How Online Payment Links Can Help You Add Additional Revenue Streams To Your Business

In challenging economic times, consumers are re-thinking how they spend their well earned money and businesses are re-thinking how to expand their businesses. For example, an independent coffee shop may start selling its own roasted beans or an events company might want to offer branded merchandise.

You may be thinking that building an entirely new online store or revenue channel sounds timely and costly — but it may not be as hard as you think. You may not have to build an online store from scratch and prefer to only promote your products through social media, EDM or direct message. This is where payment links are the perfect solution.

We’ll take you through everything you need to know about payment links, from their benefits, how to create one and how much it will cost.

What is a payment link?

A payment link — also referred to as a checkout link — is a clickable link or scannable code that allows a customer to complete a purchase. Payment links are offered in the form of digital links, buy buttons, or QR codes, and are used across websites, social media platforms, apps, messaging tools and in-person sales.

When a customer uses a payment link, they’re typically taken to the merchant’s online checkout page to complete their transaction. Payment links can be used for both a single transaction, such as a customer invoice, and for multiple transactions, such as a buy button on a social media platform.

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What are the advantages of using payment links?

Payment links have many advantages as outlined below.

You won’t need to run an online store

It takes time to get an Online Store up and running, and we get it, time is everything as a business owner. You may not need the full capabilities of an Online Store, but with payment links, you can get started selling online without one.

You can simply create a payment link to be featured on your Instagram Stories, email campaign or sent directly to your customers.

Payment links make it easy for customers to complete the transaction

Using payment links allows customers to make purchases at the click of a button. It goes without saying that the easier it is for the customer to get to the payment page, the more likely they are to buy the item. So the simplicity of payment links could lead to more sales.

Payment links are secure

When you’re taking payments online, it’s important to consider the security and safety of both your business and your customers The last thing a business owner wants is to have personal information and card details stolen.

If you pick an online checkout service such as Square Online Checkout that has in-built security measures in place, you can save yourself a lot of hassle and feel confident accepting payments securely.

There are lots of payment link providers out there – how can I decide which one to choose?

Let’s take a closer look at five payment link providers currently available in Australia: Square Online Checkout, Shopify, PayPal Checkout, eWay and SecurePay.

Is there a monthly fee for using payment links?

Some payment link providers will charge a monthly fee, while others only charge transaction fees for each sale you make. You can assess which option is better suited for your business.

Here are the monthly charges for five providers.

How much do the payment link providers charge per transaction?

What cards or payment methods do they support?

Most payment link providers will accept payment from major debit or credit card providers such as Visa and Mastercard.

Is it difficult to create payment links?

The five providers we’ve taken a look at all make it really simple to create and send payment links, so you won’t need to be an IT expert to use any of them.

For example, with Square Online Checkout, it takes a matter of seconds to create buttons or links. All you have to do is enter the product details and price to create a payment link or button.

Can I add a payment button as well as create a payment link?

Some providers will only give you a link, some will only provide a payment button to add, whilst others will give you the option of both.

Finally, a few other things to consider when you’re choosing a payment link provider

When you’re deciding which provider to go for, you’ll probably want to take a few other things into consideration. These might include: how long it takes to set up, plus any extra features they offer, such as enabling subscriptions.

With Square online payments, you’ll be able to start using payment links right away, for one-off purchases and subscription payments. This feature is handy if you’re selling a product that customers will buy regularly.

As it comes with no upfront cost and is fast and easy to install, Square Online Checkout is a great choice for businesses that want to quickly start selling products without the hassle of building and running an online store.