Online shopping: Australians can’t get enough. Today, 32% more Aussie households shop online compared to just two years ago. If you’re ready to capitalise on this growth, it’s not as hard as you might think, especially as Till lays out everything you need to seize all possible online selling opportunities. Safely. Securely. And Speedily. Today.
In this blog:
- 3 key online payment methods
- 5 things you need to accept online payments
- The no-hassle way to bring it all together
Want to start reaping the dividends of online shopping? Smart move. But where to begin?
Today’s customers want the freedom to pay their way. Anywhere. Anytime. Through any channel they choose. The more options you offer, the more likely you are to close the sale.
So let’s get to it.
Starting with 3 key online payments methods your business can use.
#1 – Online checkout
Your online checkout is the page in your eCommerce store where customers enter their credit or debit card details. The key here is to make the process easy. Any friction in the process and the customer may bail.
Remove frictions and customers have more confidence in completing transactions. This leads to fewer dropped carts. More conversions. Higher sales. Happy faces all round.
Your online checkout should also let customers save their payment details. Why? Because it saves them time the next time they shop with you.
#2 – Payment links
A payment link (Previously known as Pay By Link) is a request for payment that appears as a link or button that a customer clicks when they want to pay. Think ‘buy’ buttons in your eCommerce store.
Clicking a payment link takes the customer to your individually branded checkout page. Payment links can help improve cashflow by bringing money forward. When a customer hits a payment link and purchases, cash flows to you. A few seconds later.
Payment links can be embedded in emails, SMS, social media or other online channels, turning them all into shopportunities.
Till’s payment links are embedded with 3DS2 secure technology, providing superior protection.
#3 – In-app purchases
In-app purchases let users buy content, services, or special features from inside an app on their smartphone or tablet. These apps are often free, with specific added features unlocked for payment. There are many ways a business can profit while giving an app away free.
Get it? Got it? Good. Now that you know the ways to offer online
payments, let’s look at the various tech you need to make it happen.
5 things you need to accept online payments
#1 – Secure payment gateway
The secure payment gateway is the bit of technology that allows your online checkout to take payments. It integrates everything in the background to enable online sales.
And encrypts and sends the customer’s card details to be processed.
It also advises when the payment is approved. All of this happens in milliseconds.
Most payment gateways only accept a few transaction types. But Till accepts all kinds. Till’s Online Checkout opens the gate to new online payment pathways. Which means more ways to get paid.
#2 – Payment Processor
The payment gateway does not process the payment itself. This is the payment processor’s job. First, the payment processor checks that the customer's card is valid. Then it sends a payment request to the customer's bank. If the transaction is approved, the payment processor informs the payment gateway. Last, it deposits the funds in your merchant account.
#3 – Merchant Account
Not to be confused with a regular business bank account, a merchant account is special type of account. It acts as a sort of holding pen, providing a secure place for funds to sit while the bank checks the balance in the customer’s account, before finalising the payment.
Without a merchant account, your business can’t process card payments – which is essential if it wants to grow.
#4 – PCI-DSS compliance
A lot of cybercriminals are out there. And they’ll stop at nothing to get their hands on your customer’s precious card data. So, to protect the data you capture, you must comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI- DSS). With Till, you automatically become PCI-DSS compliant. Till’s Online Gateway also provides tokenisation, which securely ‘masks’ credit card information. Shoppers can make repeat purchases with a single click without having to re-enter their credit cards details.
Till makes payment secure. Fast. And seamless.
#5 – 3DS2 security
3DS2 (3D Secure 2.0) is an authentication solution that provides an extra layer of protection for online payments. It also makes the checkout process smoother and easier for the growing number of customers who like shopping on their mobile phones. Till’s Online Gateway is already rated for 3DS2. So that’s one less thing to think about.
The no-hassle way to bring it all together
Getting set up to take online payments is crucial. And complex. For the fastest and easiest way to start taking payments online, go with a Payment Services Provider. A PSP brings together all the pieces for you. To make the process as simple as possible and to unify all the data, it’s smarter to go with an all-in-one platform. Like Till.
As a fully-fledged Payment Services Provider, Till provides your Online Checkout with a secure payment gateway. Plus payment processing. Plus your merchant account. Which means you don’t need to arrange one yourself. Or take ages to get it all set up.
With Till you can make shopping easier, smarter, and seamless for your customers with your own branded payments page. And improve your cashflow into the bargain.
Where to from here?
Online payments are set to account for a whopping 21.8% of global retail sales by 2024*. And Till can help you claim your slice.
Without the technical overwhelm.
Turn to Till for everything you need to create a powerful online payment machine. To find out what’s possible for your business, check out the full online payment use case. Right here.
*Source: Australia Post: inside-Australian-online-shopping-update-jun-2021.pdf