Online payments are on a rise after the covid-19 pandemic as everyone prefers contactless payments. To make online payments, you don’t need a cheque or cash. You can make payments for all products and services through virtual payment systems. With the increase in internet-based shopping and banking, online payments have become more popular.
The pandemic has changed how customers want to pay at check out. They are looking for more digital interaction with online payments.
Table of Contents
Industries Accepting Online Payments
You will find all big industries accepting online payments from customers. From Fashion to Retail, Tourism to e-Gaming, you will find online payments everywhere. Digital payments make it easier for users to transfer funds instantly.
Every industry has various online payments to choose from. Here are the most used payments in various businesses.
- Retail businesses mostly have payment options like credit card, debit card, and net banking.
- Tourism industry accepts payment options like Bank Wire Transfer, PayPal, Skrill, Mobile Payments, and Pay by QR codes.
- Fashion industry generally accepts credit and debit cards, Prepaid cards, Vouchers (Astropay, EcoVoucher, Flexepin), and Gift cards.
- e-Gaming industry accepts payment via credit and debit cards, e-wallets, cryptocurrency, mobile payments, and bank wire transfers.
You can check out payonlinecasinos.com to know about all the online payment methods accepted by gaming sites. Choose a payment option that best suits your needs and requirements.
In case you are wondering why you should choose online payments over offline payments, take a look at the benefits it has to offer.
1. Saves Time
A well-established benefit of online payment is that it saves time. It stands true for the customers, as well as the businesses. Customers don’t have to send cheques by buying a stamp at the post office and mailing it to the business establishment to make the payment. Online payments have eliminated the need to move from where you are to make payments.
Virtual payments are much faster than conventional payment methods. There is no constraint of time or location. It lets you make easy payments from anywhere across the world.
Thus, it helps in saving a lot of time. You can easily pay by using an electronic payment app.
2. Better Payment Security
Online payment methods are more secure than you think. There are various ways used by online banking and financial apps to secure payments. They use encryption, firewalls, and SSL to make sure that your banking information is completely safe and secure.
If you are using an online payment system, you don’t have to enter your card details every time. You can save the card details and complete the payment with a one-time password.
3. Convenient to Use
Online payments ensure you have a convenient payment experience. You can buy goods and services from the comfort of your home as you can make payments online. It also offers the convenience of recurring payments after some time. Many online merchants prefer online payments instead of cash on delivery. Rather than getting reminders to send cheques for the payments, you can set up a recurring payment system that will automatically make the payment as and when the subscription needs to be renewed. For example, you can set up automatic payments for your Netflix subscription.
4. Reduced Currency Issues
Several people choose online payment options for travel-related services. Major credit cards automatically calculate the currency exchange rate on the day of the transaction.
If you are traveling to some other country, you might have to exchange the currency at the local bank upon arrival or before leaving the destination. But some fees might be involved. If it is done digitally, you will not have to worry about the exchange rates that change rapidly. Also, carrying cash can be a problem.
5. Reduces the Cost of Transactions
Before online payments were introduced, customers had to visit stores with enough cash or make payments using cheques for purchasing a product. However, with digital payment solutions, you can save the effort. It is now possible to shop online and pay digitally.
With online payments, you can reduce the cost of transactions of the conventional payment methods. You don’t have to hire staff, particularly to work as a cashier and handle the cost of processing payment slips. Usually, there are no fees or small fees to pay online using the card.
6. Acceptance of Payment Methods
In conventional business, payment through cheques and cash are the only things that are accepted. However, a modern business setup will have online payment methods. Every seller provides different payment methods based on the type of customers. So, you can make payments in this modern business setup without any hassle. You just have to choose a certain payment provider from options, such as prepaid cards, e-wallets, net banking, etc.
A Rise in the Popularity of Digital Payments
During the pandemic, there was a major shift in digital payments. The move was certainly happening even before the pandemic but with the lockdown, consumers were pushed to purchase everything online. Contactless payments also increased dramatically.
In the United States, Visa mentioned that tap-to-pay transactions increased by more than 126% over a year during the time of the pandemic. The survey by Visa showed that small business owners and consumers in 8 countries, suggested that providing contactless payment options is one of the safety measures offered by a store. About 47% of the consumers stay away from stores that don’t offer contactless payment options.
Before the pandemic, retailers and businesses started offering online payments. The primary goal was to make the customer experience more convenient during the checkout. Customers could just swipe their debit or credit card.
But the following step was to enable the customers to just tap their cards. It evolved quickly into a payment method within the smartphone. This means that you don’t have to take out your wallet again. Now, businesses allow customers to make payments through their mobile apps.
Bottom Line
Online payments come with their own pros and cons. But the pros weigh heavily on the cons. When you are making online payments, you need to make sure that you are choosing the right payment method. It is always better to choose payment providers guaranteeing additional safety and security of the funds you are transferring.
