Taking payments in your online store: cards, PayPal and the fees nobody mentions
A checkout that fails on a phone loses the sale, and a fee you did not plan for loses the margin. Here is how online payments fit together for a small store, in plain words.
Taking money online involves three pieces that are often sold together and described with the same words: a checkout on your site, a payment gateway that talks to the card networks, and a merchant account where the money lands before it reaches your bank. Knowing which is which makes every sales pitch easier to read.
Cards and PayPal: you want both
Most customers pay by card, but a meaningful share will leave if PayPal is missing, especially on a phone where typing a card number is tedious. Offering both costs little extra and removes a common reason to abandon the cart.
Fees, line by line
- A percentage of each sale plus a small fixed fee per transaction. The fixed part hurts most on cheap items.
- Higher rates for some cards, such as Amex and international cards.
- Monthly or gateway fees on some plans, even in months with few sales.
- Chargeback fees when a customer disputes a payment, whether or not they win.
Before your first order
- Place a real test order with a real card and refund it.
- Check the confirmation email on a phone, including the order total and taxes.
- Make sure the payout schedule matches your cash flow. Some providers hold funds for days.
- Write down how you will handle refunds and disputes, before you need to.
Phone and email orders
Many small stores still take orders by phone or email. Enter them into the same system as web orders. That way stock stays correct, invoices go out the same way and you can see all sales in one list at the end of the month.
Get these basics right and payments become what they should be: the boring last step of a good shopping experience.
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