Updated by Mike T on Feb 03, 2021

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Listly by Mike T

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How to optimize online payments during the covid pandemic

The covid pandemic has been a real test of many businesses. If firms had previously accepted their customers in stores, they now had to shift their focus very quickly to accepting online payment methods. Those firms that had been actively accepting online payments even before the pandemic were in a better position.
However, the shock for companies did not last long and almost every one of them added new payment channels for goods and services. Some companies decided not to adjust to the new reality and simply left the market, notwithstanding the competition.
It became obvious that business simply could not exist without online payments during the covid-19 pandemic. Adding e-commerce features to their website became the bare minimum that allowed companies to continue running their businesses while generating revenue.
Companies with significant financial capabilities opened their online stores, serving customers remotely.

What to expect next?

Despite the fact that the covid-19 situation in the world remains quite tense, it's clear that it's not forever. Sooner or later, businesses will have to return to a more familiar operating environment.
Will customers be denied the opportunity to pay for goods and services online? Even if a company decides to take this step, it will definitely be a stupid decision. All because with covid-19 or without it online payments provide customers with an excellent opportunity to quickly and conveniently place an order and order the delivery of goods, if you want to get it even without leaving home. We should not forget about the fact that only a limited number of customers can be served at one time in the company's stores. This also makes the refusal to accept online payments irrational.
Just do not make the common mistake and settle for what you have now. It is very important to optimize your online payment acceptance solution in order to give your customers even more options, increasing your sales and profits.
How to do it? Here are a few recommendations.

Provide customers with more payment options

Even if by some miracle all your customers pay by the same method, which is only possible in theory, it doesn't mean that their behavior can't change. When it comes to choosing payment methods, you just can't go overboard. There can never be too many ways, so provide your customers with as much freedom of choice as possible.
How do you do this?
Just contact some of the reputable payment processors. Find out what payment methods do they offer and what are the integration conditions.
PayOp, for example, works with all companies around the world, except sanctioned countries, providing you with more than 300 payments methods, as well as payment processing fees that will be lower than the market average.

Don't forget to inform your customers that you accept payments online

You may be surprised, but despite the high growth in the popularity of online payments, your customers may not just guess that you've enabled it. That's why you need to make them aware of it. To do this, use absolutely all available means of information transfer, such as online advertising or social networks. When accepting customers in your store, warn your salespeople to inform them about the possibility of paying online when serving customers.

Don't forget about email marketing

Sometimes you hear the notion that only a few people read email. In reality, that's not true. Millions of people go to their email every day to read newsletters and see if there are any new incoming emails. Be sure to add the name of your site in your signature, or better yet, let them know there's an online payment option in one of your next emails.

Check your site for ease of payment

If you accept payments through the site, assess how convenient it is for customers to place orders through it, add items to their cart, and complete their purchases. Whether the form is too large for them to fill out. In short, do everything to make it as convenient as possible for them, and then the number of bounces will be minimal.
And the most important thing you should do is never stop there. Even if you think your work online is flawless, there are definitely a few options for improvement, it's just important to find them and make them a reality.