If you engage in eCommerce in any way, you need to make sure that you are handling payments correctly. This is one of the most important aspects of this industry by far, and there is a right way and a wrong way to do so. Here are some of the things you should know about handling payments online for your eCommerce business.
Why is This Important?
As a business, you are going to have to handle funds at some point. Whether you are offering a service or a product – be it a digital or a virtual one – you are going to need to be able to send and receive funds. Therefore, you need to make sure that you are doing so in exactly the right manner.
One of the fastest things that can drive customers from you can be a report that you are not properly protecting financial data. People want to know that their details are going to be safe with the companies that they choose to shop with. If a brand does have any sort of leak, it can be very difficult for them to regain trust from once-loyal customers. For example, the make-up brand Lime Crime had such a leak of customers’ financial information a number of years ago. Though they have since made plenty of changes to ensure this cannot happen again, the reputation they gained at that time still continues to follow them. For other small brands, this is a move that cannot be made.
A Safe Site
As a brand and site owner, it is your responsibility to provide a safe place for your customers to make their payments online. A key part of this will be the creation of a website that is as safe and as secure as can be.
There are some basics that you need to make sure you are following no matter what. The site should be built in HTML5 and should have the relevant SSL certificate along with the other basics needed to create a good website on the modern internet. There is no excuse for a brand not providing these basics. If you are able to create a high-end site that offers secure transactions and a safe shopping experience for your customers, this will form part of their opinion of you. While it might not be a key factor in why they choose to shop with you, it is something that will most definitely influence them.
Responding to Customer Needs
When choosing which payment providers are going to be on your website, you need to make sure that you are thinking about what your customers would like to see. Just as with everything else on the internet, there are different trends and preferences that one must take into account. For the most success possible, a brand needs to be able to meet these demands from customers.
For example, cryptocurrencies have been growing in popularity around the world over the past decade. If a company wishes to begin to trade in markets that accommodate this payment option, such as the growing Finnish and Scandinavian cryptocurrency market, then it is something that must be accounted for.
Similarly, many consumers nowadays wish to use some sort of e-wallet when shopping online. Whether it is a well-established brand like PayPal or Apple Pay, or any other form of wallet, shoppers expect to have the option to use it. Many feel uncomfortable storing financial information such as bank details online, and so they rely on solutions like PayPal. If a company is unable to offer PayPal, some customers might see that as enough of a reason to not shop with them, regardless of how safe the site might be otherwise.
Always Stay Compliant
The moment that you set yourself up as an online merchant, you are guaranteeing that you are going to remain compliant with several types of regulation. These are very important when it comes to protecting the rights of consumers, and you can land yourself in some serious issues if you do not follow them. Therefore, the responsibility is on you to ensure that you are going to be handling payments securely and in the right manner.
Something to remember here is that every country will have its own set of consumer protection laws. As soon as you begin trading on an international level, you need to make sure that you are achieving compliance across the board. No matter what you might be offering to your clients and where they might be located, you are going to have to make sure that you are fully compliant with any and all laws regarding online transactions.
Be Prepared
When we first open an eCommerce business, our last thoughts can be about how we are going to best manage payments. However, it is a crucial part of the business and one that has to be firmly in place long before you accept your first order. Therefore, you need to make sure that you are fully prepared for this aspect of running a business.
A company needs to be able to actively demonstrate that it is able to handle payments responsibly and securely. If it cannot, it stands no chance of succeeding, no matter how innovative its goods and services might be. Make sure that your company’s payment processes reach the highest of current standards.
