Selecting the right types of payment methods is essential for e-commerce success. Yet, the task is trickier than it seems. Consumers from Finland prefer Entercash, while Japanese buyers opt for JCB. Besides GEO differences, certain payment types are optimized to maximize revenue opportunities, while others cost you extra. Here’s a short checklist to help you choose the best payment methods for your e-commerce business.
Two steps to select the best payment methods for your business
Before you proceed, take the following steps:
Analyze your GEO.
Before setting up payments on a website, you need to understand your target audience’s GEO. That is essential and does affect your income. Why so? African consumers, for example, prefer mobile banking. No matter how cool your product is, they won’t be able to purchase it if offered Visa or Deliver at the checkout. There is a wide range of researches showing the most popular payment methods in specific countries/areas. For example, check out The Most Popular Payment Methods in Asia or The Most Popular Payment Methods in Europe.
Analyze your business niche.
People order food delivery inside apps that are linked with Visa. Yet, they use cryptocurrency and e-wallets when it comes to paying for gambling or casino. If you are not a pioneer in the niche, do not waste time inventing the wheel.
Think of those competitors that target the same areas you do. Then, order something from their website. At the checkout page, get a peek at what payment methods they offer. It is as simple as it is effective. Another tip is choosing the right payment model. Merchants who run subscription-based businesses (media, cosmetics, vitamins) benefit from recurring billing. At the same time, those selling one-off products (aka real estate, furniture, law services) win when offering a one-time payment model.
Invest in research, and you’ll be rewarded. If you are short it time, you can reach us out so we can manually pick what fits your business best.
The eight most popular payment methods for e-commerce
Credit Cards
Today, credit cards are the most common way to pay on the web. Visa, MasterCard, Deliver, and American Express are the major credit card networks. Yet, there is a wide range of local credit cards used globally.
When integrating a payment gateway, you, as a merchant, get to choose what types of credit cards to offer. Credit card processing fees usually look like a fixed percentage out of a transaction. An average credit card fee ranges from 1.5% to 3.5% per transaction.
The majority of cardholders come from North America, Asia Pacific, and Europe. At Ikajo, we offer 177 payment methods, so we can definitely offer something that benefits your business.
Mobile Payments
Mobile payments are widespread in countries with a low credit card and banking penetration. For example, some areas of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Mobile payments allow customers to purchase on e-commerce websites quickly and hassle-free. They are commonly used on browser games, donation portals, and social media networks (aka dating sites, where customers can pay with SMS. Keep in mind that regardless payment method you choose, opening an internet merchant account is crucial.
Bank Transfers
Banks transfer is a reliable and secure payment method. It assures customers that their funds are safely used as each transaction has to be authenticated and verified first by the customer’s internet banking.
Some payment methods, like Entercash or Ideal, base on a direct transfer between two bank accounts. Once choosing such a payment method, customers get redirected to their online banking portal. Then, they authorize the payment. It only takes a few clicks to confirm the payment. Once the confirmation is over, the consumer gets a notification to his/her smartphone.
E-wallets
An e-wallet acts as a web treasury that stores a customer’s personal data and funds. The money can later be used to purchase from online stores and websites. Getting an e-wallet is fast and easy, with customers demanded just to submit their information once for purchases. The most popular e-wallets vary from country to country. To get an overall understanding of e-wallets’ popularity, consider the fact that there are 7,600,000 active QIWI accounts in Russia.
Let’s take a look at how e-wallet functions once a merchant adds it as a payment method:
- On the checkout page, the consumer selects an e-wallet as a payment method.
- The user gets redirected to the e-wallet payment page.
- The user enters his password to log in and complete the payment.
Prepaid Cards
Prepaid card is an alternative payment method. It is widespread among minors and customers with no bank accounts. The most popular prepaid cards are Mint, Ticketsurf, Paysafecard, and Telco Card. Age rather than income affects the adoption of prepaid cards.
Prepaid cards come in various stored values for customers to choose from. Online gaming companies usually offer prepaid cards as their preferred payment method in order to load it with virtual currency for in-game transactions.
Remittance system transfer
Businesses with a high average ticket amount benefit from offering swift and SEPA as payment methods. They are the types of remittance systems, wire transfers. SWIFT is a global remittance system that is available inside the US. It processes dollars. SEPA, on the contrary, functions inside the European Union and supports euro only. A high but stable fee makes remittance system transfers beneficial to merchants dealing with a high average check amount ($1 000 and more).
Cryptocurrency
In the last decade, cryptocurrency became a popular payment option among digital merchants. The lack of chargebacks makes crypto very attractive to high-risk merchants. Once again, no chargebacks or refunds are possible when paying with crypto. Keep in mind that with crypto payments, you, as a merchant, get crypto as well. Later, though, you can convert crypto to FIAT either with the help of a merchant’s PSP or a crypto-exchange agency.
If comparing to credit card processing, the cryptocurrency transaction fees are much cheaper. As for 2019, cryptocurrency transaction fees are the lowest on the market.
E-checks
Last but not least, e-check is a popular and beneficial payment method for U.S. merchants. It acts as an electronic transfer between two banks. The ACH network regulates all the e-checks. The average cost to process an ACH transaction per the Association of Financial Professionals is $0.56 (between internal and external costs). See The Complete Guide to ACH Payment Processing For Your Business.
The entire attractiveness of e-checks bases on the fact that the higher your average check amount is, the better are the saving. No matter if your product costs $5 or $5000, you still pay $0.56. That’s why e-checks are a common choice among American merchants with large sales volumes and a high average check amount.
Summary
From credit cards to e-wallets to crypto, Ikajo International offers 177 payment methods. Reach us out for an individual consultation on payments. We are here to provide you with a secure payment solution that will boost your conversion and stimulate revenue growth.
