Around the 60s’, a primitive way of online transaction processing was created by IBM. This process allowed making financial transactions in real-time, but it was clumsy and not suited for everyday commercial life. However, the technology was quickly upgraded until it became what it’s now known as online shopping.
Online shopping consists of acquiring goods and services using a website or app. When buying online, the user is given a great variety of payment and delivery options. A lot of platforms use these payment methods as an essential part of their service. Some examples are Creative Market, eBay, Fiverr, Instagram, Amazon, Craigslist, and many more.
Online shopping has made the process of buying in the modern age much easier. With the increasing number of people that use the internet and want to avoid buying directly from a store, this has become a powerful tool for businesses and customers.
Today, shoppers have the option of buying from businesses without leaving home. Due to the global pandemic, shopping online has become a great way for minimizing physical contact with other people and an excellent help with social distancing.
This has many benefits, the convenience and freedom of being able to choose what to buy, and from where, without going to one place or another, which also allows comparing prices more easily.
However, buying online also has its cons. Given that it’s possible to have some problems with the delivery of the product like delays, mishandling, or missing of the package, some people don’t like purchasing from sites like Amazon or eBay. Although that isn’t a problem with online services, the risk of fraud, phishing, credit card scams, or even identity theft is greater when buying online.
Because of this, sellers must ensure safety for themselves and customers when buying online. The best way to do this is to use trustworthy payment methods. The most trusted and widely used payment methods businesses use are:
PayPal
PayPal is a financial company based on online payments systems. It’s one of the most common options for e-commerces, given the number of users that it has. In terms of safety, it ensures that both the buyer and the seller’s data is secured by not sharing any financial information. PayPal also uses encrypted technology to prevent third parties from spying on transactions.
Google Pay
Google Pay is Google’s platform to process transactions on its services like Google Play. It works as both digital wallet and online payment system, meaning that it can store gift cards, credit cards, and more for later use and pay for services and goods.
Google’s platform ensures safety by not providing financial information to either party as it generates a virtual number containing the user’s data. Google Pay also uses fingertips IDs and one-time passwords for additional security.
Apple Pay
It is Apple’s response to Google Pay. This platform works as a digital wallet service. Unfortunately, Apple Pay is centered on Apple products, so it can’t be used on Android and Windows. To protect users’ data, Apple Pay uses two-factor authentication.
Zelle
Zelle is a service similar to PayPal. Both are online payment networks. However, users that want to use it need to have a valid bank account. This gives Zelle an edge over PayPal, as transactions are backed up by the client’s bank. On the flipside, both Zelle and PayPal use data encryption to protect users’ information.
Cryptocurrencies
The hottest trend of the last few years are crypto, which are digital currencies secured by a cryptographic system. These assets are decentralized, which means they can circulate without the permission of financial institutions like the government.
This method is not in wide use, given previous controversies in the crypto field and the age of the technology. Bitcoin (a digital currency) is highly criticized by users and government institutions due to it being used in the black market and other illegal transactions, as well as its very volatile value.
Most cryptocurrencies come with an excessive amount of electricity use, which comes with a great impact on the environment. It seems, however, that new methods that require less energy to validate transactions are currently being developed.
Apart from these problems, cryptocurrencies are gaining popularity with a specific audience open to technology. Businesses that target tech and similar fields may be interested in investing in crypto.
Bank transfer
This is probably the most known method of this list, and also the simplest one. Transfers work by sending money from one bank account to another. These transactions are non-reversible, which can lead to scary situations where clients are buying something from a store they are not familiar with, and can’t get their money back in case of changing their mind or getting scammed.
However, bank transfers are fast and convenient, and they also work as a global service. This means that it’s possible to buy something from somewhere across the globe and the seller will receive the money in their currency.
Cash on delivery
Another great option for those that are cautious of paying online is the cash on delivery method. This consists of just paying in cash when receiving a product bought online. It can also be done using a pick-up service, where the client pays remotely for the product and then goes to the store to receive it.
Some of these sites require having a verified account to make such purchases. The best way to do quick and simple purchases is through virtual numbers. These do not require users to provide any personal information like physical addresses, making them an ideal solution for privacy and convenience.
Because having a presence online and wanting to use it to acquire goods can be scary, it’s important to keep all of the customer’s data secure. In Major Phones, we offer virtual numbers that can be used to make online payments easier. If, for example, a buyer wants to get over PayPal SMS verification, they can do so by getting one of our virtual numbers.
