When it comes to payment processing, small businesses face a number of challenges, ranging from selecting the right payment processor to navigating complex payment regulations and managing cash flow.
To assist you in navigating these challenges, we've created a guide to selecting the right payment processor for your small business.
Understand Your Payment Processing Needs
Understanding your payment processing needs is the first step in selecting the right payment processor for your small business. You should think about the following questions:
- What payment methods do you intend to accept (credit cards, debit cards, eChecks, and so on)?
- How many transactions do you anticipate processing per month?
- What is your typical transaction value?
- What is your payment processing fee budget?
- You can begin to narrow your options and select a payment processor that meets your specific needs by answering these questions.
Examine Your Payment Processing Options
Small businesses can choose from a number of payment processors, each with its own set of features, pricing, and benefits. The following are some of the most popular payment processors for small businesses:
PayPal: A well-known payment processor that enables you to accept payments via PayPal or credit/debit cards. PayPal is well-known for its simplicity and low fees, but it may not be the best choice for high-volume or high-ticket transactions.
Square is a payment processor that provides a number of tools and services to small businesses, such as point-of-sale systems and online payment processing. Square is well-known for its user-friendly interface and low prices.
Stripe is a payment processor that allows you to accept payments via your website or mobile app. Stripe is well-known for its powerful features and adaptability, but it may be more difficult to set up than other payment processors.
Authorize.net is a payment processor that lets you accept payments via your website or mobile app. Although Authorize.net is well-known for its security and dependability, it may be more expensive than other payment processors.
These are only a few of the numerous payment processors available to small businesses. You can choose a payment processor that meets your specific needs and budget by researching your options.
Consider Payment Processing Fees
The fees charged by a payment processor are one of the most important factors to consider when selecting one. Payment processing fees can vary greatly depending on the payment processor and the payment methods accepted.
Payment processors typically charge a flat fee per transaction as well as a percentage fee based on the amount of the transaction. A payment processor, for example, may charge a flat fee of $0.30 per transaction as well as a percentage fee of 2.9% of the transaction amount.
When comparing payment processors, make sure to take into account all of the fees associated with each option, such as monthly fees, setup fees, and chargeback fees. You can choose a payment processor that fits your budget and minimizes your expenses if you understand the total cost of payment processing.
Examine the Integration with Other Software
Accounting software to customer relationship management software is used by many small businesses to manage their operations. When selecting a payment processor, make sure it integrates with the software you use.
By automatically syncing data between your payment processor and other software programs, integration can save you time and effort. For example, if you use QuickBooks for accounting, you may want to choose a payment processor that integrates with QuickBooks to automatically record transactions and update your financial records.
Think about Security and Fraud Prevention
When selecting a payment processor, security and fraud protection are critical factors to consider. You want to ensure that your customers' payment information is secure and safe from fraud.
When comparing payment processors, look for options that provide strong security features like tokenization and encryption to protect payment data. Look for payment processors that provide fraud detection and prevention services as well.
Look for Customer Support from the Payment Processor
Another important factor to consider when selecting a payment processor is customer support. You want to ensure that you can easily get assistance when you need it, whether it's to resolve a technical problem or to answer a billing question.
Look for payment processors that provide dependable customer services, such as 24-hour phone and email support or an extensive online knowledge base. You should also read payment processor reviews and ratings to get a sense of how other small businesses have found their customer service.
Consider the User Experience of the Payment Processor
A payment processor's user experience is also an important factor to consider. You want a payment processor that is simple to use and understand for both you and your customers.
Look for payment processors that provide customers with a simple and intuitive user interface, clear transaction reporting, and a seamless checkout experience. You should also put the payment processor through its paces to see how simple it is to use and navigate.
Examine Availability in Your Country
Some payment processors are not available in all countries. Check to see if a payment processor is available in your country before selecting one.
If you do business in more than one country, look for payment processors that accept multiple currencies and provide international payment processing. This can help you avoid currency conversion fees and make managing your global payments easier.
What Are the Risks for Small Businesses Which Use Payment Processors?
It goes without saying that small businesses, much like any other business, will feel the impact of a payment solution in many areas such as the company’s cash flow, its customer satisfaction indexes, and its workflow efficiency.
Resorting to a payment processor means entrusting something to a third-party which inherently entails added risks and areas of greater concern. We’ve highlighted 4:
1. Security risks: some third-party payment solutions will be safer than others. As such, to prevent the risk of misuse or fraud it is important that your business partners up with reputable, PCI compliant payment processors.
2. Compliance risks: Compliance matters and make no mistake as it is quite different than security. Going with a payment processor which follows regulations in both your region, your customers’ region, and the countries in which you conduct your business is mandatory.
3. Operational risks: operational risks, in essence, mean that your payment processor of choice must be aligned with your business’ strategic goals. That means opting for low fees, little to no downtime on payments, and so forth.
4. Reputation risks: it’s important to remember that if a third party payment processor is causing harm to your brand, whether through cart abandonment or general dissatisfaction in your customer journey, it will certainly lead to bad reviews.
Naturally, there are other risks which are also noteworthy such as credit risks and general opportunity costs. Regardless, all of these are factors to consider when choosing a payment solution provider.
Wrapping Up
Choosing the right payment processor for your small business can be a difficult and time-consuming process, but it is a critical decision that can affect your cash flow, customer satisfaction, and overall success.
You can choose a payment processor that meets your specific needs and budget by understanding your payment processing needs, researching your options, considering payment processing fees, checking for integration with other software, looking for security and fraud protection, considering payment processor's customer support, considering payment processor's user experience, and checking for availability in your country.
