What Are The Top Digital Payment Systems?

If you are a business owner in today's world, you know how important it is to offer digital forms of payment.  I, for one, can vouch for the fact that I hardly ever carry cash or checks anymore. Most businesses don't even accept checks unless they are local, and that usually only happens in smaller towns where people know each other. It does cost the business some fees to provide digital payment systems, but in the long run it will pay off. Why? Because data shows that you will lose a lot of customers if you don't supply alternate payment methods, especially with the popularity of mobile shopping. The other negative aspect besides the fees when offering digital options is the information security aspect. This is a major worry for every company, even the large retailers.  In the following post, these two topics are considered top components that every business should have:

5 Technologies Your Business Should Adopt Right Now | The Huffington Post

Digital Payment Forms

Digital Payment Forms According to a recent study from Statista, in-person mobile payments are projected to reach $23.47 billion by 2018. If you are not yet accepting Apple Pay and Google Wallet, this should be at the top of your list of priorities if you want your business to continue to grow.

Accepting digital payments allows for a more streamlined, speedy checkout process. While you may experience some hiccups when first adopting new payment forms, it projects the image of your business being forward-thinking and modern.  

Information Security   Approximately 15 million people are victims of identity theft each year, many of whom have been hacked through online purchase forms or point-of-sale security breaches. Identity theft and cybercrime are undoubtedly on the rise, and the problem will continue to compound. From increasing the security of your online payment form, to updating to new card readers that use the more secure credit card chip, it’s your business’s responsibility to make sure your customers’ sensitive data and payment information is kept safe.  

Consider hiring a data security consultant to review your website for possible security breaches, and pay specific attention to the security of your online payment form and any customer databases you might host in the cloud.  

Read the original post here:  5 Technologies Your Business Should Adopt Right Now | The Huffington Post

It is somewhat ironic that digital payment methods bring about the need for information security; however, the bad guys always figure out a way to disrupt any technology. With the rise of mobile payments, this is even more evident.  In this video, the chief information security officer at Western Union discusses the ongoing process of safeguarding online shoppers' payment information:

There are new payment systems being developed all the time. If you are new to the world of retail or e-commerce and want to know which ones are rated the highest, this post by Search Engine Journal offers some of the best. The first that is mentioned, WooCommerce, is a plugin for WordPress that lets you design your own e-commerce website, giving store owners control to sell their goods for free.

The 10 Most Popular Online Payment Solutions | SEJ

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="274"] Image from searchenginejournal.com[/caption]

WooCommerce allows WordPress users to create their very own e-commerce shop. There are several neat features that make this payment processor worth your time. Besides being vendor and customer friendly, you can run coupon campaigns, manage your store’s daily activities, learn about shipping and tax rules, and view your store’s overall performance.

One of the most popular online options is PayPal.  It is our company's favorite because of it provides extra layers of security protection. It is free to use for buyers and you can transfer money to anyone with an email account, but there are, of course, fees for the seller. It isn't the least expensive, but it offers discounts as your volume of sales goes up.

Obviously PayPal would be included in this list – it’s only one of the world’s most widely used payment acquirers processing some 8 million payments every day. As of this writing, PayPal has over 137 million active accounts in 193 markets and 26 currencies around the world, which makes it easy to transfer and request payments. Other PayPal perks include accepting checks through a smartphone’s camera, a card swiper, and allowing customers to make a purchase without leaving your site. Read the full post here:  The 10 Most Popular Online Payment Solutions | SEJ

This is such a fascinating concept in this next video. It is a mobile payment system called M-Pesa, which is Swahili for mobile money. It allows users to load money onto their mobile phone and then simply send a text as payment. Hard to imagine that it is secure, right? Well, it has proven to be an excellent option of payment that requires a PIN as well as a secret word with encrypted messages:

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