If you're thinking about setting up an online business, one of the most important factors to consider early on is how your customers will be able to pay you. Confining your customers to one form of payment will alienate many, as purchasers fall in different income and payment ability brackets.
"For example, a lot of customers don't have access to a credit cards or are still too sceptical about handing over their details to an online merchant that they have never met or dealt with before," says Donovan Marais, channel manager at Sage Pay.
These customers need an alternative means of payment, like the ability to pay using an EFT, or perhaps even an online payment method like PayPal or using loyalty awards such as eBucks. As an online merchant, you also need to be able to accept payments from cheque or debit cards.
Being able to accept payments from various sources can become problematic and technically challenging for many online merchants, especially smaller ones, as they have to pay their payment provider a fee for each payment method they offer, and possibly a percentage of the value each time a transaction is processed.
Furthermore, an online merchant may not save or store a customer's credit card details due to credit card rules, legislation and the risk of fraud. Therefore, you need a payment gateway that authorises card payments before a transaction is completed.
All in all, setting up an online retail Web site is not as simple a registering a domain name and building a site. Protecting both your customer and yourself is imperative. "As you want assurance that the seller is reputable, it is equally important to know who you are selling to" says Marais. "Remember, all card transactions carry a risk of being returned, and verifying who your purchaser is, is the first step in avoiding fraud," he adds.
Sage has realised this, and has also realised that many smaller online merchants don't have the expertise or the services in place to facilitate secure online payments. As such, the company has launched Sage Pay - the trusted international online payment brand - in South Africa as well, an all-in-one payment service for small to medium online merchants.
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