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How to accept payments using Stripe?

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Supported by widespread access to high speed internet and the insatiable hunger of customers for convenience, online commerce is progressing rapidly all around the world. However, when it comes to payments online, businesses are expanding internationally and taking advantage of the increased reach that online commerce provides with widely varying customer preferences. Not only can delivery terms be quite different, but the payment methods used for online transactions themselves vary too.

Stripe supports a wider range of payment methods to help you accept payments from around the world. Each payment method varies in authentication process. Businesses after reading this blog will be able to discover, understand, and select the right payment methods for them to reach a broader audience. With Stripe, clients have the ability to pay their Invoices with a credit card and can sit back and watch their money get added to their bank account automatically.

This blog underlines the characteristics of payment methods that determine their relevance to a particular business model and also provides an overview of Stripe payments. The points to be taken into consideration by businesses on how to accept payment using Stripe:

1. Deciding on the right payment methods

Businesses will have to consider their business model and operational constraints to evaluate the value, to them, of additional payment methods.

1. Identify your customer

   Identifying target audience is an important first step for businesses to decide which payment options to focus on. The distribution of payment methods used online varies by region, but also within specific regions. Some credit cards brands are internationally available, others confined to a single country.

2. Checkout support

   Certain payment methods only support payments in a limited number of currencies however other payment involve redirecting customers to another app or site to complete their payment. Also, some payment methods may limit the possibility to complete payments without a customer’s explicit confirmation. Given the specific payment methods, businesses will have to adapt their checkout to support them.

3. Risk and frauds

   Businesses can anticipate and manage the risks associated with accepting online payments by choosing payment methods that match their risk preferences. Businesses will have to take into consideration, which payment options may increase the likelihood of fraudulent transactions, and where liability rests in the event of disputed payments.

4. Analyze the cost to support payment methods

   Businesses will have to take into consideration the costs and benefits of adding payment methods to their checkout. They will need to anticipate the cost of the technical integration of an additional payment method. They will also need to take into account, the internal costs borne to support multiple payment methods.

2. Payment method

Businesses will have to understand the checkout experience their customers will have using it, as well as the implications of accepting it.

1. Payment completion

   A challenge for businesses accepting payments online is to ensure that they provide a pleasant and genuine payment experience for their customers. The three types of payments are

• Business-initiated
• Customer-initiated
• Customer-authenticated

2. Confirmation on receiving funds

   Once the business receives a confirmation that the payment has been completed by the customer, it gives them the confidence to fulfill the order. Two cases which fall under this pointer are

• Immediate Confirmation
• Delayed Confirmation

3. Can the payment credentials be stored?

   Businesses offering subscription services and looking to optimize the checkout experience for future transactions will consider whether or not payment details can be stored on file and reused.

• Payment details are reusable
• Payment details are single-use

3. Industry considerations

Customers always expect greater speed and convenience when interacting with businesses online. Below mentioned are a few guidelines that businesses can take into consideration.

1. Mobile commerce

Mobile commerce, also known as m-commerce, comprises of any monetary transaction completed using a mobile device. It is actually an advancement of ecommerce, enabling people to buy and sell goods or services from almost anywhere, by simply using a mobile phone. Payment methods for customers using mobile app installed can offer an extremely simple purchase experience.

2. On-demand economy

   The on-demand economy is defined as an economic activity created by digital marketplaces and technology organizations to fulfill consumer demand by an immediate access to goods and services. Payment methods offering immediate confirmation that the transaction was successful are a priority for the on-demand economy.

3. Software-as-a-service

   Software-as-a-service businesses and nonprofits focus on subscriptions as well as larger payments that are settled by bank transfers.

Why should a business opt for Stripe?

Businesses should carefully weigh the following considerations as they evaluate integration solutions to support additional payment method.

1. Simple onboarding

   Adding any payment methods is a very complex process and it requires businesses to establish both a contractual and operational relationship with payment scheme and that might take weeks. Stripe makes this process a lot simpler so businesses can quickly add and scale payment method support.

2. Easy way to integrate a new payment method

   Businesses can develop against a unified framework that allows them to scale support for all payment methods easily. To reduce the risks of technical integration, Stripe’s Sources API (Application Programming Interface) supports accepting any payment method—both cards and non-cards—via single API. Businesses now using stripe have a simple and elegant integration that involve minimal development time and easy to maintain, regardless of which payment methods they choose to implement.

3. Unified monitoring, reporting, payouts for all payment methods

   Payments made with any payment method using the Sources API, including cards, will appear consistently in Stripe Dashboard, reducing operational complexity and allowing for lightweight financial reconciliation. This process allows businesses to develop standardized processes for typical operations such as customer support, and refunds. Thus stripe payment methods are secure.

   PayPal and Stripe charge exactly the same amount. However, Stripe also accepts ACH (Automated Clearing House) transactions, which PayPal doesn’t, and offers them for just 0.8 per cent per transfer. Stripe currently supports popular payment methods around the world. The Stripe Payment Gateway extension allows store owners to accept credit card payments on their sites. Stripe payments are best as they simple and very popular.

   Each payment method supported by Sources API is defined by four characteristics. The combination of these characteristics determines how a source is made chargeable, and how it is used in a charge request to complete a payment.

• Pull or push
• Flow
• Usage
• Synchronous or asynchronous

Conclusion

Stripe payments are very simple to accept online. Stripe has no setup fees, no monthly or annual fees, or any hidden costs. Stripe checkout is completely satisfactory. Thousands of businesses rely on Stripe’s software tools to securely accept payments and expand globally. Stripe will continue to evaluate locally relevant payment methods and support to meaningfully increase conversion rates for its users over time.

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