7 Ways Your Business Can Accept Payments – Alternative Payment Methods

As a business owner, you know time is money. And, running a successful business takes a lot of time. From payroll to managing employees to taxes, you’re probably spending most of your days making sure your business is up and running. It’s important to spend some time thinking about the nitty-gritty details of your business, like tax and accounting requirements and how to handle the financial side. But sometimes, it can feel like you spend too much time thinking about the numbers and not enough time doing what you love—running the day-to-day operations of your business.

To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of 7 ways your business can accept payments – from old-fashioned to newer styles like Square – so you can choose what works best for your business.

PayPal

PayPal is one of the largest payment processors in the world. It’s a secure way to process your charges with a range of payment options. You can receive money from PayPal and then use it to transfer money or pay someone you owe.

It’s super easy to get started with PayPal. Just go to the site and sign up. Add your credit card or bank account and get verified. You can even link your PayPal account to your business checking account if you want.

It offers a free service option for your business but charges 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction if you upgrade to a business account.

Accept Credit Cards. One of the most popular ways for a business to accept payments is using a credit card terminal. This can be helpful for any business looking to quickly and easily accept credit card payments. This is the perfect solution for merchants that sell items that are over $10, as most banks will charge additional fees if you are processing transactions under that amount. Your business can accept credit card payments in a lot of ways. If you’re not familiar with PCI Compliance, you should be. It protects you from lawsuits and fines and makes sure your customers’ data is safe and secure. Click here to check a list of credit card decline codes and messages which go hand in hand with PCI compliance.

Stripe

With over 10,000 customers and a growing user base of over 37 million people, Stripe (formerly known as Stripe) is one of the fastest-growing startups in America. It’s not hard to see why: the company has made accepting payments a smooth (and often fun) experience for new and veteran businesses alike. In accomplishing this, Stripe has made it easy to offer customers a full suite of options, from simple payment processing to more advanced features like insight reports.

The Best Part:

Consumers can purchase products using a credit card, Apple Pay, or whatever type of currency users prefer to use. Getting started with Stripe is easy; all you have to do is sign up on their website and get your public key.

Mint

Mint enables consumers to manage their finances in one place. You can import your transactions from your bank, credit cards, and loans, as well as track your investments and credit scores. The site also provides a PayPal-like interface that allows users to purchase items through your website. All you have to do is integrate the Mint API. After setting up your account, arrange terms with sellers. They will then receive funds into their respective bank accounts.

There are no monthly or setup fees for using Mint Pay, and a seller account can be set up quickly (accounting for a few days for review).

Mint expects a wholesale markup of 3-5%, depending on volume. The markup will be applied to all sales completed through the Pay service.

Square

Square is an easy and convenient way to accept credit cards on your smartphone or tablet. If you don’t have a phone or tablet, Square’s pay-by-phone feature allows you to use a phone attached to a stand, allowing you to swipe cards. Square charges 2.75% per transaction and does not require a monthly fee and no contracts. Square can also accept EMV chip cards. While the mobile card reader can be used for person-to-person payments, the system is best-suited for running an online store, where it allows you to create a virtual storefront and accept payments from shoppers around the globe.

QR code payments

This is a great payment option for businesses that need to accept payments from customers on the go or don’t have a physical store location. When you use this solution, you can access and approve transactions in real-time. If you’re interested in accepting QR code payments, be sure to ask your merchant service provider for more information and whether they support this. 

ACH or ECheck Payments

American Express ACH payments are sent directly from your bank. These credit card payments are different from traditional credit card transactions mainly because there is no middleman merchant. This eliminates any loss of the data or risk of being exposed to hackers because the information is being transferred directly from the customer’s account to yours.

This is a great option if you are running an e-commerce business and processing payments regularly.ACH payments are accepted by various locations, including hotels, restaurants, dental offices, and online retailers.

Payoneer

Payoneer is the first global payment platform for small businesses. No matter where you are located, Payoneer powers a convenient international payment experience that simplifies how you and your business accept payments from anyone, anywhere in the world. We power international payroll, international payment processing, remittances, payouts, and online shopping cart payments for thousands of businesses worldwide.

Direct deposit

This is usually the quickest and easiest way for your customers to get access to their money. Plus, it’s easy for you to keep track of all transactions since you don’t have to worry about setting up or shipping any products. There are a few downsides to direct deposit as well. Namely that it can take a long time to find a bank that offers services to small businesses, and in the meantime, you might have to rely on cash while your business is waiting for a checkbook. Transfer people can also wire money to you directly from an online account if they want, but this is usually slower than the direct deposit and is often more expensive too.

Conclusion

There are so many different ways for a business to accept payments. Accepting credit cards, debit cards, and other payment methods are all important aspects of running a successful business. Accepting credit cards, in particular, can have a big impact on your bottom line. Before you accept any payment method, it’s important to read the terms and conditions of your financial service provider.