There are so many different payment methods out there now, with each having its unique selling point. As a result, it can be tough to land on just four or five methods that would be enough for a business to hit the preferences of the majority of customers.
Of course, this is just one aspect to consider as eCommerce transactions in Canada alone near $72bn per year . The whole process needs to be speedy, easy to use, and incredibly secure. So, here’s a look at how an online business can improve its payment processing with the tools available right now.
Expand the options and get on the gateway
The most clear-cut way to improve payment processing for your online business and to help future-proof the operation is to adopt more payment options. It’s always wise to cover the fundamental bases, like debit and credit cards as well as direct bank transfers, but now, there are several other methods and platforms to consider.
In the world of eWallets and mobile wallets, the likes of PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Wallet have become very popular. The convenience of these tools alone means that offering them as payment options opens up your business to a massive potential customer base that will revel in being able to pay quickly and easily.
However, for online businesses, there are plenty of ways to enhance the setup even more with multiple payment methods. The key is to establish a payment gateway over a more standardized merchant account. With a payment gateway in place, you’re essentially working with the digital equivalent of a physical card terminal.
The main difference is that merchant accounts are unique to you, while payment gateways operate on a network. Given where payment preferences are going now, though, being on a network is increasingly essential. After all, the only way to get all of the benefits of crypto as a business is through crypto payment gateway integration. Removing the usual suspected barriers of paying with crypto, payment gateways operate the same digital card terminal functionality, just via a user-friendly, no-fuss program for both customer and vendor. As crypto payments work on a blockchain, the network connectivity is key to unlocking the greatly reduced transaction costs and heightened transaction speed.
Letting automation do the hard work
Integrating a streamlined payment gateway, be it for cards, bank transfers, eWallets, mobile wallets, or crypto, is already getting you part of the way towards automating the payment process. Digital integration of other tools can greatly help to automate everything else that needs doing when payments come through.
A leading area to look into for this is digital accounting. By deploying a program that can automatically keep transaction records, fill out reports, retain documents, process invoices, manage expenses, perform month-end close actions, and manage transactions, your business will save a tremendous amount of time.
While there are already many trusted digital accounting programs out there ready to help, many believe that the best is yet to come. It’s been found that very close to half of Canadian businesses see AI as a way to improve operations, and one way that the tech can certainly help is with the automation of processes around payments.
To enable superior payment processing for your business, consider your options in the number of payment methods available, your presence in payment gateways, and whether any AI-driven digital accounting programs would suit your needs.
