Choosing a good payments service provider is one of the critical decision you can make for your  e-commence business . Merchant fees can eat away at your profit margins, as well as having the added hassle of having to set up, monitor  and administrate multiple payment platforms. Key considerations  when selecting your ecommerce payment providers are:

1. Understand the Cost Per Transaction/Sale

All payment gateways charge a commission plus a handling fee per transactions. In some instances, if you have overseas clients then the commission rates may be significantly larger than your domestic customer. Most Payment service providers in Australia do not charge setup or monthly account fees .Square and Afterpay offer sliding commission rate structures depending on the volume of transactions and turnover through their payment platform

2. Understand Chargebacks and Refunds (and How They Cost You)

It’s unlikely a customer will dispute an invoice once they’ve paid the amount due. However, if such an instance arises, the customer can initiate a ‘chargeback’ or refund request There’s a fee involved regardless of whether or not the request is approved. If you’re dealing locally, then the risk is low, but if you’re an eCommerce provider, it can be a triple whammy if you have to pay the fee, have the payment reversed and have already sent the goods.

3. Understand what Customer Support is Offered

Your service provider should offer reliable, responsive support centres, with phone, email and platform message being the most popular.  There is nothing more annoying than trying to get help and there is no support phone number or quick response customer service messaging facility

4. Customer Payment Experience

Speed and convenience at the checkout matters. Card processing providers such as Stripe allow direct entry of card details on your website . PayPal customers must click on the PayPal button and are taken to PayPal.com to process the payment, before being returned to your website . This may be undesirable if you want to keep clients on your website. It also increase  risks  of ‘abandoned cart’ when they’re taken to another screen and change their mind.

Afterpay is an expensive option for merchants but offers a unique payment plan experience for the customer.  With new bank  entrants  such as CBA offering buy now pay later (BNPL)options these fee structures may  reduce in the future

5. Integration with your Accounting Software

All payment gateways listed integrate effortlessly into Xero. You’ll be able to reconcile payments and receive email notifications when a customer pays an invoice.. If you invoice form Xero you can add Stripe and Paypal payment buttons to your invoice. I easy to set up within 10 minutes . No more waiting for EFT transfers

6. Know How Long (and How Easy) it is to Get Paid

Each service provider offers a different payment window. On average it is 2 business days with Eway up to  5 Business days and Paypal often the same day s the order. You can change your payment settings  and frequencies with most service providers. Stripe offers an Instant payout service once your account has been verified  but charges a higher processing fee

7. Understand the Security Features and How Payments are Transacted

Payments service providers  such as Eway  and Paypal are robust and your customer’s data is encrypted. As world-leading platforms, your customers have an incredibly low likelihood of any data breach occurring. Getting hacked It does happen .Paypal will rectify for fraudulent transactions but can take  up to 30 days in some instances which can be critical for your cashflow

8. Taking Physical Payments with Card Readers

Beyond taking payments online, both Stripe and PayPal and Square offer payment processing abilities. Stripe & Square offers this directly, whereas PayPal offers it via Vend. There are ongoing costs, and because pricing depends on volumes processed.

Click here to  compare transaction  fees between Paypal, Eway , Stripe, Square and Afterpay 

Need help integrating  help  your ecommerce  payment gateway  with XERO ? Contact Cube Bookkeeping  on 0412 955 477