Online Business Owners’ Guide to eCommerce Payment Processing

‘I like the product, the brand is good too, let me pay. ’ – that is how the eCommerce industry, the big boys club, has grown immensely in the last few years.

Customers expect simplicity throughout the shopping process, including the payment procedure.

Even if everything goes well, the shortcomings of payment solutions will decrease your company’s revenue, whereas excellence in this section will accelerate it.

Looking for an eCommerce payment processing that is smooth for both your business and the customers? Let’s explore this blog to analyze eCommerce payment solutions’ Whats, Whys, and Hows to make better decisions.

What is eCommerce payment processing

eCommerce payment processing is the technical system enabling an online shop to receive user payments.

Except for cash on delivery, all the other payment systems of the eCommerce businesses are electronic. 

eCommerce payment processing needs a gateway, a payment processor, and a merchant account.

How eCommerce payment processing works

Three crucial components must be clarified to understand how an eCommerce payment processor works.

The three main pillars of an eCommerce payment processing are:

1. Payment Gateway
2. Payment Processor
3. Merchant’s account

Payment gateway

The payment gateway connects your online store with the payment processor. With a payment gateway, your users can inform the payment processor. A payment gateway is the primary option where financial security is measured and approved if found safe.

The work of a payment gateway is not as simple as it seems to be. When a user enters the data, the gateway transmits the information and checks whether the user has provided correct information to carry on the payment procedure.

Payment processor

A payment processor is a third-party software that facilitates both the customer and the business to securely transfer funds from a debit card, a credit card, or a digital wallet.

When a user makes a purchase, a payment processor receives the information regarding the transaction and checks the credentials to see whether the user has sufficient funds in the account.

As a payment processor is typically a third-party service, it tends to provide multiple currencies and helps users with:

• Authorization and authentication
• Fraud and spam detection
• Takes funds from the customer’s account
• Transfers funds to the merchant’s account

Merchant account

A merchant account is the bank account of an eCommerce business to receive all funds. 

Once the gateway does authentication and the payment processor checks the balance, the merchant account simply receives the payment.

How to ensure the finest payment processing

Fine-tuned payment processing can enhance the customer retention rate, whereas complications lower customers’ interest in purchasing once more from your website.

A few simplification strategies can broaden the strength of your eCommerce store’s payment procedure.

Develop a frictionless checkout process

A straightforward checkout process lowers the churn rate. When your customers are about to make a purchase, help them complete it quickly. Reduce the number of processes required to place the order and finish the payment.

You can use simple and actionable payment forms to help users make immediate payments. Fluent Forms payment feature will empower your business’s payment method with recurring payments, coupon codes, and world-class payment options.

Integrate multiple payment methods

Every user has a comfort zone in using their preferred payment methods. It also comes with trust while proceeding with payment. So, your website should possess multiple payment systems to make sure it grabs a large customer group and helps implement preferred payment methods, including debit cards, credit cards, digital wallets, etc.

The third-party payment processor integration is another key area to decorate your website payment page with variety.

Here is an instance of how you can add multiple payment methods to your website using a WordPress plugin like Fluent Forms.

Adapt top-notch security measures

Ensure SSL and PCI-DSS are adapted to your site. Monitor the fraudulent activities and update the patch system.

The gateway of your payment method should be unquestionable.

Ensure easy ways to convert currencies

If a user from the UK checks out an American eCommerce store, it will be easier to show prices in UK currency compared to USD. Accurate currency conversion engages the user and helps decide on purchasing instantly.

Mobile optimization

Whether it’s a card or a digital wallet, users have access to their mobile. Top-to-bottom mobile optimization helps users accomplish the whole shopping experience at once, from checking out to placing an order. 

Sometimes, mobile users might skip the important guidelines regarding the payment. So, you need to highlight the guidelines and conditions to ensure clarity.

Post-purchase payment option

In terms of cross-selling, upselling, and bundle ordering, many customers like to pay later or pay partially while placing the order. In that case, make it easy to go with a post-purchase payment option that can be your key to relieving the customer that you don’t have to pay the amount now, just add your favorite items to the cart, and wait till you get the order in hand.

Popular eCommerce payment solutions: based on core features

Diversified payment solutions attract diversified customers. You may not consider a locally popular payment processor, but a certain group of users might admire it. 

Here are popular eCommerce payment processors based on the core features that add value to your business.

Fluent Forms has integrated several user-friendly payment processors to ensure that users can help their customers pay through any of the simplified payment methods.

PayPal

PayPal is a worldwide popular payment processor, renowned for its security strength, rapidity, and simplicity, empowering users in 200 markets. 

One lovely feature of accepting payment through PayPal is that your customers don’t even need a PayPal account to pay you. 

You can also easily connect your accounting, marketing, inventory, or automation tools with PayPal. PayPal is also popular with solo entrepreneurs because of its versatility, using PayPal.me.

Stripe

Stripe has gained the trust of millions of users worldwide because of its seamless features, including setting up multiparty payments and payouts. It uses machine learning for detecting fraud. Stripe is easy to integrate with other popular platforms as well.

It handles multiple payment methods, including debit and credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.

Square

Besides the user-friendliness and reliability, Square has introduced some excellent features. For example, Square’s ‘Buy now, pay later’ feature with its ‘Cash App Afterpay’ that facilitates both the customer and the merchant. You, as a merchant, get the full payment at once, whereas the customer pays the amount by installment with interest applied.

You can also avail payment while being offline. Also, free fund transfer is possible to an external bank holding an extra business day, and a fee is applied if required immediately. These two extraordinary facilities have made Square more sustainable in the eCommerce industry.

Paddle

Paddle, too, has some charming features like other payment solutions. It recovers the failed payments. For its amazing technical strength, it has remarkable authority in the SAAS, AI, and App industry. 

Mollie

Mollie has a fan base all over Europe for its advancement in international payments with multiple currencies. Mollie’s built-in integrations with WooCommerce, Shopify, and relevant platforms keep it a step ahead in choosing for an eCommerce business

RazorPay

Through the simplified Payments and Payouts process, automated payroll, loans facility, and personalized dashboard, RazorPay has been a prominent name for in-person and online transactions in India.

Paystack

PayStack is a remarkably trusted payment solution used all over Africa. It benefits thousands of businesses through its scalability and speed. 

Ways to set up payment processing for your eCommerce store

Let’s break down the payment processing setup procedure according to the preference of platforms.

Shopify:

• Go to Shopify Admin – Settings – Choose your currency from Store Currency – Choose your currency
• To select Shopify Payment: Set up payment – choose ‘Activate Shopify Payments’  – Business Type  – Fill in other fields – Submit for verification
• To switch to another provider, select ‘See all other providers’ – Choose your preferred third-party – Click on Manage Account  – Make an account  – Authorize

WooCommerce:

• Choose, install, and activate a payment gateway plugin – set up your store
• WooCommerce – Get paid – Choose a payment provider – Install – Get Started – Activate – 
• Click back to WooCommerce – Payments – Enable your preferred Method – Finish setup – Provide Info – Save Changes

Neither Shopify nor WooCommerce?

You need a plugin that fits the integrations to implement a successful and seamless payment solution for your WordPress eCommerce store without WooCommerce or Shopify. 

Fluent Forms might be your primary choice if you are running or thinking about a WordPress eCommerce website. You can easily integrate your chosen payment solution at once. 

It might be good news for the e-commerce entrepreneurs that you can integrate Stripe to accept payment with the Fluent Forms free version, costing only a 1.9% fee per transaction.

Using Fluent Forms for payments provides you with these features:

• Popular payment method integrations
• Recurring subscription option
• Organized transactions database
• Inventory management
• Coupon, dynamic summary, testing, and so on

Wrap up

While maintaining a proper user experience, your eCommerce payment solution should come up with cost-effective and broad retention expectations.

The variety in payment makes you reach a bigger audience, and faster solutions easily gain customer satisfaction.