Table of Contents:
- Why online payments are essential
- Steps to set up online payment processing
- Choosing the right payment gateway
- Streamlining online sales with a seamless payment setup
Why online payments are essential
Online payments drive commerce, with debit cards accounting for 50 percent of all UK transactions in 2023. Businesses that know how to take card payments online expand their customer base.
Merchants that know how to set up an online payment system typically experience:
- Higher conversion rates: Online payments reduce abandoned carts
- Customer trust: 62 percent of UK adults used online banking in 2023
- Security & fraud protection: PCI-DSS compliance ensures safe transactions
- Faster processing: Some payment gateways offer next-day payouts
Learning how to set up online payment for business is crucial. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) risk falling behind competition without knowledge of how to take card payments online.
Steps to set up online payment processing
Setting up online payments requires a payment gateway and a merchant account. For those wondering, ‘How do I set up a merchant account?’, here’s a breakdown:
Create a payment gateway account
- Choose a provider like Fiserv Gateway, Square or Stripe
- Register the business and verify banking details
- Set up security measures like multi-factor authentication
Link a merchant account
A merchant account processes credit and debit card transactions. When learning how to set up online payment for small businesses, merchants must ensure their account supports:
- Major card providers, such as Visa, Mastercard or Amex
- Digital wallets, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay or PayPal
Enable online transactions
- To accept card payments online, businesses need to activate payment methods in their gateway dashboard. To do this:
- Navigate to payment settings
- Select payment types from credit/debit cards, Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), digital wallets
- Set up currency and tax settings
Implement a payment system on your website
For those asking, ‘How to set up a payment system on my website?’, the process varies by platform:
- WooCommerce/Shopify: Install payment gateway plugins
- Custom websites: Use API integration or hosted checkout pages
- Pay by Link: Send payment requests via email, SMS or WhatsApp
To set up payments on their website, platforms like Fiserv Gateway offer SMBs easy integration options.
Test and go live
Before accepting real payments:
- Process a test transaction to ensure smooth checkout
- Check for errors, security vulnerabilities and speed issues
- Enable email notifications for successful payments and refunds
Once verified, businesses are ready to accept online payments securely.
Choosing the right payment gateway
Selecting a gateway impacts security, costs and customer experience. For merchants who are unsure how to set up an online payment system, consider:
Transaction fees & costs
- Some gateways charge 1.5–3.5 percent per transaction
- Monthly fees apply for premium security and fraud prevention
Supported payment methods
A good gateway should accept:
- Major cards
- Digital wallets
- BNPL options
Security & compliance
With card fraud accounting for 79 percent of UK fraud losses, businesses need:
- End-to-end encryption
- 3D Secure authentication
- Tokenisation for customer data protection
Speed of payouts
Some providers offer next-day payments, whereas others take 3–5 business days.
Ease of integration
For businesses wondering how to set up Square payment, Square provides built-in integrations for platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce. Popular payment gateways include:
- Fiserv Gateway: Secure and PCI-compliant
- Square: For startups needing an easy POS solution
- Stripe: Great for subscription-based models
- PayPal: Supports global payments and BNPL options
To set up online payments, these gateways offer step-by-step guidance.
Streamlining online sales with a seamless payment setup
By now, merchants will understand how to set up online payment for small businesses. To ensure repeat business, merchants need to know:
- How to set up a merchant account
- How to set up online payment for businesses
- How to accept card payments online
The next step is optimising systems for customer satisfaction and business growth:
Keep checkout simple
- Reduce form fields to increase conversions
- Offer guest checkout to prevent drop-offs
Provide multiple payment options
- Accept cards, digital wallets and BNPL to cater to all customers
Secure transactions
- Enable fraud prevention tools like 3D Secure & AI fraud detection
Monitor transactions & refunds
- Use real-time reporting to track cash flow and manage chargebacks
To understand how to set up online payments for SMBs or how to set up website payments, this guide has provided step-by-step instructions. The key is choosing the right gateway. Contact us today to get started with Fiserv Gateway and make online payments effortless!
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