Accepting payments online isn’t just for ecommerce sites; it’s a great feature for municipalities as well. Many municipalities are starting to accept online payments, making it easier for town residents to make payments, and reducing the work that’s required to process the payments.
Accepting payments online isn’t just for ecommerce sites; it’s a great feature for municipalities as well. Many municipalities are starting to accept online payments, making it easier for town residents to make payments, and reducing the work that’s required to process the payments. Online payments can be used for everything from bills and taxes to parking tickets, citations, and late fees. Accepting payments on your municipal website gives residents a more convenient way to make payments, even after hours. If you’re thinking of accepting payments on your municipal website, here are a few things that you should consider. Let’s look at the importance of accepting online payments, and some different options for payment processing.
Accepting online payments provides an easier and more convenient way for residents to make payments –but there are other benefits that come from accepting online payments as well.
Accepting online payments and advertising the well-known logos such as Visa and MasterCard can instantly increase visitor confidence, and add a level of credibility to your website.
Being able to accept long-distance payments is a great feature for websites to offer. For many people, the ability to pay their bills, regardless of their location is a bonus.
When you make it easy for people to pay, you increase the chances of getting payments on time.
Using a third party all-in-one payment processing service is the easiest way to set up online payments, and start accepting credit cards, debit cards, and other forms of payment. For a small fee, the third party will handle everything for you. Here are a few reputable merchants that handle online payment processing.
PayPal is a universally-recognized company that is trusted by many, and the go-to third-party merchant that many companies and organizations use for payment processing. The fees are generally low, and there are no setup fees or monthly charges with PayPal.
Authorize.net is another well-known merchant, with over 375,000 users. They have low monthly fees, and process payments for as little as $0.10.
BrainTree is a PayPal company that allows you to accept mobile payments, through Apple Pay or Android Pay. It also allows you to accept Bitcoin payments. The great thing about accepting payments through a third party payment processing company is that it will save you from the hassle of ensuring PCI compliance. You’ll have the confidence of knowing that your customer’s payment information will be processed through secure servers, and will reduce the chance of fraud or chargebacks. You’ll also be able to implement online payments on your website relatively quickly and painlessly.
If you don’t want to accept payments through an all-in-one payment processing services, you’ll need to set up a merchant account and a payment gateway. But accepting payments on your own tends to be a lot more complicated to set up, and for this reason many organizations opt for an all-in-one processor like PayPal to handle all of the legwork for them. If you choose to go through a third party payment processing gateway like PayPal, they’ll provide you with a piece of code that you can copy and paste into your website’s code. The process is relatively easy to set up and you’ll be able to get started right away. Accepting online payments will make life easier for residents, allowing them to pay online –at their convenience. It will also make it easier for you to accept and process payments. It’s a win-win situation all around! At Town Web Design, we offer integrated payment features for town websites, making it easy for you to accept online payments. For more information on website design for municipalities contact Town Web Design today.Image: GotCredit
