The best online payment methods for small businesses
Online payments are an emerging technology that can help you gain more customers, cut expensive costs, and simplify accounting processes. But it’s smart to compare the best online payment methods for small businesses to find the right solution for your needs.
A few major players dominate the credit card processing industry. But many providers can help your company process payments online, and they’re all structured differently.
There are five features you’ll want to look out for when comparing the best online payment providers.
- Price: How is the pricing set up? Which transactions are assessed a fee, and at what rate?
- Features: What unique offering does the provider bring to the table?
- Flexibility: Can customers choose whether to pay by credit, debit, or bank transfer?
- Functionality: How does the payment processing software integrate with your business?
- Security: Does the provider offer fraud protection? Are payments secure?
Let’s compare several online payment processors for small businesses. You can see how some of the most popular choices stack up against each other and who they’re best for.
PayPal
PayPal is one of the biggest names in online payments, with over 346 million customers. Its big reputation has earned businesses’ and consumers’ trust for security and risk management.
Who is it for?
PayPal has a range of features for businesses looking for standard payment processing. PayPal offers ways to accept payments both online and in-person. You’ll need to check with your shopping cart provider or e-commerce platform to confirm whether PayPal checkout is compatible with your site.
What types of payments does it accept?
PayPal users can pay using their PayPal account balance, PayPal CREDIT, a debit or credit card, or a bank account.
What does it cost?
If you’re selling goods or services through an online transaction in the U.S., you’llpay a merchant feeof 2.99% of the transaction amount and a 49¢ fixed fee. Micropayments under $10 are subject to a fee of 5% of the transaction amount, plus a fixed fee based on the currency.
Depending on the size of your transactions, this payment method could be expensive for your small business.
Venmo
Venmo is known for processing peer-to-peer (P2P) payments, but the app also has a business side. Their social commerce platform can help build brand awareness because users can see, like, and comment on each other’s purchases.
Who is it for?
Venmo can be a good choice for street vendors who need a way to accept cashless payments. Users can quickly scan a QR code linked to your business account and send money to complete a sale. These payments come with instant confirmation of funds. You can also integrate Venmo as a checkout option on your app or website.
What types of payments does it accept?
To pay with Venmo, users must link their bank accounts or debit cards. Credit cards are subject to an additional charge. This payment method could deter customers who want to pay off purchases over time. Users can make payments using their Venmo balance, bank account, debit cards, and credit cards.
What does it cost?
For business transactions made through a Venmo business profile, you’ll pay amerchant feeof 1.9% + a fixed 10¢ fee. There are no setup fees or monthly subscription costs. However, there is a fee for electronic withdrawals using the Instant Transfer feature. If you want immediate access to your money, you will pay a fee of 1% (minimum 25¢, maximum $10).
QuickBooks Payments
QuickBooks Payments is one of the most dynamic online payment methods for small businesses. It’s capable of streamlining a variety of accounting processes to save you time. You can accessQuickBooks Paymentsby signing up for QuickBooks Money or QuickBooks Online.
Who is it for?
QuickBooks Payments offers a solution for small businesses in every industry, including online and brick-and-mortar retailers.
QuickBooks Online with QuickBooks Payments integrates seamlessly with platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, and similar web stores. When you complete a sale, QuickBooks Online calculates sales tax, processes the payment, creates a sales receipt, and records the transaction. You can also enjoy more peace of mind with security fraud protection and secure 128-bit encryption.
Additionally, QuickBooks offers a simple way to accept payments from anywhere using their mobile app. If you need to take credit card payments over the phone, you can use their virtual credit card terminal. Own a brick-and-mortar store? Accept payments using the QuickBooks card reader, capable of complete POS integration. You can also send invoices with an optional “Pay Now” option for built-in payment processing that can help you get paid 4x faster.1
QuickBooks Payments connects seamlessly to QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Checking, so you can manage your business money from one place.
What types of payments does it accept?
QuickBooks Payments allows you to accept payments from customers via PayPal, Venmo, Apple PayⓇ, credit, debit or ACH bank transfer. And you can choose how customers pay. For example, if you’d like to receive a bank transfer for an invoice of $500, simply turn off the card option.
With QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payments, you can also acceptin-person payments using a card reader.
What does it cost?
QuickBooks is one of the best payment options for small businesses because they charge one simple rate when using the card reader. QuickBooks charges 2.5% per swipe, dip, or tap for Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. Customers can also pay using digital wallets, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay. Funds arrive in your bank account right away, ensuring you get paid quickly.
If you’re selling online, invoices or quick requests paid using Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Apple Pay, PayPal, or Venmo cost 2.99%. Keyed in card transactions, payments processed by manually entering a customer’s card information using the QuickBooks GoPayment app, cost 3.5%. ACH bank transfers, direct from the customer’s bank account to yours, cost just 1%.
Most importantly, there are never any upfront expenses, hidden costs, or termination fees.
