How to Accept Payments Online for Free [7 Top Payment Providers]

Unless your ecommerce business gives your customers multiple ways to pay online, you’re leaving money on the table.

While there is no way to bypass some transaction fees and currency fees, there are ways to reduce payment processing costs and get payments online for free.

In this post, we’ll talk about the software options available today for accepting free online payments, as well as details on how to actually accept those payments.

But first, let’s look at a few additional reasons you might want to use payment processing software.

Why should you use payment processing software?

Here are some of the benefits that payment processing software can bring to your business.

1. Convenience

Convenience is one of the main factors influencing conversion rates. The more steps a customer has to take to make a payment, the more likely it is that they will abandon their purchase and go elsewhere.

2. speed

Payment processors can instantly transfer most payments between buyers and sellers. On the other hand, transfers to and from bank accounts can sometimes take 24 hours or more.

3. Trust

Many payment processors are globally recognized brands. If a customer is already using payment software, they will be more likely to trust your payment system.

4. Security

Payment processing companies add an extra layer of protection to online transactions. You can set limits, flags for activity on your account, and sometimes even a time frame for recalling payments.

5. Records

Payment processors give you online access to your account and manage your contacts, recurring payments, and other account activity from your desktop or mobile device.

Top provider for online payment processing

Now that you’ve developed a strategy for accepting payments online, you need to decide which payment processing provider to use. Here are seven of the most popular options:

1. PayPal

Price: 3.49% plus $ 0.49 per transaction (as of August 2021).

PayPal is one of the most trusted and recognized payment processing companies out there. Participation is free and has all the tools you need to integrate PayPal payments into your website and set up a secure payment gateway for visitors. In addition, the extensive coverage makes the platform a good choice for international companies.

2nd strip

Price: 2.9% plus $ 0.30 per transaction.

Stripe offers a wide range of options for online business such as customizable checkouts, as well as subscription management and recurring payment functions. Stripe supports all major credit cards, mobile payment apps, wallets and more.

3rd square

Price: 2.9% plus $ 0.30 per transaction.

Square entered the payment processing space by introducing a dongle that sellers could plug into a cell phone to accept credit card transactions.

Since then, they have expanded their software to cover all major payment processing options and have incorporated some useful tools for online businesses as well as high street stores.

You can even create a simple website for free and integrate all point of sale (POS) solutions at the same time. You also have paid options for a custom website.

4. Google Pay

Price: Google Pay does not charge any fees – merchants only pay transaction fees as usual with credit / direct debit sales.

Google Pay is a payment tool for businesses, websites, and apps. The Google Pay APIs ensure a pleasant payment and payment experience for your customers.

When you use Google Pay on your website, you get secure and easy access to hundreds of millions of cards stored in Google Accounts worldwide so customers can pay for your products securely and at the touch of a button.

5. Apple Pay

Price: Apple Pay does not charge any fees – merchants only pay transaction fees as usual with credit / direct debit sales.

Apple Pay can be used on websites, in stores, via the app, and through Business Chat or iMessage. It enables Apple users to quickly and securely enter contact, payment and shipping information during the checkout process.

Instead of letting your ecommerce customers search for their credit cards, Apple Pay allows them to checkout from within apps and websites at the touch of a button. On a website, an Apple user simply clicks on “Apple Pay” as a payment option, confirms the payment with a tap of the finger (via their iPhone, Apple Watch, etc.) and off they go.

6. Venmo for business

Price: 1.9% plus $ 0.10 of payment.

Venmo For Business is a mobile payment software and app from PayPal. You can allow users to pay through your mobile app or website.

You can set up a company profile on Venmo so that users can quickly find your profile in the app. And when you add Venmo to your website, it shows up as a payment option right next to it, where customers have the option to pay with PayPal.

As soon as a customer selects the Venmo option at the checkout, they will be redirected to their Venmo app to complete the transaction. The Venmo payment option can be added to any page on your ecommerce site that also displays the option to pay with PayPal, including your product pages, cart page, and checkout page.

7. Helcim

Price: 2.38% plus $ 0.25.

Helcim is an online payment solution for ecommerce businesses – you can choose to start an online store from scratch or add a payment solution to your current website.

The user-friendly and secure online payment system can be integrated into your website, shopping cart, billing system and / or app thanks to the Helcim API. Helcim not only works in the app and via the website, but also by phone, in person and on account and can be integrated into your accounting tools to save you time in accounting.

Next, let’s cover the steps to get payments online for free.

1. Create a secure online payment gateway.

There are several ways you can create a secure online payment gateway. You can hire an outside developer or use your website development team to create a bespoke gateway. Or you can use third party software.

Setting up a secure gateway is essential. They also implement automated processes that save time on manual processing, especially as you scale your business and handle more transactions.

The more payment methods you make available in your payment portal, the larger the audience and the easier it is for your customers to send you money.

2. Make credit and debit card payments easier.

Although this may change as mobile payments become more prevalent, the use of debit / credit cards is still the most popular way people pay for products and services online.

You can easily facilitate the acceptance of card payments via established payment providers such as PayPal or Stripe. These accept the most widely used credit cards in the world – Visa, MasterCard and American Express.

3. Set up recurring billing.

If you offer subscriptions or ongoing monthly services, the most efficient and reliable method of invoicing and receiving payments is recurring billing.

Most of the popular payment processing software also include recurring billing functions. For example, Growth Marketing Pro created an SEO tool that bills subscribers on a monthly basis and they used Stripe to set that up.

Sites like Paysimple also offer a number of tools for setting up custom, automated recurring billing if you already have a payment processing system in place.

The use of automation is essential. It eliminates most human errors and the stress of keeping track of bills and payments.

Your customers can commit to recurring payments with just a few clicks, and you don’t have to worry about manually managing your customer base.

4. Accept mobile payments.

Nowadays, people are often more likely to have their phones on hand than debit cards – and mobile payment apps are more convenient than ever.

For example, Apple Pay has quickly become one of the most popular mobile payment systems in the United States. With an estimated 43.9 million users, you would be missing out if you didn’t accept Apple Pay.

Google Pay, Venmo, and PayPal also have mobile apps with a decent market share.

5. Accept payments in cryptocurrency.

If you are okay with dealing with cryptocurrencies, then you can expand your reach to a wider online audience.

Sites like Bitpay have all of the tools you need to accept crypto payments online, send invoices, request payments, and receive money through the pass-through apps.

Since it is a decentralized exchange, cryptocurrencies offer some unique advantages for businesses. You can accept payments from anywhere in the world without incurring currency exchange fees or bank charges. The risk of fraud is also lower.

6. Use the email invoice.

Email billing is a proactive way to request payments. You can share a payment form via email or add a link that will redirect the recipient to a payment gateway.

There are some problems with this method, however: email is not the most reliable form of communication, and customers can have trust issues when paying by email.

Expect a margin of error, but this is an important part of payment processing for many companies.

7. Accept electronic checks (eChecks).

To accept eChecks for payment, you need a form in which the user can enter their information, which you can view using payment processing software.

It’s basically a way to pay online by check. This is a faster and more reliable way than sending a paper check through the mail. So if you offer this to your customers, the process will be smoother.

Start accepting payments online for free

No matter which payment processing software you choose, the most important thing is to make it easier for the customer to pay. And the more payment options you have, the more likely your customers are to make a purchase.

Editor’s note: This post was originally published in April 2020 and has been updated for completeness.