Why do online payment services exist?
If you’re like many small businesses, you primarily collect payments in the form of cash or checks. While this may be working for you right now. Adding online payments provides you and your supporters with a number of benefits.
Exceed expectations
People are becoming more comfortable paying online. When members, customers, or supporters are ready to sign up, register for an event, or donate, they want to be able to do so quickly and easily. In fact, websites that do not accept online payments may be considered out of date.
Accelerate the process
Because you don’t have to wait for the check to arrive or clear, online payments are faster than manual payments. The entire process, from making an online payment to updating your bank account, can be completed in a matter of seconds. As a result, your organization’s cash flow will improve, and transactions will be confirmed almost immediately. Prospective members will not have to wait to join your organization. And participants will know whether they have successfully registered for an event right away.
Furthermore, rather than finding out a week later when the check bounces, the online payment service informs you right away if the person making the online payment has sufficient funds to cover the transaction.
Save yourself a lot of trouble…
Automated payments also save you the time and effort of depositing checks and manually recording payments. When you enable online payments on your website, they are processed automatically. You do not handle or store credit card data. Any changes to member information are handled automatically.
…but at a cost.
Of course, anything valuable has a cost, and in this case, your payment provider will charge you a fee per transaction. As well as other fees, such as setup fees or monthly fees.
However, if online payment helps you grow your membership, fundraising, or online business, they will take a piece of your much larger pie.
We’ll go over costs later, but before you start thinking about which payment provider to use.
What is the difference between a payment gateway and a payment processor?
The payment gateway authenticates the customer’s payment in an online transaction. To further complicate matters, the payment gateway and payment processor are sometimes combined into a single service known by either name. Some businesses will handle both sides of the process, while others will only handle one.
How Does the Online Payment System Work?
Let’s walk through a transaction from beginning to end to fully understand how online payments work. This allows you to see how your website, member or donor, and payment service provider interact with one another.
To begin with online payment processing, you will typically require:
A Merchant Account –
While some payment systems, such as PayPal, do not require or can provide you with one
An Online payment service providers account
Visitors to your site will be able to pay for products or services online once you’ve set up your web page and linked it to an online payment system. When a visitor clicks the button to pay online for membership fees or event registration or to make a donation or purchase something from your online store, the online payment process begins.
The visitor enters their credit card information and submits the transaction request on the online payment form that appears.
Amald can be your best Online Payment Providers partner?
Amald has a wide range of integrations and is extremely adaptable. It can handle multiple payment structures such as installment payments, multi-stage interest, and varying recurring charges.
Amald is the market’s most adaptable payment processor. Our API will easily link your payments anywhere needed, whether you’re a large nonprofit with multiple donation streams or a small club/association.
