone can be very useful for taking payments, helping customers troubleshoot, and listening to their needs. Answering phones is typically something small companies outsource because they do not have the time or resources to have a call center. BMT Micro has a professional, knowledgeable staff that can handle all of your phone orders for you.
PayPal can be a useful option for many small businesses. The downsides of this are that PayPal can stop payments, freeze your account, cancel your account or take money back from you if they feel that a customer might have a valid complaint against you. Even if the complaint is entirely untrue, it can be a long process to get access back to your account and funds while Paypal is investigating the claims. BMT Micro has a merchant account and does not require vendors to have their own account or deal with Paypal directly, so it makes these Paypal issues nonexistent. Paypal is widely popular, credible, and very secure, so a lot of customers prefer to use it over their credit cards.
New methods for payment processing are constantly emerging. We have recently added paysafecard as one of the payment methods BMT Micro accepts. Paysafecard is a prepaid payment method and it is incredibly popular in Europe. It allows you to easily pay online to thousands of online stores as if you were paying with cash. It is also incredibly safe because you do not have to put in any personal information when making the online transaction. Paysafecard is a great payment method because you can use it quickly at thousands of sites while keeping your privacy intact. If you have any questions about paysafecard feel free to contact us today!
One payment method that BMT has net yet adopted is Bitcoin. The reason why is due to the risks associated with Bitcoin. Dealing with Bitcoin currency is high-risk because you are not dealing with actual dollars and cents like most commonly used payment processors. Bitcoin may make sense for peer to peer transactions, but not for businesses. Bitcoin is very unpredictable because it is its own currency. It has to be converted into the recipients currency to be valuable for the purchase of everyday products. However, since it is unregulated, Bitcoin lacks a reliable exchange rate. In the past, Bitcoins have been known to disappear over night as well. Beyond being unreliable, Bitcoin is vulnerable to hackers and due to it being unregulated, it would not be easy, if possible, to get your Bitcoin back. When somebody steals your Bitcoins, you will most likely not get them back.
Here at BMT Micro our number one focus is on our vendors and their customers being satisfied. We strive to continue to protect you against any threat, as well as be innovative to keep you ahead of your competition. Please continue to visit our blog to learn more about how BMT Micro is continuously making improvements in offering the latest, up-to-date, and most secure options for all your business transactions.
