Although online billing and sales are becoming a multibillion dollar industry throughout the world, many businesses have yet to catch on to this form of payment acceptance. In fact, around 53.3% of North American businesses surveyed found it too difficult to provide consumers with a wide variety of online payment options, and some have given up entirely if they attempted it on their own. By working with an online payment processing services company, however, businesses can get the tools they need to offer customers this easy payment method without feeling overwhelmed by that technology. In the end, this leads to happier customers who can pay their bills conveniently and on-time.
However, it’s not only customers who benefit from these billing and eCommerce solutions. Here are three of the biggest benefits that a business might see if once they start using online payment processing services from a merchant services provider.
- Faster transfer of funds. One thing that many businesses find frustrating about check payments is that they can take a long time to clear. Not only do customers have to wait for the check to reach a business by mail and then clear in their bank accounts, but businesses also experience a delay as they process these payments. By accepting credit cards online, businesses can speed up their accounts receivable by several days, which means fewer late payments and late fees assessed, too.
- Better record keeping. Another advantage of online payment processing is that the bill pay or eCommerce systems allow for instant record keeping. This can make bookkeeping and accounting tasks much easier for businesses when tax season comes around. Additionally, employees and consumers will have access to their payment information, including when a last payment was made and how much of a balance has been paid off. This helps lessen the amount of time spent digging through old statements or receipts to search for this information.
- Happier customers. With greater convenience and better financial record keeping comes less frustration for a business’s customers. This means no more delay in payment processing when sending bill payments by check. In fact, rather than paying by check, customers get to pay with the credit and debit cards instead. In the United States and Canada, Visa credit cards are the number one electronic payment brand, followed by MasterCard in each country. Canada has more than 76 million Visa and MasterCards in circulation combined, and in the U.S. there are more than 500 million Visa cards circulating alone. Businesses that don’t take advantage of these payment methods are missing out on the convenience that customers enjoy, especially as it allows everyone to go paperless and help the environment.
Global eCommerce has recently surpassed the billions and has headed into the trillions for businesses all over the world. In short, missing out on online payment services for customers can set a business back when compared to its competitors. Want to know more about the benefits of using an online payment processing services provider? Leave a comment below.
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