Many of us shop online and use online payments for convenience. But do we really know how they work? To be able to use them on your online business platform, it is essential that you know about the different POS solutions. Read along to find out more.
Point Of Sale
A Point Of Sale, or POS, is an online terminal that is a complex digital replacement for a cash register on both e-commerce websites and retail brick and mortar stores. This allows your customers to pay for your products and services without having a cash transaction.
It records the details of the transaction to help you track the order. In the case of e-commerce stores, your customers can choose to save their credit or debit card details, for future transactions with your store.
Some Of The Best Online Payment Solutions
If you have an e-commerce website, it is recommended to use a payment solution to help your customers checkout faster and also have them coming back for future purchases. Here, are some of the most popular online payment solutions.
- Authorize.net: This is the most widely used payment solution worldwide. Some of the e-commerce platforms that use this are Magento, Volusion, X-Cart, etc.
- PayPal: PayPal is another widely used payment acquirer on the Internet. The payments are made using the customer’s existing account or credit card details, making it fast and convenient.
- Google Checkout: Just like PayPal, Google Checkout allows users to use their google accounts for payments. About half of the world’s population use google accounts, and this makes purchasing easier for your customers.
- Amazon Payments: This allows its users to use its API to send money to your merchant account. Although it charges a minimal fee, with Amazon’s large client base and the fact that people trust Amazon, several of your customers might prefer this payment method.
- Dwolla: Dwolla is a direct competitor of PayPal and functions similarly as well. However it is not as well recognised as Paypal is and is yet to pick up a very large base of users.
Best Mobile Payment Solutions
Although all the purchases that your customers make on their mobiles are similar to those on a computer, there are some key differences. Mobile payment solutions that are available today are slightly different from online payment solutions.
To make the payment process easier for your customers, smartphones now have apps that allow a digital wallet and alternate payment methods. Some even have card reader attachments. Some of the most popular mobile payment solutions are below.
- Square: Square is a free app and is a credit card reader compatible with Apple phones and tablets. With this, customers can easily swipe their card on the spot and make payments.
- PayPal Here: PayPal Here allows you to accept and track all the payments your customers make. Along with this, your customers can also break down sales totals, calculate taxes, and discounts offered to them.
- Google Wallet: Google wallet also allows mobile payments along with online payment solutions. It can be teamed with Google Wallet Instant for fast checkout processes.
- Intuit GoPayment: Like Square, Intuit GoPayment is also a credit card processing app. It accepts all kinds of credit cards and also records cash and check payments.
- Boku: Compared to the other mobile payment solutions, Boku is a little different. It allows your customers to easily add their purchase amounts to their mobile bill using just their mobile number. There are no credit card or bank details required.
Now that you’re aware of the different payment solutions available for you, try and test them to see which ones are likely to work out for your business. Ensure you compare the charges and transaction fees of each of these gateways before making the final choice.
