Know the Best Ways to Accept Payments for Small Businesses

by Arjit Chalmela Finance Student

You need to get your payment channels sorted to run a business successfully. All your marketing efforts translate only when customers checkout seamlessly. Hence, you must redesign your payment gateway to align with their goals. Nowadays, customers prefer having multiple payment options. It appeals to their convenience needs. They need not worry about carrying cash to pay for goods and services.

Hence, providing them with a range of digital channels is the right way to accept payments. This applies to both online and offline business owners. Now, there are several methods available. While having multiple options is ideal, you cannot select all of them. It is best to compare them and choose the ones suiting your business requirements. Here are the best ways to receive payments:

POS Terminals

If you have a physical outlet, point-of-sale systems are essential. They replace the traditional cash registers, eliminating manually inputting the purchases. All the receipts get automatically processed. Besides, the terminal links important activities like inventory tracking, customer data management, marketing, etc. As a result, you get a full-fledged system to manage payments regardless of the volume.

Mobile Payments

Almost everyone relies on their smartphones to perform essential tasks. Addressing this trend, Mobile Banking has gained popularity. Hence, most customers integrate their accounts or link their cards with banking apps. This enables them to make payments within clicks. You get to accept the same in your Checking Account. You facilitate this by using a Merchant app to track transactions.

Payment Service Provider

Due to the emergence of online payments, many service providers have entered the market. They offer value-added facilities at competitive rates. They typically come in applications that let you monitor customer payments. Customers also get to pay conveniently through them. This extends convenience to both parties. Compare such service providers online to check what suits your business needs.

QR codes

This is the fastest and most efficient means to accept payments from customers. Its acceptance is evident as everyone from retail chains, and cab drivers, to small use Quick Response Code Scanners. They integrate their business accounts with payment apps for this. This enables customers to scan and pay without any hassle. They do this through the Unified Payment Interface, where a virtual payment address is sufficient to conduct transactions.

Thanks to VPA, they need not enter your Business Account Number or click through a link. Also, you get instant updates upon payment receipt. If you want, you can subscribe to real-time announcements for payment confirmation. This makes it efficient when you have multiple customers to attend.