Negosentro | Best Ways You Can Accept Payments: If You Are Starting Business in 2021 | “Every problem is a gift — without problems, we would not grow.” ~ Anthony Robbins
This quote perfectly fits the current business trend in India, which is witnessing a dramatic surge in business, as people are busy shifting their concentration from offline to online presence to outgrow themselves from limited demographics.
As individuals are growing their businesses online, it has created a need amongst the customer and merchant to break the monotony of the payment process and adopt digital payment solutions.
Let us begin to understand the need for an online presence for both business and payment.
Introduction
There was a time when business was considered one of the riskiest means of living life. The reason being, not every business would assure monthly/daily income and growth.
Earlier, starting a business was considered one of the best ways to exhaust your savings and end up in the pit of debts.
Similarly, even today people fear to break the monotony of the existing work culture. But, the gruesome pandemic forced many into unemployment ending up either in the pit of poverty or scripting their story of rags to riches.
Now, as people are becoming courageous to have a digital presence, it also pushed many to own a digital monetary base because offline payment is experiencing a decline due to the need of the hour and they are social distancing and contactless payments.
Growth of business in COVID19
When COVID19 alarmingly hit China and Italy, India took a back seat, assuming their safety from the catastrophic clutches of the deadly virus. But, the bubble busted in March 2020, and the rest was history.
Fact Junction
If we look at the facts, the Indian e-commerce sector registered a growth of over 36% year over year in the last quarter of 2020. The biggest beneficiaries of this rise are the personal care, beauty, and health care product range which grew by 95% year over year. Meanwhile, the electronics category saw a rise of 27% annual growth.
Remember when we all thrived over Amazon, Flipkart, Grofers, Big Basket, and many other online marketplaces? It was the involuntary phase where we all just helped many e-commerce sellers and other new entrants in the digital market sphere.
If we rethink the past two years, COVID19 was a blessing in disguise and a phase of loss for many.
Even though post COVID19, not everyone has the purchasing power they had before the pandemic hit, a whopping growth is expected in a few sectors.
As per the statistics, the Indian e-commerce market is set to grow to US$ 111.40 billion by 2025, leaping from US$ 46.2 billion in 2020. Along with people creating their digital footprint, India also witnessed a surge in the number of internet and smartphone users.
As of April 2021, the number of internet connections in India significantly increased to 782.86 million. Out of the total internet connections, over 61% were in urban areas, out of which 97% connections were wireless.
While some are weeping about getting kicked from their jobs and shutting down their stores; many weave their stories by taking the risk of creating their identity by starting a business or becoming a freelancer, entrepreneur.
Decide the path you want to follow.
Change of Ownership: From Offline hours to Digital pace
For instance, before the pandemic, you were running a general store. Now, one fine day you decide to build an online presence and enroll your store on grofers, big basket, Amazon, and so on.
Having an online presence would remove the economical buffer as you created a passage to get your business going by just joining hands with some online marketplaces.
It is happening in the current Indian scenario, where people have understood that a pandemic has no permanent cure and they have to survive with it.
Moral of the Pandemic
The new normal has forced everyone to move out of their comfort zones to explore the new horizons of growth in their lives. You might end or take a passive road of survival, but the pace of survival in life would never change or adjust for anyone.
From banks to online payment solutions: The era of E-Payments
When globalization came into being, the essence of trade and employment changed. Earlier, the souls that were restricted within the Indian bounds have now expanded their trade hands to various tangents on the globe.
One of the essential tools that assisted in kick-starting businesses is the internet and pool of online marketplaces. Now, as digital is the future, the payments behavior has changed from offline measures such as wire transfer, cheques, etc to digital payments where people have started to use contactless card payments, cryptocurrencies, digital wallets, etc for payments.
We homo-sapiens have entered the ‘E-World’, where home appliances work with voices, payments are made via smart devices, and gestures. It is just the initial steps towards a progressive and advanced life.
Come, let us understand the nitty-gritty of the existing and arriving payment world.
Best payment methods businesses can use to accept online payments in 2021
Card Payment through Contactless Technology
It is one of the most used payment methods across the globe.
Therefore, if you are starting a business in India or planning to expand abroad, don’t forget to include this payment option on the digital payment platter, as customers consider it one of the easiest, reliable, and quick payment methods.
To make a cross-border payment using this technique, the payee will provide their name, card number, CVV, and expiration date.
Upcoming Changes
However, card payments in India will alter in the new year as the Reserve Bank of India prepares to make significant adjustments for e-commerce behemoths such as Amazon and Flipkart.
Once the reforms are implemented, e-commerce titans will be prohibited from storing the data of the payee’s card, which previously aided in quicker transactions (as it was recurring). Furthermore, the card information will be replaced with a unique token, eliminating the need to keep card information on any e-commerce platform.
Cryptocurrency
Once you are somewhat established in the market, understand your niche and their payment taste and ease, and later, you can add this payment method as the crypto industry is in a rage on the Indian turf.
Previously, the digital asset was considered a foreign thing by Indians. However, the situation has shifted to the point where the Indian young comprehend the bitcoin market and invest intelligently.
One thing to bear in mind is that Bitcoin lacks a government watchdog to ensure safe transactions and the keeping of digital assets. Although people are aware of the challenges and threats attached to the bitcoin world, over 15 million Indians have invested in cryptocurrencies.
UPI
It is also one of the most preferred payment methods by Indian customers for both national and international payment as it is quick, the bank is connected, and mobile-friendly.
Most of the Indians use UPI payment for local or national money transfers such as:
- Payments at stores
- Shopping from online marketplaces
- Transferring money to a friend,
- Recharge purpose, or
- Sending money to your family located in different demographics.
Just for Knowledge
As per the latest reformation in the fintech industry, the transaction costs, merchant discount rate, and payment service provider fees have all been eliminated. Before August 2020, banks charged 2.5 rupees for transactions worth less than INR 1,000 and 5 rupees for transactions worth more than INR 1,000.
Now, the daily transaction limit has increased from 1 lakh to 2 lakh.
These aggregators opened the way for UPI, increasing transaction value from INR 2,162 billion to INR 3,290 billion by 2020.
When the value of UPI increased, card transactions experienced a significant drop, falling from INR 1,511 billion to INR 1,262 billion between January 2020 and September 2020.
Net banking
It can also be an option, but most people don’t prefer this method as it is time-consuming (due to the Q/A session it offers to authorize and secure the payment).
Never Forget
- If you want your business to be known, start giving your customer what they want (in terms of goods and payment options).
- Before starting your business, analyze the payment method that is mostly used in the respective business regions.
- Introduce new payment methods only when your customers are willing to experiment with them.
- Give them cost-efficient options. People flock towards the potential options where they can save.
Top payment solutions that businesses should consider to accept payments in 2021
After understanding the dynamics of the fintech world and the types of payment methods, let us walk you through some of the best payment solutions that businesses can adopt, and they are as follows:
PingPong
PingPong is a pocket-friendly, secure, and credible cross-border payment solution that has proven to be a lifeline for millions of Amazon sellers, freelancers, service providers, commoners, and e-commerce businesses.
PingPong provides:
- Signup is free, and there are no ongoing costs.
- The Reserve Bank of India regulates it.
- Assist you in paying your VAT and GST without having to worry about currency conversions.
- As PingPong was started, for the e-commerce merchants, it holds a special for everyone’s business.
- Use a conversion calculator to get the precise amount you will receive after reducing the forex.
- Accept payments in – INR, USD, GBP, EUR, JPY, AUD, MXN, AED, CAD, and SGD.
- Receive a free digital Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC) on your PingPong dashboard after every cross-border transaction. No more standing in bank queues.
- You can handle multiple currency tradings under one umbrella without confusion.
- Pay your vendor and supplier with any confusion.
- All these amenities are available on PingPong at a highly competitive foreign exchange rate.
PingPong believes that security, cost-efficiency, instantness, knowledgeable customer service, and transparency are the pillars of their brand, and they do excel in all these points in reality.
Therefore, PingPong ranks as the number one of the best payment suggestions for businesses in our list.
Stripe
This US-based cross-border payment system, like PayPal, has a global reach. Stripe takes payments in over 135 currencies globally and provides broad support for local payments.
It is simple to incorporate into your markets. It would also be a useful tool for regular payments. Furthermore, it aids in invoicing, making it easier for the recipient to approach the customer.
Payoneer
It is also a well-known payment option that assists you in receiving your cross-border money without any difficulties. Payoneer is a refuge for freelancers, service providers, e-commerce vendors, and many more.
Payoneer allows you to receive payments in – USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, AUD, CAD, and MXN.
Payoneer also helps you pay your VAT and obtain a free digital Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate (FIRC) after every overseas transaction, which means no more waiting in long bank queues.
PayPal
The name alone speaks volumes about the brand. Since it is one of the well-known and widely used payment products across the world, it has its customer advocacy. Furthermore, PayPal India expects a 40% increase in the value of cross-border transactions in April-June 2021.
It has a global presence in over 200 countries and offers its services in over 25 currencies. Even though PayPal is a popular payment method for many people, it is best suited for small enterprises and startups.
PayPal is unquestionably a safe payment method, although it may be finicky at times. Even a minor check-in error on your end or any suspicious act would freeze your account. Now, is it a boon or bane, know for yourself.
Conclusion
Believe it or not, payment is a crucial measure when you consider beginning a business.
As a business, if you don’t offer your customers the right payment choices and payment tools, they tend to doubt before making the payment because they don’t feel a sense of security and transparency.
Moral
Never consider the payment as a minor step in business. This small point can decide your number of customers.
Negosentro | Best Ways You Can Accept Payments: If You Are Starting Business in 2021
