Customers paying via email

[Mr Monday]

We are in the middle of deciding on how our customers should pay for our services via email but we're not too sure what method to use.

We would prefer customers complete a payment authorization form with some of their details before directing them to a PayPal link. But we are not completely sure if this is the best and most practical way, especially as the form building sites are not the best.

Any feedback or suggestions??

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

How many customers per day and is this necessary
Could they just phone up with a card number ?

 

[CVRO]

Be aware that some people, rightly or wrongly, do not like sending credit card details via email.

 

[fisicx]

What do exactly mean ‘paying by email’?

Do you mean they send you their bank or CC details?

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Be aware that some people, rightly or wrongly, do not like sending credit card details via email.

If you are with Worldpay I don't think they would allow it

 

[Onthebrightside]

I wouldn't put my payment details on an email.

I did use a wholesale supplier who did the opposite. You went on their site to load your choices into a basket and when you checked out it said that they would be in contact with you. They made sure they had all your order in stock and then emailed you an invoice with their bank details on it. You made the payment direct into their bank account and they sent your goods. No other payment system involved.

 

[Mr Monday]

Sorry forgot to mention that I was planning on using PayPal, which I am aware that I can create a link with the amount due

 

[Mr Monday]

Am I able to create a responsive button linking to my paypal link?

 

[fisicx]

I'm still confused.

Do you want to add a link to PayPal in your email body? And you also want to add a button?

If so you need this: https://www.paypal.me/

 

[paulears]

I think he means he sends them the PayPal email request for money that has the link in it. Although normally PayPal send it direct, don't they?

 

[Mr D]

You set up an invoice in paypal, then paypal email the customer.
Customer follows the link or goes into paypal themselves, pays the invoice.

No paying by email required. Also no faffing about with payment authorisation forms.

 

[Mr Monday]

Thats the thing, I have a rough idea of what I want, but not 100% sure as I am not sure of all the options.

I know you can create a link to put in your email and know of a button which can be added, but I wanted see if anybody had any suggestions as Im not too sure on the details and what works best

Either way I will check out paypal.me

 

[Lovetts Solicitors]

The PayPal.me process is probably the simplest (and easiest to get set up). If you wanted a more conventional process then Worldpay have a system called "pay by link" where you log into Worldpay, enter some basic information and it generates a link you can email to the customer. When the customer clicks the link they go to a Worldpay hosted page where they enter their payment information.

The benefit of this over taking card details over the phone is that the Worldpay hosted page supports Secure Customer Authentication which gives you liability shift so you are protected from any chargeback claiming fraud. It's optional now but will become mandatory in 2021.

Never, ever, ever ask customers to email you full card details or a picture/scan of their card - it's a breach of PCI-DSS card rules and can result in you having your card processing facilities withdrawn and also you can end up with fines from Visa and Mastercard.

 

[TotalWebSolutions]

What information are you looking to collect/store prior to the payment authorisation and are you wanting to store this alongside the payment?

 

[FrontierMan]

We either send a PayPal invoice for payment or we email a invoice with our bank details so they can do a bank transfer

 

[Glen Wheeler]

In my opinion this one is real simple both from a payment and accounting POV. Get something like Xero and simply add your client, invoice them and have them pay via BACS or Transfer. If required they could opt to pay via Xero's payment system or Paypal.

Once paid Xero can then track this and it'll go straight into your reporting for Tax and VAT returns. Nice and Easy.

 

[GrantaNetworks]

Be aware that some people, rightly or wrongly, do not like sending credit card details via email.

and rightly so. Email is an inherently un-secure (nearly said insecure!) means of sending information. No one should ever send credit card details, or other sensitive information via email

 

[zomex]

I would not recommend using email for anything that includes sensitive data especially payment information. Email is extremely insecure not just your email but your customer's sending you an email with payment information is a huge risk.

There are so many options for accepting payment these days, you could use PayPal, Stripe, Bank transfer, Cryptocurrencies and more.

A good option to consider is using softtware that will streamline your invoicing process. For example, WHMCS, Blesta, WordPress will all have options. This of course depending on the business you are running and your budget.

 

[Nochexman]

The email should not contain card details.

It can contain a link to a secure payment page where the payment can be made.

 

[Opinion87]

We use iZettle, the app has the option to create a "Payment Link" that you can email/SMS/WhatsApp to customers that takes them to a secure payment page. The fees are of course higher than BACS/bank transfer.

 

[brianj_hill]

We are in the middle of deciding on how our customers should pay for our services via email but we're not too sure what method to use.

We would prefer customers complete a payment authorization form with some of their details before directing them to a PayPal link. But we are not completely sure if this is the best and most practical way, especially as the form building sites are not the best.

Any feedback or suggestions??

As a specialist of over 30 years my first question is have you decided the what and why? In my professional world we work out a set of requirements, which could be a simple list of things you'd like. Against each of those requirements ask yourself the question "what benefits will this provide us" and then when you have that you can move onto the how. Hope that helps. Get in touch if you would like some free advice. I have an easy week this week.