How to accept payments from customers ?

[-Chris-]

Hi all, I'm looking to accept payments from customers for products, both online via my own website, and in person. I've never done this before, so from your own personal opinions based on your own personal experiences, what ideas do you have on this please? Any help much appreciated.

 

[finleydesign]

Use Paypal, simplest and cheapest solution for payments

 

[Bainzee]

it really comes down to the nature of your business, average sales amount, predicted turnover, predicted card turnover,
I would somewhat agree with Finleydesign that it is the simplest, but certainly not the cheapest solution, in fact, the most expensive solution for certain businesses.

what is your business?

 

[-Chris-]

Thank you both for your ideas, any and all ideas are appreciated at this stage.

@ Bainzee, selling small products under £20 each, turnover in this first year, well under £5,000. Predicted, who knows. Must be able to accept payments from their debit cards and credit cards. Given those details what would you suggest?

 

[Nochexman]

Hello Chris, what sort of small products are you selling?

 

[-Chris-]

Hello Chris, what sort of small products are you selling?

Hi, at this stage, it might be various or just one - how would that have a bearing on this?

 

[Nochexman]

You have written elsewhere on the forum asking about sprays / atomisers and depending on what you put in them this might have some bearing. Not meaning to pry, but maybe helping you to avoid an issue later on.

 

[-Chris-]

Yep, I had posted about them in a previous post, but this could go in another direction - how does this have a bearing on the original question? What sort of issues could there be later on, depending on the product?

 

[Alan]

The main issue for e-commerce with spray/atomisers is finding a courier that can legally deliver them. You can't just post them or use standard cheap couriers.

 

[TotalWebSolutions]

A payment bureau (PAYG) service could be the way to go to start off with whilst the turnover is low but you will pay more in terms of processing fees (%) particularly on Debit cards. As you grow and turnover gets to around £20K then it is worth considering a full merchant service with your own merchant account, payment gateway and card terminal. This will offer lower % fees (especially for Debit cards) and direct control of settlement.

 

[Nochexman]

Yep, I had posted about them in a previous post, but this could go in another direction - how does this have a bearing on the original question? What sort of issues could there be later on, depending on the product?

Different payment providers have different appetites as to the type of products they are willing to support. Subject to what you are selling may have an impact on who would be willing to support your business. If you are selling tins of beans, for example, it probably won't have any impact - but atomisers, just for example, might be different subject to what was in them.

 

[-Chris-]

In general terms, forgetting about the product for a moment, I've been thinking of Sage Pay and PayPal, any others to throw in the mix?

 

[aaron web designer]

We use gocardless for direct debit payments, you can set it up as monthly recurring payments or one off payments. There fees are only 1% capped at £2 max!

 

[-Chris-]

Thanks Aaron, I'll look at that as well. I assume they take payments from credit cards as well?

 

[aaron web designer]

Thanks Aaron, I'll look at that as well. I assume they take payments from credit cards as well?

No, only direct debits.

 

[Scottishgifts4u]

I just use PayPal as we only take a few orders daily.

However I also give the customers the choice of sending a cheque or paying directly into my account by BACS which has the advantage of no fees.

 

[aaron web designer]

You can also integerate Stripe in to your wordpress website:
Just google 'stripe wordpress'.

 

[-Chris-]

I don't have any wordpress anywhere.

 

[Edith@TerraNetwork]

For new shops I'm usually recommending PayPal and Stripe, both are good options and easy to set up. For myself I'm using a merchant account with my bank and SagePay to process.

 

[-Chris-]

Thanks Edith, the useful input is appreciated. As a matter of interest, why didn't you use PayPal and Stripe for yourself?

 

[Edith@TerraNetwork]

Thanks Edith, the useful input is appreciated. As a matter of interest, why didn't you use PayPal and Stripe for yourself?

Hi Chris,

I use PayPal Standard as clients can have strong views of whether to pay by card or PayPal account. So we accept both - card & PayPal (plus bank transfer as we're B2B). For PayPal, I've set it to transfer money every night into bank account. I NEVER leave money in my PP account just in case they decide to throw a wobble.

For card processing, Stripe has the advantage that you don't need to get a separate merchant account but it does keep your money for 7 days before it's released.

I already have a merchant account which releases my money at midnight. So for me, existing merchant account with HSBC and SagePay Token (for repeat subscription processing) are ideal. When I did a check, the card processing fees of Stripe vs HSB/SagePay Token were similar, so it came down to the release period plus the hassle of having to update all client payment details. Stripe would have had to be a LOT cheaper to make it worth my while. Hence why I staid with my existing setup.

But for start ups who want to get going quickly, Stripe is a good option (as long as you can wait 7 days). Getting a merchant account was hard and took a long time, so anything that avoids that is a bonus.

 

[Edith@TerraNetwork]

If you're looking for EPOS systems, these guys are from Norwich where I'm located. I haven't used them myself as I'm online only but they do appear to really care about their customers, they are regular speakers at tech events: https://www.eposnow.com/uk

 

[-Chris-]

Thanks Edith, I may just go for PayPal. 2 questions please, would/do they give help in setting up the payment page on the website and how do you set it to release money at midnight every night?

 

[Edith@TerraNetwork]

Hi Chris,

The money release is in your PayPal settings, not quite sure where.

PP will not help with website integration but if you go for a popular shopping cart system, they usually have PP modules pre-installed.

Hope this helps!

 

[effie9]

PayPal can be a good choice.

 

[-Chris-]

Thanks Edith and Effie.

 

[whobiggs]

Maybe I'm a complete idiot (possible) but I can't make sense of the Stripe website and find the basic information I need.

 

[Birkdale Payments]

Hi Chris.

Paypal is a good choice with initial charges @ 2.95% plus 20p and you can be set up to receive payments in minutes. If your monthly sales via card payment exceeds £2.5k then a merchant account will save you money on the cost of processing/accepting card payments and give you additional methods of collecting payments.

 

[-Chris-]

Hi all, just trying to set things up now, and just need to know - I do have a PayPal business account, so with that, could I accept payments online and face-to-face, for credit cards, debit cards and PayPal, even if the customer doesn't have a PayPal account please?

 

[Nochexman]

You can accept payments online. You would need to buy a paypal card reader to accept payments face-to-face. Your customers must have a paypal account in order to pay using paypal.

 

[-Chris-]

Yep, but the question is, can the buyer pay with their credit card online, even if they don't have a PayPal account?

 

[-Chris-]

Anyone know? Yep, but the question is, can the buyer pay with their credit card online, even if they don't have a PayPal account?

 

[TotalWebSolutions]

Anyone know? Yep, but the question is, can the buyer pay with their credit card online, even if they don't have a PayPal account?

If you have PayPal Business then the customer can pay you using their Credit/Debit card if they don't have PayPal. PayPal will charge you standard rates starting at 3.4% + 20p regardless of card type being Debit or Credit (rates depend on turnover).

 

[DontAsk]

Your customers must have a paypal account in order to pay using paypal.

Wrong. Anyone can pay via PayPal using a card.

Customers only need a PayPal account if they want to fund that account and those funds for payment.

 

[Nochexman]

Wrong. Anyone can pay via PayPal using a card.

Yes, but that isn't what the poster asked and what I answered

I do have a PayPal business account, so with that, could I accept payments online and face-to-face, for ... PayPal, even if the customer doesn't have a PayPal account please?

I think you are answering a different question

 

[-Chris-]

If you have PayPal Business then the customer can pay you using their Credit/Debit card if they don't have PayPal. PayPal will charge you standard rates starting at 3.4% + 20p regardless of card type being Debit or Credit (rates depend on turnover).

Thank you very much for this answer, just what I needed to know and I do have PayPal business, so quite relevant. So, customers can pay online via my website with their credit cards and debit cards even if they don't have a PayPal account, but how about face-to-face?