The Lingo Berries

As a small business owner or freelancer you are always looking for more and better ways to get paid. This is even more true when you sell your products and services online. You may have setup shop online, but finding a payment gateway that suits your billing and company culture can be a bit challenging.

There are a wide variety of options available to the small business when it comes to receiving payments online. Usual methods like wire transfer, cheque, cash and direct bank deposit are great basic payment methods for any company, but because there are so many great online payment gateways out there it is probably a good idea to offer at least one for you customers to utilize.

International vs local clientele

First on the list is identifying what kind of clients your company has. Are the majority of your customers based in your own region or country or do the most of your sales come from customers that are outside of your country or close geographic region.

Which currency will your customers be paying you in? This will help you decide on a payment gateway that’s right for your business. Most payment gateways only support billing and payments collection in certain currencies, make sure the gateway you choose supports the currencies your clients wish to make payment in.

Once-off versus recurring payment

Do you sell a product or service that the customer is required to make one payment for or is the product or service paid for in installments? i.e. comes as part of a recurring subscription that requires multiple successive payments.

If your customers need to make once off payments you can look at services that provide the client with the ability to make an instant, secure credit card payment. You can also look at an online wallet, like PayPal, that allows instant payment via an account that can be topped up via credit card, bank account or wire transfer.

Let’s say that the most of your clients will need to pay on a recurring term for the products or services you offer. For example; a fortnightly payment for the house maintenance services your company supplies. This means you will need to look at a payment gateway that allows the submission of recurring direct debits to credit cards and bank accounts. Make sure you use a service that supports collection in the currency your clients use.

Service offering & cost

The final deciding factor should be the overall level of service and costs involved in such an undertaking. Use the criteria below to help you make a final decision:

- Find out what fees you will be paying on the transactions you make through your gateway. These vary, so always go for the gateway that gives you the best overall rate and service.

- Reconciliation of your payments is crucial so find out what kind of reporting services your gateway offers. Ensure they supply reliable results of transactions in a timely manner.

- Merchant account: Do you have a merchant account at a bank? If not, some gateways act as your merchant account. Find out what kind of bank accounts you will require to withdraw funds from or use a specific payment gateway before signing up.

- Check with local and international governing bodies to make sure the payment gateway you want to use complies with their regulations. Regulations in the payment gateway industry are there to protect you, so make sure you make use of the protection they supply.

Bill Bapsnill has been in the online invocing industry for many decades. He recommends that you select payment gateways based on location, cost and the product or service you are looking to sell.