How to Choose a Payment Solution

Choosing a payment solution is an important step for any business. Payment processing is part of every transaction in your business and can have a direct impact on customer experience. Due to anything from a transaction failure to a security breach, a payment tool could be the difference between a loyal customer and a lost sale.

Understanding your business needs and the features offered by different payment solutions can help you in the decision-making process. By asking the right questions, you can choose the payment tool that’s perfect for your business. 

Squarespace offers several payment tools, including Squarespace Payments, a powerful payment solution that can be set up quickly and is conveniently located in your Squarespace dashboard.

How does a payment tool work with your business?

When a customer makes a purchase on your site, several parties (e.g. banks and card networks) have to communicate throughout the transaction for it to be successful. A payment solution ensures that these parties can communicate the payment data efficiently and securely with one another. Payment tools also give you the option to accept various forms of payment (e.g. cards, digital wallets), which can increase sales. 

Fast and secure transactions aren't the only things to consider when reviewing payment solutions. It's important to choose one that will also provide excellent, personalized support to your business. 

Comprehensive reporting, support with payment disputes, and the ability to scale with your business as it grows are all important characteristics to look for. A lack of support in these areas can lead to frustrated customers and drive down sales and retention. 

What to consider when choosing a payment solution 

Choosing a payment tool that aligns with your business needs will create a more positive experience for both you and your customers. There are several questions you can ask yourself to simplify the decision-making process. 

Who hosts your existing business? 

Consider your current website host and whether they offer a payment solution.  A payment tool that's native to your website host can seamlessly integrate with your existing systems and software.

Managing your transactions and viewing all of your payouts and payments in one central place makes it easier to keep things organized on your end. This can also mean more time spent growing your business and less time spent tracking down customer data. 

Does it have built-in safety and security tools?

Ensuring your customers’ payment information is secure is a top priority. A customer can quickly lose confidence in your business after a data breach or fraud. 

Look for payment solutions that are PCI-DSS compliant and offer robust security measures such as tokenization and encryption to safeguard sensitive information. And consider tools that offer fraud detection and prevention tools to minimize the risk of fraudulent transactions. 

What are the transaction fees?

Payment tools typically charge a fee for each transaction processed. Other fees may include setup fees, monthly fees, and any hidden charges. These fees can vary based on factors such as transaction volume, card types, and additional features. Compare the pricing structures of several options to determine which aligns best with your business’ financial model.

Is customer support available?

When it comes to payments, downtime is never good. In the event that you need customer support, it’s vital that you can quickly reach someone who can help you maintain your payment system.  

Some questions you may want to consider are:

• How easily can you reach the support team? 

• Are they available 24/7? 

• Which channels do they use for support (phone, email, live chat)? 

Select a payment solution with responsive customer support channels to address any issues or concerns promptly. A downed payment tool means frustrated customers and lost sales.

Is it easy to use?

When comparing interfaces, consider if they’re user-friendly and offer comprehensive reporting. Can you easily track transactions, access the reports you need, and gain insight into your sales data? These kinds of analytics can help you better understand your customers’ behaviors and needs so you can address them in your sales strategy. 

Can the payment tool support your business as it scales? 

As your business grows, your payment needs may evolve. Choose a payment management option that can scale with your business and handle a greater transaction volume and multiple payment methods. You may need both as the number and type of customers you have grows.

Consider tools that offer features like multi-currency and international payment capabilities to help your business expand globally. 

What is the tool’s reputation and reliability?

Before deciding on a payment solution, research it online. Take a look at reviews, ratings, and testimonials from other businesses in your industry. Are there any red flags in terms of uptime, reliability, ease-of-use, or customer satisfaction? 

As with any online reviews, take them with a grain of salt. But look out for patterns that could suggest a payment tool has frequent issues.

Payment solutions on Squarespace

Squarespace offers several payment solutions. Choosing which one to use for your online store depends on a few factors, like where you're located and which payment methods you want to offer. 

Squarespace Payments 

Squarespace Payments is a powerful native payment solution that’s fully integrated with your online store. Setup takes a matter of minutes. The tool has PCI-compliant servers, payment data encryption, secure checkouts, and instant transaction risk monitoring, so you and your customers can trust that your data is safe.

Customers can still pay with a wide variety of payment methods, like buy now, pay later tools. You won’t need to connect to third-party services, and all of your payment and payout information is conveniently located in your Squarespace dashboard.

Other payment options on Squarespace

• Stripe: With Stripe, customers can pay with a debit and credit card without creating or logging into an account. You’ll need Stripe to sell  subscription products.

• PayPal: Connecting a PayPal Business account lets customers check out using their PayPal or Venmo accounts. PayPal’s broad international support makes it a useful option for countries where Squarespace Payments isn’t yet available or credit card use is less common.

• Square: With Squarespace point of sale, you can use Square to process in-person cash and card payments that integrate with your online store. You can set this up in the Squarespace app.

• Afterpay/Clearpay: With Afterpay and Clearpay, customers can pay for products in installments with zero percent interest. You can offer these if you've connected to Stripe, and if you meet the eligibility requirements.

Why use Squarespace Payments?

Although Squarespace offers multiple payment solutions, there are several benefits to choosing Squarespace Payments.  

All-in-one payment management

With Squarespace Payments, you can manage your website and payments without needing to juggle multiple platforms. You don’t need to connect your Squarespace account to a third-party payment provider because all of your payment-related information is available right in your Squarespace dashboard. You get a complete view of your finances, payments, and payouts without leaving your Squarespace account.

Security and safety

With Squarespace Payments, you can trust that your customers’ payment information is secure. Keeping pace with ‌industry standards, Squarespace has the following features in place to protect your customers and business.

• PCI-compliant servers: PCI compliance refers to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, a set of information security standards required for card payments. 

• Payment data encryption: Encryption turns information—payment details, in this case—into a scrambled code to protect it from unauthorized use or theft.

• Secure checkouts (SSL certified): SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a type of encryption businesses use to protect customer information and transactions.

• Bank authentication secured by Plaid: Plaid connects your bank account to Squarespace Payments so you can get paid. Plaid protects your banking information and you can often connect via your banking login portal.

Competitive and transparent transaction fees

Competitive transaction fees can result in cost savings, so you have more profit to continue growing your business. Squarespace Payments charges one fixed fee for all transactions: 2.9% + $0.30. 

Easy onboarding

You can sign up for Squarespace Payments in minutes and start accepting various payment options immediately. There’s minimal upfront information required from you to begin taking payments. You then share more information to enable payouts. 

While other payment tools can be confusing, with Squarespace Payments, you get Squarespace’s commitment to design and user experience. And if you have questions, Squarespace has a dedicated customer support team specialized in Payments waiting to help you.  

Access to alternative payment methods

When you choose Squarespace Payments, you can take credit and debit payments  and mobile wallets like Apple Pay, but you can also accept alternative payment methods. 

Buy now, pay later options like Afterpay/Clearpay and Klarna can appeal to more shoppers since they can make payments in installments. This can help expand your audience and increase your potential for growth. 

Fast payouts

For your business to expand, it requires financial resources. A lengthy wait for funds to be deposited into your account can hinder the growth of your business. With Squarespace Payments, you get daily payouts. Your money is promptly deposited in your bank account, where it belongs.