What do you know about payment links?
Payment link: a simple way to accept payments online. Source:?shutterstock.com
Today PaySpace Magazine would like to talk about such a thing as a payment link. But before we get back to the topic, let’s consider a little foreword.
Increasing the speed of online payments, technologies that reduce transaction costs, and solutions that allow you to work globally – these are the requests of businesses to the fintech market. They actually define the trends.
Drivers for the growth of this sector:
- active work of the regulator, which creates the necessary infrastructure for the automation of the payment process;
- development of trade relations with other countries;
Fintech is still considered to be a promising area for both investors and startups (although approximately every second company is being closed).
Top 4 payment trends
1. Conquering the market
Companies entering new markets need to consider that even with the ubiquity of the internet, the popularity of online shopping in different countries and regions is heterogeneous. For example, about 70% of Japanese people use a computer to access the internet, while Indonesians mostly prefer smartphones, etc.
You need to completely localize the payment process if you want to work in a new market. Moreover, you cannot simply take and transfer the acquiring schemes that worked in one place without developing new strategies. Therefore, the demand for the services that Fintech offers today is growing, not only for the selection and setup of payment technologies (connecting a non-cash payment method in each new country) but also for consulting, for help in opening accounts in the right banks, obtaining the necessary licenses, etc.
2. Sharing mindset
The habit of the modern consumer, which definitely needs to be taken into account, is the desire to share, including the payment sector, of course. McKinsey experts predict that by 2025 half of the global economy will be involved in joint consumption patterns, and the sharing economy will increase tenfold.
It is due to the habits of millennials. The generation of those born between 1981 and 1996 wants to use, not own. In the e-commerce sector, there are more and more platforms on which people share anything.
Consumers’ desire to share is one of the drivers of online commerce growth. The same rule applies to Fintech.
More and more companies want their customers to be able to pay one account separately. For example, three partners need to split the bill for renting a business jet equally and see the status of each payment. The Fintech industry already has decent solutions to this problem.
3. The demand for mobility
The capabilities of modern smartphones have led to the fact that personal computers are being used mostly during working hours. Users increasingly pay for goods and services with their mobile devices since it is convenient and swift.
The trend for mobility also depends on large big-tech companies such as Apple and Google. They set the rules of Fintech games that all market participants must reckon with, even if we are talking about such giants as Visa or MasterCard (for example, Apple card, issued jointly with Goldman Sachs and MasterCard).
4. The demand for security
More and more companies desire to install 3DS secure user authorization protocols. On the one hand, it involves an extra step in the authorization process and consequently may affect the conversion. But with high-quality individual settings of the anti-fraud system and payment solutions, profit levels will stay the same, while security will be increased.
The security of online payments is also what end-users want. If they are not sure about the security of the payment page, then they can change their mind about making a purchase, especially when it comes to big expenses.
And here we go, let’s get back on topic. There is a payment link technology for such cases. It allows you to make a payment without being on the seller’s website. After booking, the buyer receives a link. All data at the time of payment remains confidential, as a user makes payment without transmitting their card data through insecure channels.
What is a payment link?
As we’ve mentioned above, a payment link is a way to request payment from customers who are paying for goods or services outside of traditional online store purchases. In other words, it is a “Pay Now” or “Pay Invoice” button sent to customers via email. It takes clients to a payment page showing the required sum. They can securely fill in billing and shipping information, and the process is complete.
Who prefers payment links?
On the one hand, it is handy for businesses when it comes to collecting the bulk of their payments. On the other hand, you can use payment links only occasionally. For instance, if you’re a B2B company and you send electronic invoices to clients, you can embed payment links directly into the invoices for faster payment.
Example #2: a small B2C firm sells some stuff at some place without access to a card swipe device/virtual terminal. And when a client is ready to pay, a firm can simply email them a payment link.
Major benefits of payment links
- It’s easier for your customers to pay;
- Customers can choose from a broad range of payment methods and currencies;
- If a client has previously provided payment info, the page will be pre-populated with billing and shipping information;
- It’s easier and faster for you to collect payments.
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