A wide variety of online payment systems for eCommerce webstores is difficult to grasp – so many options yet one common goal to carry out an online transaction electronically.
Which on-line payment systems are the most popular?
Which purposes do they serve?
What is the best to choose for an average eCommerce web-store?
Whether it is an OsCommerce Shop, Magento eCommerce solution or anyother type of the online store? I’ve researched this subject by gathering information from the actual users and here is what I found out about top popular payment systems on the Internet.
PayPal – an online payment system supporting credit cards and enabling secure payments through bank accounts, account balances and PayPal Smart Connect web credit line; no financial information is disclosed. Widely accepted as a third party payment provider. In addition to payment processing, offers a complete range of merchant services. Available in over 55 countries globally, accepts US, Canadian and Australian dollars, euro, pound and yen; currency exchange is accessible for additional fee. The fee for payment acceptance on a business site ranges from 1.9% to 2.9% of sales, at some cases 30 cents per transaction must be paid as well. Another good point about this payment system is direct relation between growing turnover of an online retail store and decreasing monthly fee. Since 2002 PayPal is owned by eBay and is the major competition to Google Checkout.
Google Checkout – an online payment processing service developed to simplify the paying process during online purchasing. Shipping info, credit and debit card details are stored in Google account. The services cover fraud protection and provide secure conditions for online transactions. Available only in the US and accepts US dollar. Processing credit cards for business is delivered at lower costs. Fee for accepting payments on a business site is 2% + 20 cents per transaction. Integrates with AdWords, therefore the fees are much lower for AdWords account owners. Banned on eBay, however, widely used by existent and emerging Google account users.
Sage Payment Solutions – processing solutions for checks, plastic (both debit and credit) cards, gift cards and recurring payments. Integrates with a number of Sage software products that includes Simply Accounting, Peachtree and MAS 90/200/500. Sage Pay solution is used by thousands of businesses throughout the UK for transaction security purposes.
WorldPay – payment processing service for Internet retailers and mail order. The majority of WorldPay users are small business merchants. Since 2007 this provider has become one of the largest merchant acquirers in the world, having processed over 4 billion transactions in that year. For start-up online businesses WorldPay is probably the cheapest online payment solution for getting up and running.
WebMoney – a payment tool (also electronic money) with multiple functions, providing secure and online transactions instantly through WebMoney Transfer. It was originally targeted at Russian customers, but now utilised globally. For the time being the tool is used by over 100 million users.
Skrill (MoneyBookers) – electronic payment system to carry out Internet transactions from credit cards to bank accounts for eCommerce websites, web auctions and many other corporate users. Currently undergoing rebranding and is now called Skrill. Has a few verification steps to minimise fraud. Over 100,000 of merchants around the world are actively using this service.
The bottom line is whenever starting an eCommerce business it is important to satisfy the needs of basically anyone who decides to buy from you. Therefore, using a few payment systems at a time might be a good idea. In the end of the day, your customers’ requirements may vary and finding one perfect solution could be nearly impossible.
