DIGITAL GROWTH
Taking payments online – top five considerations for SMEs
As a consumer in 2017 we can buy pretty much anything online - dog food, a giant Jenga set, a customised pillow, a holiday maybe. You can even pay your window cleaner online these days. It follows then that even the
smallest businesses can leverage online payments to grow their business. There are a number of considerations for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) around taking payments online that are discussed below:
1. PAYMENT PROVIDERS To take payment online you’ll need a payment provider. These guys securely handle the transaction and pass the funds to your business. Sometimes the payment provider is built into the platform you are using, i.e, Shopify or eBay. Other times you may need to set this up yourself, or ask your website developer to lend a hand. It’s a much simpler process today than it was in the past, however my advice is to use one of the newer payment providers such as Braintree or Stipe. These providers have the advantage of a quick setup and sometimes have introductory or low rates for new customers.
2.FEES AND CHARGES Just like if you had a retail outlet there are costs associated with taking payments online. These costs are less than renting a shop and paying business rates, but they must be factored into your margin to ensure that you can still be profitable when you sell online. Ordinarily, a payment
provider/platform will charge per transaction fee plus a percentage. For example, PayPal fees start at 3.4% + 20p per transaction in the UK.
3.SECURITY AND FRAUD We hear a lot about online security, privacy and fraud. The area of digital payments is no stranger to these subjects. That said, SMEs shouldn’t panic - taking the time to plan and implement a robust payment flow will keep you and
62 business network November 2017 With this in mind, be sure to
consider the steps you build into your payment flow and always challenge this, putting the buyer at the centre of every decision you make. Less is more, but don’t cut corners either – remember you need to retain that all important ‘buyer confidence’.
your customers safe. Most payment providers handle all of this without you needing to do a great deal. However, you will likely need to secure your website or app so that it uses HTTPS – this encrypts data being sent to and from your website and is low cost to set up.
4.BUYER EXPERIENCE Sometimes just one-click (or tap) and the product is on its way. The very best buying experiences are frictionless and require the least amount of input from the customer. That’s the buying experience every customer wants.
ABOUT THE EXPERT
Rob Gregory is one of the Digital Growth Programme’s consultants and will be running a series of ‘Taking payments online’ seminars. Having worked on large- and small-scale technology projects, Rob has experience ranging custom software development, ecommerce implementation and emerging technology projects. He is a director at a technology consultancy that helps businesses do better with software and data.
5.TESTING PAYMENTS As a business taking payments online you need to make sure you test your process regularly. This ensures there are no issues for your buyers, meaning they will hopefully return. All payment providers have ways that you can test in a sandbox environment, however I recommend that you make at least one real payment a month just to be sure that everything is working as expected.
SUMMARY It doesn’t matter what you make, sell, or offer as a service, taking payments online can be transformational for any business. Considering these five points will ensure successful integration of online payments into your business. My final bit of advice is that if
you are unsure about anything, it’s worth investing in an expert to help you get set tup – the last thing you want is for online payments to work against your business when they have so much potential to offer.
BOOK YOUR FREE PLACE
Taking payments
online seminar Learn how to successfully integrate online payments into your business. This seminar demystifies online payments by explaining technical jargon in a simple language.
THE SEMINAR WILL COVER:
• Security • Fraud protection • PCI compliance • Buyer experience • Getting started • Costs • Integration and testing • Payment provider options • The future of payments
SEMINAR SCHEDULE: 8am:
8.30am: Presentation 11am:
Q&A 11.30am: Close
WHEN AND WHERE: Date:
Location: Rushcliffe
Book now at:
www.d2n2-digital.co.uk Date:
Book now at:
www.d2n2-digital.co.uk Date:
Location: Leicester
Book now at:
www.leics-digital.co.uk
15 November 2017
Registration, networking and refreshments
30 January 2018 Location: Amber Valley
8 November 2017
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