Increasing Sales with Alternate Payment Methods

In a rapidlydigitalizing world, payments are also becoming virtual and cashless, especiallywith online shopping taking over. Alternate Payment Methods (APMs) are thetrending and smart way to keep up with this rapid digitalization in thee-commerce niche.

What are Alternate Payment Methods?

Any mode ofpayment that does not involve direct cash exchange or transactions via credit/debitcards is considered an APM. APMs are quickly taking over conventional paymentmethods and will soon be dominating transactional volume in the e-commercesector worldwide, according to Statista.  

If you run anonline business and still do not offer APMs to your customers, this article isgoing to change that by telling you all the plus points of APMs that play asignificant role in increasing your sales.

How do APMs help increase sales?

APMs arecharacterized by features that conventional payment methods are unable tooffer, making them highly preferred by customers and therefore, almost anabsolute necessity to offer on your e-commerce platform. Here is what APMs offerto induce a significant increase in sales:

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Greater Options

APMs make moreoptions available to choose from when making the payment at checkout, beyondthe conventional card payment or cash on delivery options, catering to personalrequirements and preferences of more customers. This also empowers more buyerswith the purchasing power, even the ones who do not possess a credit/debit cardor may not have cash at hand at the time of delivery, due to which they cannotindulge in online shopping. Accommodating customers’ payment preferencesresults in reduced cart abandonment and equipping more customers to shop onlineby providing them alternate means to pay naturally increases sales, making it awin-win situation.

Faster Processing

Card systemssometimes tend to make the payment process lengthy, with multiple stages ofverification required at times for bigger purchases, more time needed forsanctioning a payment, and complex digital forms to fill out for every purchaseat checkout. This friction discourages customers from shopping online, to avoidthe complications of the payment process. APMs, on the other hand, make paymentand checkout a lot faster and more frictionless by offering quick verification,eliminating lengthy steps to acquire approval for a payment, and bypassing longforms to fill at checkout. The ease and speed of the payment process offered byAPMs attracts more customers to shop online conveniently, notably boostingsales.

Increased Flexibility

Conventionalpayment methods like cash or card payments can be limiting sometimes, requiringfull payment on the spot or charging a fee in other cases. However, APMs areintroducing innovative ways to pay, which offer a lot more flexibility. A primeexample is that of ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ service. BNPL platforms like QisstPay allow buyers to split their payments in equal,monthly installments and that too with no interest, in case of most platforms.The installment plans are flexible and easy to pay off, with automaticdeductions on a monthly basis. This level of flexibility in payments enablesmore customers to shop online, resulting in increased sales.    

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Higher Security

A lot ofcustomers do not prefer paying with their cards while shopping online since itrequires them to share sensitive data which they are not comfortable fillingout on digital platforms because of how big of an issue cybersecurity is andthe frequency of e-commerce fraud cases. However, with digital authenticationlike face identification or biometric verification that instantly validate abuyer’s credibility, customers tend to be more comfortable with APMs offeringthis added security feature. This sense of security is a motivating factor formore customers to shop online, who would otherwise not want to because of cardor cash payment limitations that come with security concerns, thereby increasingsales.

Apart fromincreased sales, APMs have something more to offer for your business that wouldtotally convince you to opt for it, if you are not sold already.

No Processing Fee – A Bonus!

Credit cards chargebusinesses with 1.5% to 3.5% of the total purchase as processing fee for everytransaction conducted when a customer pays via card online. The percentage mayseem minor on its own, but when it adds up for every purchase, it can be ahefty sum annually. This added cost reduces the profit margin, which can beeasily avoided by offering APMs at checkout. When customers have more paymentoptions to choose from, including APMs that they prefer over credit card, lesscustomers are likely to still opt for paying via credit card, which reduces thetotal annual processing cost that your business has to bear and increase themargin for profit.  

What are the top APMs?

With all theplus points of APMs now on your fingertips, we are sure that by now you areconsidering to offer APMs on your e-commerce platform. So, here are all theAPMs that currently come under 1-Click Checkoutwhich you should consider offering to your customers too:

Buy Now, Pay Later

·     Affirm

·     Klarna

Digital Wallets & Online Payments

·     Google Pay

·     Apple Pay

·     PayPal

·     Easypaisa

Cryptocurrency

·     BitPay

·     Coinify

While all theseAPMs individually have their own advantages for both your business and yourcustomers, 1-Click Checkout brings all ofthem on one payment and checkout platform that enables your customers tocomplete a purchase via any of these payment methods with a simple click!

So, get 1-Click Checkout on your e-commerce platform nowto offer all the leading APMs to your customers and watch your sales skyrocket!

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