Online payment methods have turned around the way we make our transactions. Changing the concepts of banks, and money itself, and leading to the development of new technologies. With the rise of online shopping, e-commerce, online betting on sports, Australian lotto, stocks etc. the need for a reliable and secure system that can efficiently process huge volume and frequency of payments became very important.
There are a lot of different online payment methods available today, each a bit different in features, with specific benefits and downsides.
Paying with NFC chip from smartwatch
Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies are conceptually digital currencies that use cryptography to secure transactions. They perate independently of central authorities, and are decentralized. Ethereum, Bitcoin,and Litecoin are some of the most popular cryptocurrencies. Their main perceived advantage is privacy, one of the original ideas behind blockchain technology. It’s been proven though that cryptocurrencies aren’t bullet-proof against high authority check ups, but they still offer the edge in that field against other means of payment. They can be used for money transfers, online purchases, or investments. In 2023, more than 30% US small business accept payment in crypto. Other pros of using crypto over traditional payment methods, include reduced transaction fees, and faster processing times. Main downside of crypto payings is the unstable nature of crypto currencies, compared to traditional currencies. So if you have some cryptos in your wallet for online payments, they can value significantly more or less in the next couple of weeks or days.
Cryptocurrencies are not used at the same level in different countries. According to Statista Global Consumer Survey of 2020, over 30% of respondents in Nigeria said they used or owned cryptocurrency. 21% of those surveyed in Vietnam said they owned or used crypto and 20% of people in the Philippines used or owned crypto. Some countries with few crypto users are Turkey 16%, Switzerland 11%, India 9%, China 7%, United States 6%, Japan 4%.
Bank cards
Bank cards are regarded as the most popular online paying methods.
For instance in Australia 48% of online transactions are done using credit cards, 26% by e-wallet, 9% by bank transfers.
Credit and debit cards are fast, simple to use, and accepted by almost all businesses. Both debit and credit cards are vastly used in online transactions. Direct debit payments are the most commonly used in B2B transactions as they allow recurring automatic payments.
They are very practical for your customers because they don’t need to approve the payments each time or worry about not forgetting to pay. Once you set up the direct debit, the money will be periodically deducted from your account automatically. Customers don’t need to approve the payments each time or worry about not forgetting to pay. This method of online payment is ideal for recurring bills, such as subscription-based business models. Most credit and debit cards are highly protected by fraud prevention services.
Visa with 49% and Mastercard 26% are the most commonly used cards in Australia in 2022. American Express makes 6% and local bank card schemes have a 19% of the market share .
Paying online with a credit card
Bank transfers
Even though not everyone possesses a credit or debit card most customers have a bank account. Despite the fact that online transactions have become pretty familiar for people nowadays, some still hold reservations about sharing their credit card details. With bank transfers you don’t have to provide any financial information that could be easily misused. Banks nowadays also have most of the convenient online services covered like online banking, sms banking etc. Also bank transactions are often without fees with online banks like Wise etc.
Digital wallets
Digital wallets are an additional online payment service that makes your financial information, credit card information for example, more secure.
It acts like a third party between you and who you’re paying or getting paid by. Most popular e-wallets are PayPal, Skrill, Google Pay and Apple Pay.
Main advantage is their safety, PayPal is for example often seen as the safest option for online money transfers. They are also very convenient in combination with NFC chips on smartphones, getting almost on the same level for in-store shopping as bank cards.
Their main disadvantage would be somewhat more complex paying procedures and fees, for example for PayPal online checkouts 3.49%, for Skrill to Skrill Money Transfers 2.99%. For in-store shopping they come a bit short behind banks cards with coverage and dependance on the internet on your device.
Payment gateways
A payment gateway is a component of each online payment service. PayPal, Stripe and Authorize.net all can serve as a payment gateway. Big online shops like Aliexpress and Amazon often have their own payment gateways.
Main advantage and reason stores develop their own payment gateways is so the customers without some third party service, like Skrill for example, can pay them directly using their bank cards for instance.
This can come up as a cheaper and faster option sometimes.
Conclusion
Online payment methods have enabled us to pay and get paid quicker and more conveniently.
From cryptocurrencies, bank cards, payment gateways, to e-wallets there is a payment service for every demand, depending on what you look for, safest, cheapest, mostly available, private or overall most practical.
With more digitalization, growth of e-commerce and online gambling and strong competition in the market, more innovative payment methods are likely to appear in the future. According to Fortune Business Insights the global online payment market size was estimated at $3,286 Bn in 2019. and is projected to grow to $17,643 Bn by 2027, at a CAGR of 23,7% in the given period.
Whether you are shopping online, buying stocks or gambling on an online lottery, there’re many options to keep your personal and financial information private, get transactions done quickly and without big fees.
