The past twenty years has seen an explosion in the amount of online payments providers. Services that provide for the fast and secure processing of payments are in high demand, especially with the rise of the gig economy more recently.
Why use payment software rather than a bank? Well, bank transfers are slow, typically taking one to three business days to process. They’re expensive, too – often charging a large flat fee or a significant percentage of the overall transaction.
It’s no surprise that online payment software has grown to be the favored form of payment for millions of people. Here are five of the best online payment software today.
Stripe
Stripe is a cloud-based payments solution that provides a set of tools and unified APIs that allow businesses to accept and manage online payments. Stripe will take care of key payment functions like storing cards, subscriptions, and direct deposits to user bank accounts.
Some key features of Stripe include instant payment acceptance, invoice paying, PCI compliance, full-stack payments, and the collection of transaction fees. Stripe doesn’t require fees for setup, refunds, validation, or card storage.
Stripe also has online support and a customer knowledge base in addition to customer forums where users can discuss questions and get help from moderators.
Stripe can be integrated with applications like Slack, Abacus, Zapier, Zoho Invoice, Zoho Subscriptions, Squarespace, TalentLMS, Sellsy, Freshbooks, and Shopify.
OpenEdge
The stand out factor about OpenEdge is the customer service it is said to offer. The software is cut out for small to medium sized businesses. Understandably, the starting price is considerably lower as opposed to its competitors like Shopify POS. It is little surprise that the company likes to maintain a personal touch which is how common with small to medium businesses prefer it. The training is done in person and in person only. However, any gap left out in training is bridged by the 24/7 customer support as stated earlier.
PayPal
PayPal is the original online payments software. Almost everyone has heard of it and chances are you know someone who uses it already. The solution lets individuals and businesses accept payments via an online portal without revealing financial details.
There is no need to re-enter information, as PayPal uses a one-touch login process. Individuals are able to shop and even process international transactions by linking a credit card.
Business owners can accept international payments from digital wallets or banks as well. Businesses can bill clients or receive direct payments from manufacturers or suppliers and take payment from over 200 markets within a single account.
For business transfers, PayPal charges a transaction fee, which is calculated in proportion to the total sales volume of a business. Individuals can transfer funds to one another free of charge. The software can be used on mobile.
There are too many payment software solutions available to count. These three stand out from the crowd for their ease of use, low fees, and extensive features. When choosing an online payment software, consider your own personal needs and circumstances and choose accordingly.