Customers today want options in how they pay for products and services, so businesses must incorporate various payment methods if they genuinely want to provide an excellent customer experience.
This is especially important when dealing with online payment methods because it’s the one place where users can quickly turn to competition.
The payment method can make a difference between a satisfied customer and one that quits on the last step.
However, a quick look at google search queries reveals that users have many issues with payment methods.
Issues that don’t originate in payment method providers but in a way how businesses incorporate them into their billing systems.
Read on to discover what payment methods are, how to select the right ones, and how to avoid issues that users hate.
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We have all experienced a situation where we couldn’t make a purchase because the business didn’t support our type of credit card or the online payment method.
But the reality is that there are so many payment methods that it’s impossible to incorporate them all.
Furthermore, the selection of payment methods deeply depends on the business model.
Not all methods are suitable for all businesses and customers, so a selection is necessary for the successful monetization of products and services.
What are Payment Methods?
Payment methods are how customers pay for a product or service.
Customers can select a payment option based on the business’s supported payment methods list.
A company must specify the payment options it accepts, and the customer has to choose a preferred method.
In online businesses, the business specifies methods in the payment settings before setting up the payment methods for the customer accounts.
The Importance and Issues of Payment Methods
Having multiple payment options can significantly benefit the business and customers.
Research from Baymard Institute showed that around 68% of customers abandon their Cart, and a significant portion of them quit because the payment process is too complicated.
Approximately 42% of customers do not complete the transaction if the business doesn’t offer the payment method of choice.
More payment options will mean more customers, but only if they work.
Nothing is more frustrating than failing on the last step of the purchase, on payment.
What About the Payment Methods Users Search Online?
A quick look at most searched terms on Google reveals that users spend much time researching what payment methods are the best in terms of security, convenience, and general acceptability.
They also search what kind of payments businesses like Google, Amazon, Spotify, or Cosco accept.
It may or may not be a surprise, but one of the most googled terms is “OnlyFans payment methods” because the site doesn’t support most of the major online payment systems.
We will show why later in the article.
What Problems Do Users Have?
When looking at Google searches, we can immediately see the big issues users have with payment methods.
- How to change my payment method?
- How to delete my payment method?
- Why is my payment not accepted?
These and similar questions have about the same amount of searches as general searches on the topic.
This shows that although businesses offer different payment methods, the users have a tough time managing them in webshops, client portals, or mobile applications.
If there is one thing users hate, it’s not being able to use a webshop or app because of problems with payment methods.
So listening to clients’ wishes and offering many payment choices is meaningless if you don’t have modern billing software that can support their integration and operations.
We will get to this important issue in a moment.
Different Types and Methods of Payment
Payment methods can be divided into two primary groups – cash and non-cash payments.
Customers can choose whether to pay with physical money or with non-cash payment instruments, such as loans, checks, credit cards, etc.
Another categorization divides payment methods into physical and digital.
The need for physical cash transfers changed when the world began digitalizing.
Every business, especially online platforms, had to include several non-cash digital payment methods.
Five most common payment methods
Cash
Only coins and paper money are considered when defining the cash category.
Cash is not the most secure payment method since it can be easily lost or destroyed.
Cash is mainly used in brick-and-mortar businesses.
Sometimes cash can be used in online business as a “cash on delivery” service.
Check
Checks are a somewhat outdated payment method.
They come in paper forms where the buyer fills out information and gives it to the seller.
To make a payment from the bank account, a business or a buyer must write an amount of money on a check, sign, and address it.
The check proves to the bank that the buyer has agreed to pay the said amount.
The bank processes the transaction after receiving it from the seller.
Debit Card
With a debit card, the buyer’s account is debited immediately.
The money goes directly from the buyer’s to the seller’s account.
A debit card is also known as a bank card.
Credit Card
Debit and credit cards are similar but not the same.
With a credit card, a buyer delays payment by “borrowing” money from the bank rather than paying directly through a bank account.
Every month bank gives credit to the user.
The buyer later repays the amount to the bank.
Online payment services
Online payment services are the fastest-growing payment method because they offer easy-to-use, fast, and secure ways to pay.
They can cooperate with credit card providers or banks and use stored payment methods and third-party processing to speed up the checkout process.
Online Payment Methods
Many online businesses such as AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, or Booking have recognized the benefit of letting customers pay with online payment methods.
Nowadays, every online business should have at least an option for credit card payment (debit, credit, and prepaid), electronic bank transfer, and online payment services.
Available online payment methods:
- Debit, Credit, Prepaid, and Gift Cards
- Online payment services (PayPal, Stripe,…)
- Mobile Payments
- Electronic Bank Transfers
- Digital wallets
- Buy now, pay later methods (cash, checks, cards)
- payments with cryptocurrencies
Besides paying with a credit card, online payment services are the most popular because of their simplicity and security.
Online Payment Services Providers
Payment services like PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Venmo can store multiple payment methods in one place.
These services, often also called payment systems or platforms, offer security, convenience, and simplicity.
When a user uses such a platform, he connects his account to his bank account or credit card.
His methods of payment, along with personal information, are stored in the system.
Whenever he wants to make an online payment, he will use the payment service instead of always imputing his card details and personal information for every purchase.
These services also offer a better way of protecting the user than other payments like credit cards.
They use data encryption, real-time transaction monitoring, and buyer protection policies to ensure the highest level of security when paying online.
How Does Payment Security Work in Praxis?
One of the biggest threats in online payments is card theft or account takeover (ATO).
Both happen when users enter their credit card or account data (username, password) into false websites or are a victim of different scams like phishing.
These scams are often hard to spot for regular users and are especially successful in the form of false web stores with exciting price offers.
Once a user is tricked into giving his sensitive information, the damage is done, and usually, it is not a minor one.
With payment services, the users newer give their direct payment method information, so their data is safe.
The payment platform will, in most cases, recognize an attempted scam and warn the user or deny the transaction.
Most platforms will reimburse the user and proceed with actions against fraudsters in case of fraud.
The payment services also use multi-factor authentication, notifications, and facial or fingerprint recognition, making an account takeover less likely.
These service providers earn money by charging subscription or transaction fees for each user or transaction.
Although these platforms have standardized payment methods, they still have to base their system on a good relationship with banks and credit card companies to secure and process customer payments.
Popular payment services:
- PayPal
- Stripe
- Amazon Pay
- Google Pay
- Apple Pay
- Venmo
- Square (Cash App Pay)
PayPal
PayPal is considered one of the safest forms of payment today.
It has the most secure and cheapest payment system, which allows its users to make payments using various methods:
- bank account
- PayPal balance
- PayPal Credit
- debit or credit cards
- rewards balance
Stripe
Stripe is a software company that sells payment tools for every type of business, including marketplaces, software platforms, subscription services, and physical and online merchants.
They accept the following payment methods:
- Cards
- Bank debits
- Bank redirects
- Bank transfers
- Buy now, pay later
- Real-time payments
- Vouchers
- Wallets
Amazon Pay
Amazon is a famous worldwide online marketplace.
Since it is a multinational business, Amazon enables users to manage payment methods in their accounts on Amazon.com or using Amazon Pay online payment service.
Modifications made to Amazon.com are automatically reflected in Amazon Pay.
Although Amazon Pay offers credit and debit cards as a payment option, it does not accept gift cards.
If users have an account on Amazon, they can use some of the following online payment methods:
- Visa (including the Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card)
- Amazon Store Card
- Amazon Secured Card
- MasterCard/Euro Card
- Discover Network
- American Express
- Diner’s Club (U.S. billing addresses only)
- JCB
- NYCE
- STAR
- China UnionPay (credit card only)
- Visa, MasterCard, or American Express prepaid credit
- Gift cards
- Additionally, Amazon let’s customer pay with:
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Health Savings Accounts
- SNAP EBT cards
Google Pay
Google Pay enables users to add payment methods to their Google account, facilitating activities made through the platform.
It offers debit and credit card payment options.
Google pay lets users store their debit or credit card information in their Google wallets.
US and German users can also connect their PayPal accounts to Google one.
Apple Pay
People who regularly use Apple products or like to shop online can set up one of the available payment methods for a better experience.
They can manage multiple subscriptions and purchases across all Apple devices by enabling Apple Pay to remember their payment information.
With Apple Pay, users can pay in stores, restaurants, gas stations, and anywhere where the Apple symbol is.
Payment methods that Apple Pay supports are:
- Credit or debit card
- E-wallet
- Mobile phone bill
Venmo
Venmo is a relatively new digital wallet used in the US.
It is the second most popular choice for a quick money transfer after PayPal in the US.
People pay utilities, rent, and groceries and send money to their family and friends with Venmo.
They can even buy crypto with Venmo as a mediator.
These are some of the payment methods Venmo supports:
- Venmo balance
- bank account
- debit card
- credit card
Square (Cash App Pay)
Square or Cash App is a mobile application used in the US that transfers money from one account to another.
Paying with Cash App Pay enables the user to make contactless in-person transactions.
It gives customers another way to pay for their goods while avoiding the need to handle cards or be present on the spot.
Some of the options users can use with their Cash App account:
- Debit and credit cards
- The Cash Card
- Digital wallets
- Mobile app – QR scanning
- Blockchains – crypto exchange and purchase
Google Most Searched: OnlyFans Payment Methods
To show an example of how businesses incorporate payment methods, we decided to look at OnlyFans’ online platform.
This platform is different because, here, the business model greatly influences the options of methods of payment they can use.
This example is not interesting just because the Google search “OnlyFans payment methods” shows an incredible interest in this topic, but because it can’t use many of the regular payment methods other online platforms use.
The platform is advertised as an online platform where influencers, celebrities, and regular people share content with their paying fans.
However, Onlyfans is somewhat controversial because it allows members to share their user-generated explicit content in exchange for money.
And to be honest, it’s this explicit content that prevails.
Since the platform works on a “sell and buy” principle, it would be in their interest to offer as many payment options as possible.
Also, with sites like this, security and privacy are always something users worry about.
Most users probably don’t want to see the “OnlyFans” charge displayed on their monthly credit card statement.
So the only logical thing would be to incorporate the most popular payment services.
The lack of major payment services
Surprisingly OnlyFans doesn’t support any payment services, not even PayPal, Stripe, Amazon Pay, Google Pay, or Apple Pay.
Only PayPal has made a public statement about this issue, explaining that its policy doesn’t allow payments for “sexually oriented products or services.”
We can only suspect it’s the same with other providers and that they are the ones that decided not to be included.
This would be the only logical explanation since they are missing out on huge potential earnings.
In 2020, the value of platform users’ transactions was USD 2.4 billion, which is a lot in potential payment commissions.
Unable to include all popular payment methods, OnlyFans accepts debit, credit, and prepaid cards from Visa or Maestro.
Users have primary credit or debit cards attached to their OnlyFans account.
They can also add a secondary payment method as a backup.
The secondary method is there if the primary card fails.
Users from the United States can also use Discover cards or create an OnlyFans wallet.
This wallet works similarly to PayPal.
Users put money in their wallets by sending it from their credit or debit cards.
When they have enough credits, the wallet balance is used by default.
How do Businesses Implement Payment Methods?
Starting a business could be as simple as buying a cash register and paper sales book for traditional brick-and-mortar locations.
But in the modern digitalized society, this is not enough.
Nowadays, if a business wants to prosper, having a functional and up-to-date payment system with various payment methods is essential.
It’s up to the business model to determine which payment methods are best suited for its customers since implementing all of them is not realistic.
Nonetheless, whenever a business implements payment methods, it must be done right.
Regardless of which payment method the customer chooses, the digital payment process goes something like this:
Seller: Prepare for payment –> request payment
Buyer: Prepare for payment –> Initiate payment –> Authorize payment –> Send payment instructions/Information
Banks/ Payment services: Transfer funds between them –> Inform users of transactions (seller/buyer)
As we can see from Google users searching for solutions to their problems, for many businesses, not all is running smoothly.
Some problems can be attributed to the not-so-user-friendly applications, but some are definitely because of issues with outdated or overstressed billing software.
The billing, invoicing, and payment processing must work hand in hand, especially when dealing with worldwide business.
How Does Tridens Support Payment Methods?
Any business needs to offer multiple payment methods to its users.
One aspect to consider is the market in which they are present because not every payment method supports every country.
One of Tridens’ most valuable products, Tridens Monetization, offers businesses a tool for more accessible payment systems implementation.
Monetization enables companies to collect payments in several ways, but it is up to the business to decide which of these they will use.
Tridens supports payment collection through multiple methods, including:
- Integration with Payment providers such as Stripe, Braintree, and Authorize.Net for credit/debit card payments
- Exporting and Importing of SEPA Direct Debit XML files, which are uploaded to the banking system for the money to be collected from the customer’s bank accounts
- Importing Third-Party payments via REST API or CSV file uploads for payments handled outside the system (cash, cheque, etc.)
- Tridens Monetization also exposes REST APIs, which allow our clients to develop their own local payment-provider integration
Tridens offers multiple possibilities to manage payment processes through its system.
The clients can even support other payment processing solutions from their local region by developing their own payment processing components to communicate with Monetization’s REST APIs.
Simplified steps for processing payment with Tridens’ Monetization:
- Determine payment method
- Determine payment provider
- Request transaction
- Process transactions and update status
A payment method can make a decisive difference between an interested and paying customer.
Only with a simple, secure payment method will the interested user make a purchase and become a satisfied customer.
I’m glad you mentioned how a user who uses such a platform links his account to his bank or credit card. Along with his data, the system also stores his payment methods. To make it simpler for us to receive our pay, my boss at work has been considering online payment and is weighing his platform options. As a result, I’ll make sure to send him a link to this article so he can use your advice. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Elle. We are happy to help!
My brother recently started growing a hemp farm of his own, so he needs payment processing solutions to use for his new business soon. It’s good that you brought up how businesses nowadays need to have a functional and up-to-date payment system. I’ll keep this in mind while I help my brother find a payment solutions company to partner up with soon.
Always glad to help. Good luck with your business!