The best online payment methods to boost your business

How to optimise your online checkout experience

With the pandemic limiting our ability to shop in person, more people than ever before are heading online to tend to their retail needs. However, while it would be convenient if all your customers used the same payment method, in reality, that simply isn’t the case.

Across Europe, studies suggest that there is significant diversity in the payment options used by customers:

The diversity in payment options is wide to say the least. Therefore, choosing which online payment system to use can be difficult, particularly when you’re prioritising low transaction costs, strong security, low user friction and high accessibility.

Using our guide to the top online payment methods on the market today, finding the best payment system for your business and your consumers has never been easier:

PayPal

One of the biggest brands in online payment, with more than 295 million active users, PayPal is globally one of the most used payment platforms.

Founded in 1998, the source of PayPal’s immense popularity with consumers is its flexibility. Whether it be by credit card or mobile wallet, PayPal enables its users to make payments in a number of ways.

By integrating PayPal into your online checkout, you are opening yourself up to a vast network of customers, offering them a quick and simple method to purchase your goods and services.

Amazon Pay

While being primarily known as the biggest eCommerce brand in the world, Amazon’s payment platform, Amazon Pay, looks to compete with the some of the top brands in market, such as PayPal.

The key benefit of using this method as a business is the integration it has with Amazon’s database. As a result, customers are able to use their payment and delivery details from their Amazon account when using Amazon Pay.

By reducing the hassle for customers at the critical stage of a sale, you are more likely retain your customers. This is because the shorter the checkout process, the less likely customers are to abandon their shopping carts out of frustration.

Stripe

Specifically designed for online retailers, Stripe offers businesses an incredible level of customisability. The key difference between Stripe and other online payment platforms is that instead of being an out-of-the-box solution, it offers a wide range of tools to help modify your payment process.

As well as supporting more than 135 currencies, Stripe offers users the ability to set up mobile payment options, subscription billing and one-click checkout through its designer tools.

While some prior technical knowledge is helpful, in the right hands Stripe can be a powerful platform that can streamline and diversify your online payment area.

Payline

Developed by Pineapple Payments, Payline is a platform designed to be used by firms of all sizes, from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups.

Payline’s developers designed their platform so that it could be integrated with up to 175 different online shopping carts, resulting in a highly adaptable product which can be used by all types of business. Plus, Payline is partnered with Ethoca and Verifi, who offer high-level anti-fraud features to keep your business safe.

As well as a simple payment structure with month-to-month billing and no early termination fee, Payline also offers businesses a flexible payment option that is a strong fit for any business.

Authorize.net

Authorize.net is created by Visa and offers a streamlined payment process which allows businesses to sell items and take payments online or in-person.

It supports all major credit cards and is also compatible with digital payment services such as Apple Pay, so that customers have a range of ways to purchase items from your business. Particularly from the perspective of a start-up, Authorize.net’s Merchant Account is a robust option, with no setup fee as well as low monthly costs and transaction fees.

With hundreds of thousands of merchant customers worldwide, Authorize.net has the reputation and services of a top-class solution in the online payment method market.