As emerging markets continue to gain momentum and an increasingly large percentage of sales come from people using payment methods other than credit cards, companies interested in maximizing their profit potential are becoming acutely aware of the importance that needs to be placed on monetizing products and services globally.
A variety of payment options exist and consumers are choosing non-credit card forms of payment for many reasons. Some do not have access to traditional credit cards, and many prefer the speed and simplicity of popular mobile payment options like Qooqo.com even when they do have credit cards available. Others wish to avoid the bitter aftertaste that some credit card payment recurring billing schemes have caused. Obviously, it’s a good idea to offer more than one payment option for your potential customers, but what matters most is making sure those options include an effective payment choice for each market you want to monetize.
Whether they happen to be buying from Chicago, Germany, Ireland or anywhere else, being able to accept their payment in whatever form suits them best is the fastest and easiest way to raise your profitability across the board.
For example, credit card usage has some level of acceptance all over the word, but with less than 25 percent of the consumer population in Germany using credit cards to make purchases online, you simply can’t afford to make that the only payment choice available if you wish to be successful in that region. PAY4 offers the processing services needed to unlock European markets, and even more importantly, we have extensive expertise that we pass on to our clients who want to make their sites and payment pages more effective when reached by European customers. Rather that the 25 percent coverage of credit cards, solutions like SEPA Direct Debit covers all of Europe, and while strictly American consumers may not be familiar with it, customers in all 33 countries of Europe are ready to buy things from you with SEPA Direct Debit right now — if you are willing to give them the opportunity to pay you with it.
Innovative processing solutions can also provide important value in other ways. The specific payment options that are the most likely to add value to your particular site vary depending on the specific business model and approach you take. However, as an example, PAY4’s SEPA eMandate solution is terrific for merchants looking to reduce junk orders and avoid fake data at the point of sale because it couples online bank transfer payments with SEPA Direct Debit payments to secure the initial payment while running recurring billing only on valid accounts without all the fake data and fraudulent chargebacks scamming shoppers have made commonplace with credit cards recently. This kind of protection can have a dramatic impact on your profitability and peace of mind.
Even among experienced site owners, one cause of hesitation seems to be the mistaken belief that implementing global payment methods will be unduly complicated. In fact, all of the payment options provided by PAY4 can be integrated into any site by any webmaster with even a very basic understanding of simple HTML. The complex part of processing happens externally from your site so the integration is a very simple matter of turning on payment options or adding them to your existing cascade.
There are many reputable processing companies on the market and each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Choosing the billing partner that fits your needs best is something that often comes to do interpersonal rather than technical differentiations. Finding an innovative company to work with that answers your questions in a timely manner, provides direct contact with skilled professional support, had a long established reputation in the industry and works to maximize your revenue is an essential part of succeeding in any modern online business. Having the best content and the most traffic are crucial aspects of turning a profit, but at the end of the day they won’t amount to much if the customer you brought to the point of sale is unable to complete their transaction. Whether they happen to be buying from Chicago, Germany, Ireland or anywhere else, being able to accept their payment in whatever form suits them best is the fastest and easiest way to raise your profitability across the board.
