E-commerce: choosing the right online payment system
Today, setting up a reliable, high-performance online payment system is a must for many professionals, entrepreneurs, startups and retailers. To meet the challenges of payment management, remote transaction software, payment connectors and e-commerce solutions must meet the expectations of both sellers and buyers.
This includes ease of remote payment, automated collection, subscription-based sales management, reduced fees, as well as e-commerce and online sales modules. These are all essential features and criteria to consider when choosing your ideal online payment system.
3 key criteria for choosing your online payment system
Usage determines your needs and guides your choice: what are your business needs in terms of online payment? What are the essential criteria for your merchant site and your business? What do you need from an e-commerce starter software? How do you want to sell products and services online?
Simple remote payment management
An ideal online payment system should above all offer easy remote payment options that are secure and easy to set up. Whether it's for B-to-B payments, online sales or the provision of a service, you need to be able to receive money remotely as simply as possible, and ensure a good customer experience.
By choosing the right tool for selling products and services, you can accept online payments by bank transfer, CB or SEPA credit card from your website, while keeping transaction costs to a minimum. You can also send a payment request by e-mail for fast, secure payment of your online invoices.
The difference with the PayPal payment system? You receive your customers' money directly into your bank account, you reduce transaction costs and your customers don't have to register to pay you. You can also integrate a payment connector from your web and sales management software, your merchant site and your CRM.
A turnkey e-commerce solution
A high-performance e-commerce solution is the key to successful online sales. That's why you need an online payment system and connector that integrate functionality designed for e-commerce, managing orders and shopping carts via an online store, and accepting secure payments.
You need to be able to create personalized payment pages and marketing features, automate invoice payment and send notifications to your customers. Not to mention sales management for the different markets you're targeting.
A subscription sales option
Subscription sales are the Holy Grail of professionals, entrepreneurs and startups, as they generate regular income. But to meet the demands of subscription sales, you need the right software tool to manage subscribers and recurring online payments.
Your remote payment solution must enable you to receive money on a recurring basis, customize the terms and conditions of your subscription offers, as well as the debit dates.
It must also give your users access to a private area where they can :
- update their banking and personal details,
- download their invoices,
- cancel their subscription with a single click, if you have not set up a commitment period.
A seller- and buyer-centric online sales solution
An ideal remote payment solution must both facilitate the life of the seller administrator and meet the expectations of buyer users for a good customer experience, whatever your business.
The seller's needs
As a business or e-commerce player, you need secure payment management software that's :
- easy to learn, simple to use, autonomous and flexible ;
- automated, for invoicing, direct debits, reminders and notifications in the event of credit card expiry;
- cost-effective, with no transaction or maintenance fees, and low commissions;
- integrated, perfectly compatible with WordPress, Jimdo, Wix, etc.
Buyer needs
Your buyers and customers expect a simple, reliable and efficient online payment solution:
- fast, with a payment link for one-click payments ;
- flexible, with the options of their choice via Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and SEPA direct debit mandates...;
- personalized, with offers tailored to their interests and needs;
- practical, with direct access to their history and personal data.
Useful and indispensable e-commerce functionalities
When it comes to remote online payment management, few e-commerce players stand out on the market for their flexibility and agility. Payfacile, however, raises the overall score: the solution straddles the line between online payment and e-commerce solution.
Unlike a payment gateway like PayPal, you don't require your customers to create an account on your merchant site, and so increase your chances of making a sale and achieving your marketing objectives. It allows you to accept online payments from any website, social network or e-mail.
A "plug and play" payment software solution
One of the main advantages of the few players in this e-commerce category is that they require no technical knowledge to set up the payment system. So you don't need a computer expert to install it on your website or online store.
They work as online payment system connectors with your CMS and CRM to enable you to sell products, online services or subscription offers from your website.
A fully automated remote payment system
The system of this type of user-oriented online payment software supports the automation of direct debits, invoicing, reminders and credit card expiry management at the time of customer orders.
Subscription-based online sales module
In addition to automating online transactions, few solutions of this kind offer comprehensive, easy-to-use management to meet the specific needs of subscription-based sales. Among other things, Payfacile provides your subscribers with a private space where they can manage their subscriptions themselves.
Indeed, subscription-based sales are becoming increasingly popular with consumers as the usage economy develops: both B-to-C and B-to-B consumers are more and more inclined to purchase goods and services online by subscription.
Simple, comprehensive e-commerce solutions
Sales management software such as Payfacile includes functions for developing a full-fledged e-commerce operation, including a product catalog, and even management of the purchase and sale of digital files.
Good to know: Payfacile was the brainchild of a former merchant who couldn't find what he was looking for in an online payment system, making it a pragmatic response to the needs of buyers and sellers.
A final word
To choose and implement your ideal online payment system, first take stock of your needs and those of your buyers and customers. In addition to questions of security, ease of use and automation, think about the medium and long term from a marketing and customer experience point of view: are you planning subscription sales, online sales with an e-commerce solution on a merchant site? Choose a payment system that's easy to use, modular and integrated with a system connector, so that it can be easily upgraded as your business grows.
Article translated from French