| Summary Other ways of taking payment online include person-to-person, mobile commerce, pre-paid cash card and micro-billing payment solutions. These will suit certain business models highlighted by our diagnostic tool. |
There are other ways of taking payments online which can allow payments from customers without credit cards. You can directly compare some of these alternative payment methods by clicking here to register to use the e-payment comparison tool.
These payment services can stand alone in certain cases but mostly exist alongside a mature PSP/Acquiring solution to give customers extra choice. Although less well established, they can offer substantial benefits to the customer. They may be worth considering if the other bureaus or PSP are not an option - risk is assessed differently by these services due to their added security or reduced susceptibility to credit card fraud.
Person-to-Person - consumers set up an account using their bank account details and the person-to-person solution will then allow eligible merchants to debit this account directly when you make a purchase. This form of payment is common on auction sites but can be used as a general entry-level payment solution. more detail...
Mobile Commerce - allows a sale that has been conducted over the internet to be confirmed by sending an SMS to the customers mobile phone. The customer will normally need to set-up an account to do this but once they receive the SMS they can then accept or decline the sale that will (on acceptance) be charged to their bank account or mobile phone bill. There is also a growing market in ‘drop-charges’ to mobile phones where the call cost is charged at a premium to recover transaction costs. more detail...
Pre-paid Cash Card - These cards can be ‘charged’ by the consumer using cash, credit / debit cards or direct debit from a bank account and then used at participating websites and high street stores. Commonly used when an e-cash environment is required for children without credit-cards but also useful for small transaction amounts (even down to a few pence) where the minimum credit card transaction charges would disproportionately affect the profit in the sale.
Micro-billing - Many micro-billing type payment solutions offer a premium telephone number billing service that is essentially pay per view internet content hosted in a private area of the web. Customers pay for this content via their Internet Service Provider (ISP) or their phone bill. Charges are typically high for this service and it is really only suitable for niche content areas.
Our free online payments diagnostic tool will highlight these products if they suit your business model.