With each passing year, a greater portion of our everyday lives is spent on the internet. So much of what we do has moved to that space, from entertainment to business.
Some business sectors managed that shift more easily than others, but most are now catching up with what is required, including the provision of online payment methods. That is essential in a digital world: without such methods of processing transactions, no one could explore e-commerce options or play casino games like roulette online.
Thankfully, tech companies have risen to the task of providing ways to buy, sell and bet online that are safe and secure. This article will dig into the five best ones.
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Worldpay
This is a payment processing company that is based with the United Kingdom and it is probably the best overall option for sending and receiving money right now. That is reflected in stats showing that 40% of all digital transactions in that country involving cards are carried out using Worldpay.
In terms of accessing it, a business can either complete the transactions via the Worldpay website or have its services integrated into their own sites. Providing the latest convenient online payment methods is critical in terms of business success in an online world, so most business owners will probably favor the latter.
The sheer size of Worldpay means that it provides many ways of processing payments; from gift cards to EMV terminals, POS systems and every major credit card. It is also able to process them in more than 116 currencies, making it ideal for well-established companies that have customers in several nations.
The cheapest fee structure is $25.29 a month, while the standard transaction fee is 1.5%.
PayPal
PayPal is another of the top options for making and receiving online payments. It is an e-wallet and users create an account for processing transactions. One of the best features of PayPal is how fast these are processed – within seconds via its Payflow Gateway.
A reason why it is a fine choice for busy SMEs is the relatively low costs. There is a 2.9% fee for processing transactions, but no monthly charge for using it. The transaction fee does rise another 1.5% for making payments in other countries, but that is less likely to be an issue with smaller companies.
PayPal also has the advantage of being extremely simple to sign up to and having excellent security tech. It is a good pick for companies that transact frequently.
Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are the latest form of online payment to appear and are rising in popularity. They have both real benefits and real risks attached to them.
Perhaps the biggest advantage is how secure they are. All crypto transactions are recorded on blockchain ledgers that are almost impossible to tamper with, making fraud extremely difficult. They also mean that bank account details do not have to be shared online, which many customers will appreciate in this era of cyber-crime.
There are no transaction fees either, so it is probably the most cost-effective method, but there are some drawbacks too. The crypto market is largely unregulated, which means that neither businesses nor customers have any comeback if a transaction goes wrong.
That high risk element makes it best suited to business sectors where risk is baked in – like casinos.
Stripe
Stripe has rapidly emerged as a market leader in online payments and is very popular with businesses. There are several reasons why they have embraced it in huge numbers.
For one thing, it offers a comprehensive payments service, including both merchant accounts and a payment gateway. For another, they have the option of integrating it into their own business websites.
Stripe is also very upfront and clear about charges. They are 1.4% for transactions involving European cards and 2.9% for cards outside of Europe. It suits businesses of any size and both domestic and global customer bases.
Payoneer
Last on our list is Payoneer; an e-wallet that is one of the rivals to PayPal. It enables global payment processing, as well as providing a billing service that lets a company send requests for payments that can be received via credit card or bank transfer.
One reason why it is among the better systems is that it is completely free to sign up to, while there is a standard 3% fee for all card transactions. Payments are processed in a matter of hours too.
It is not ideal for people running e-commerce stores though, as the site is not well suited to them. Payoneer works best for people who are buying and selling over the internet on a freelance basis.
All of these online payment methods have their pros and cons and each will suit a different type of business.