Being easy to do business with is one of the keystones of commercial life and nowhere is this more crucial than when a company trades online.
Giving customers multiple methods of payment ensures the net is cast as wide as possible and that no site visitors feel excluded from making a purchase. While secure online transactions are a universally acknowledged prerequisite to entice site visitors to make a purchase, websites often do not offer alternative payment methods, which is a pity. For by not expanding payment methods in this way websites are freezing out internet users who don’t wish to pay by credit or debit card for a multitude of reasons. These can include the user not having a bank account, credit or debit card, being under 16, or simply mistrusting online payment per se.
Accepting cheques, banker’s drafts and postal orders are good, traditional methods but can mean more administration and slower shipment of goods or services, so warn customers about this should they choose one of these options. But if these payment methods sound too much of a headache, there are a stack of other ways for customers to pay, for example, via PayPal or one of the many offline and e-cash systems that now abound, e.g. PayPoint, PayOffline, Nochex etc.
These alternative systems are also about to be joined by eWise network, a new internet payment system that enables transactions without any financial or personal details being made available to either the retailer or eWise. Payment occurs by transferring money directly between bank accounts.
This is no wheel reinvention, eWise network differs in that it allows customers to make online payments directly from existing UK bank funds and does not restrict them to paying from one account or card.
Where retailers offer eWise network, customers download the eWise network software and choose their bank from a drop-down menu. Users are then taken to the website of the selected bank where they login as normal and confirm the payment.
Neither eWise network nor the retailers are privy to the customer’s login details or financial information. The role of the eWise technology is in facilitating the payment and generating a receipt and confirmation to the customer and online retailer.
For the company offering the service, there is the potential to capture customers who might otherwise have abandoned their trolley at the checkout. Other pluses are that the new eWise system eliminates exposure to credit card charge-back costs and there are no monthly payment provider charges, only a fee per transaction.
Mark Matthews, managing director of eWise Systems, says: “We believe that eWise network will help to establish trust between retailers and new customers. Consumers are able to pay directly from their bank account for goods and services, in the knowledge that their details remain private and secure, and retailers can benefit from increased transaction volumes and satisfied customers.”
eWise network has just completed its testing phase with a selection of UK-based online retailers and is now looking to bring on board further merchants. Ian Hincks at Watches1st, a retailer that has recently finalised its testing phase, commented: “The more payment options you offer the customer, the more likely they are to purchase through you. If you have a solution to suit them that one of your competitors doesn’t, then you have ticked another box.”
eWise Systems has been working with the likes of egg and first direct since 2001 supplying banking software to over a million consumers in the UK. The eWise Systems payment technology powers payment systems for online merchants and billers in Australia, USA, South Africa and New Zealand.
