For small business owners, checks are time consuming to deposit and can create an even bigger headache should the check bounce. Accepting debit or credit cards directly require a portion of all sales charged be paid to the credit card companies. A way to branch out your small business and introduce an easier, more convenient method for both you and your customers is to introduce an online payment option.
Don't be fooled - you do not have to be a small business owner to accept payments online. Almost anyone can find a need for online payment: a freelance writer or graphic designer offering online services, a blogger encouraging readers to donate money to fund world travel, or just a normal person who receives monthly reimbursement from their roommate for utilities or rent.
E-Commerce Businesses
The easiest way to accept payments online is to choose an e-commerce business that conducts money exchanges solely through online means. The payee simply creates an account on the website, and enters their bank account number in order to receive payments by direct deposit. The payer will need to create an account as well, and can choose to enter their debit or credit card number, or their checking account number for immediate withdrawal.
PayPal: With over 100 million users, PayPal has proven itself to be the most reliable facilitator of online money exchanges.
Advantages to using PayPal:
Popularity - since PayPal is a requirement for the majority of items purchased on eBay, more friends, family, or colleagues are likely to already have a PayPal account and be open to the idea of paying through the Internet.
Advanced Security - PayPal has advanced security measures in place designed to protect the sensitive information of its users, including: complex data encryption, over 2,000 fraud fighting specialists, and advanced detection techniques that are designed to pinpoint any suspicious activity or intrusion of their servers.
Fees - while there is no set up fee or monthly maintenance fee, you will be charged a small percentage of the total amount being sent to you. A transaction price of 1.9%-2.9% + $0.30 is applied to every transaction.
Moneybookers: For those living outside the United States, Moneybookers is a cheap alternative to PayPal for sending and receiving money payments online.
Advantages to using Moneybookers:
Worldwide Transactions - Moneybookers allows its users to receive payments from over 200 countries in the world, and in multiple currencies. If you're a student traveling abroad in Australia, your parents back home in England can send you 50 pounds, and you can easily withdraw that money in Australian dollars.
Affordability - The cost of sending money never exceeds 1%, and Moneybooks guarantees that transfer fees can never exceed €0.50. For recipients, withdrawing funds via bank account or VISA card costs €1.80, with a withdrawal by check costing €3.50.
Fees - Account creation is free. as previously mentioned, withdrawals cost anywhere from €1.80 to €3.50 depending on the withdrawal method. Currency conversions cost an additional 2% of the monetary amount received.
Conclusion
For residents of the United States, PayPal is undoubtedly the most popular and easiest way to receive payments online. Moneybookers is an equally legitimate alternative for those living outside the United States, and those who are sending you the money will prefer it to PayPal for their insanely low transfer fees.
Receiving money has never been easier, thanks to the electronic age. Ironically, though, it isn't any faster. while it may only take minutes to set up an account and money can be sent to you instantly-- it will still take a couple of business days for the funds to actually hit your account, just like a check deposit.
Easy Ways Anyone Can Accept Payment Online
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