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Most Popular Payment Methods for E-commerce in 2024

With the advent of the Internet, trade development has moved in a different direction in the modern world. Online shopping is the future. Nowadays, more and more people use online stores because of their many benefits. Just a few clicks, and that’s it! You don’t need to spend many hours going to the stores. Forget about that. The fast development of an eCommerce allows you to order and pay anything you want from home.

When talking about paying, there are so many payment methods you can use. But, let’s start from the beginning:

What Are The Payment Methods?

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Shortly, payment methods are a way of an online transaction through the shopping cart. When you decide which eCommerce platform you’ll use, the next step is deciding which payment method is best for you.

Blockchain revolution

Today, there are a lot of payment methods that work on the principle of blockchain. Some eCommerce platforms like Safex are also powered by this technology. Blockchain technology handles user activity, product searching, and payment processing, and it is also used for recording transaction results. If you see the results combined, you’ll see a “block.” Every block is connected to the block before and after it, called a “chain.” This technology’s main benefit is that there is no central authority because of the many computers worldwide. So, it’s the best way of tracking and organizing goods.

Methods of Online Payment

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To simplify this, let’s divide online payment methods into two primary groups:

Bank Payments

This type of payment is directly connected to your bank account, and it doesn’t involve any physical card. You only need 10 minutes or less, an Internet connection, your bank account number, some of the personal information, and of course, your smartphone or laptop. When you create your account, you’ll be able to pay your bills, transfer your money to someone else, and even deposit a check. For example, if someone pays you with a check, you can snap a photo through your mobile app and submit it for payment. The main advantages are lower fees and saving your time.

Mobile Wallets

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A mobile wallet is a safe way of saving payment details from credit or debit cards. Once you install your mobile wallet app, you need to transfer money from your credit or debit card, and that’s it. They are so easy to use and, in the first place, safe. Also, you don’t need to worry about stealing because a password protects your account.

Maybe the most popular wallet around the world is the Apple wallet.

Apple Pay

Apple Pay is maybe the best option for the users of Apple devices. With this, your customers will be able to pay for their groceries with the Apple Watch or their iPhone. It works on the principle of the mobile wallet with a face identification payment method. You just need to make a double-click to the side button, glance at your phone, or enter the security code and hold your phone near the contactless reader until you see “Done” on your screen. Using this payment method, you can forget about carrying your wallet all the time. One of the most common questions is: “Is this method safe?” Well, yes, it’s completely safe because you can set two-factor identification and some other passcodes. But, if you decide to use this payment method instead of a physical wallet, make sure to charge your phone first because you can have an unpleasant surprise if your phone dies.

PayPal

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You’ve already heard about maybe the most commonly used payment method worldwide. Security and ease of use are the main reasons why PayPal is on the top of our list. This is witnessed by over 250 million satisfied users and owners of the active profiles. Also, this digital wallet can offer an 82% higher rate than some websites without PayPal. It’s very simple to set up, and if you use it in eCommerce, you can accept debit cards, credit cards, PayPal Credit, and Venmo. But, be prepared to pay 30 cents, plus 2.9% per transaction, and at least 4.4% for international transactions, which could be expensive.

Amazon Pay

Amazon Pay is a payment method directly connected with your Amazon account, so it can bring you more traffic. Once you add the Amazon Pay button to your checkout and your potential customer press it, he will be redirected to the Amazon-hosted page to sign in. Then, to complete the checkout process, he’ll be back to your website to decide which card will be used. The main benefit is the possibility of using debit and credit cards. When the payment process is over, he’ll receive a receipt, and that’s pretty much it. Just like PayPal, Amazon Pay requires 2.9%, plus 30 cents fee per domestic transaction. This is standard pricing for most eCommerce payment platforms.

Bitcoin

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You may already know that bitcoin is a cryptocurrency invented in 2008 by an unknown group of people using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Its value is constantly changing, and it depends on so many factors. Bitcoin as a payment method is a more popular day by day, and many people believe that cryptocurrencies represent the future of eCommerce. After installing your digital wallet app to your smartphone or laptop, you’re able to make transactions. If you want to pay something with this currency, make sure that this payment method is available on that site. As its popularity grows, there is a huge need for company owners to enable this payment method and get better traffic. Paying with bitcoin is able with QR codes. You need to scan your code and to hold on for a few minutes until the transaction is complete. Is it safe? Well, at some point, it is, but it’s also risky because there are no authorized regulatory bodies for these transactions.

Conclusion

Security is definitely in the first place when choosing which payment method you’ll use. Internet scams and thefts are also very common, so it would be best to define some proven early payment methods. The safest way is credit or debit cards, followed by PayPal. With this, your payment information is entirely safe. But, on the other hand, if you’re ready to take a risk, new virtual currencies could be the right for you.

About Suzan Vega