We live in a connected world. Technology is challenging the traditional ways of making payment. Due to this the making payment is now much faster than before. Additionally, making an online payment is also much secure than before. Still, many people worry about internet frauds which is a reality. Due to this banks and payment gateways are taking extra measures to make online payment secure. Here is a list of different online payment modes you can use to send money online. If you are running a business and want to become international brand then making and accepting payments online is very important.
How to make payment online
There are many options available. But I am listing the most common and best ways to make payment online.
- Mobile Wallets
- NEFT / RTGS
- Internet Banking
- UPI Payment
- Mobile Banking
- Credit Cards
- Bank Prepaid Cards
- PayPal
- Google Pay
- Payment Gateways
- AEPS
- Wire Transfer
- POS
- Micro ATM
Payment options change with change in country. As per the constitution of a country the rules for online payment change. Due to this the options also change. For example few options mentioned in the list above are limited to specific country. On the other hand, there are many ways you can make international payments. Read the text below to understand this more.
1 – Mobile Payment Wallet
Mobile wallets or Mobile Payment wallets are one of the most convenient ways for making payments online. They offer great flexibility and lot of features. There are many payment wallets in India. To name some you can make payments via Paytm, Google Pay, Phone Pe etc. Paytm in India offers the longest list of options when it comes to online payments. Here is a list of things that you can do using payment wallets.
2 – Make Payment Online with NEFT / RTGS
The works best if you want to send money from one bank to another. Full form of NEFT is National Electronic Funds Transfer. You can find steps of how to send money through NEFT on your bank’s website. Similarly, you can also use Real-Time Gross Settlement or RTGS for instant fund transfer online. You can do NEFT and RTGS using internet banking and by visiting the branch.
Most common payment from Mobile Wallets
- Mobile Recharge
- DTH Recharge
- Send money to bank account
- UPI Payment – Works after linking mobile wallet with UPI
- Pay credit card bill from mobile wallet
- Electricity Bill payment from wallet
3 – Internet Banking
Internet banking is one of the most common ways of making online payment. You can use internet banking in multiple ways. Using internet banking to transfer funds to a bank account is possible. You can make payment using internet banking. Additionally, you can also do a lot of other activities like you can do it in Mobile Wallets. For example, you can recharge phone using internet banking and recharge DTH.
You can also automatically send money every month to someone. You can set recurring payment also using internet banking. First of all, you add a payee. Authentication is part of adding a payee in internet banking. Once the authentication is complete, you can set a recurring payment every month on the selected date.
4 – UPI Payment
Most banks in India allow UPI payments. If you use internet banking, you can register for UPI payment. In this case your bank gives you a unique ID linked with your mobile number and AADHAR card. You can make payment using UPI directly from your phone. Many merchants accept AADHAR based UPI payments.
5 – Mobile Banking
If you want to know what is mobile banking than my answer will be you already know. Yes, you just read about internet banking. Mobile payment is nothing but mobile version of internet banking. You install internet banking mobile application of your respected bank. You can do almost everything same as internet banking using this app. The mobile banking app is password protected for extra security.
6 – Making payment using a Credit Card is safe
When using credit card, you do not pay from your bank account. If you are running a business, you must have heard the term credit. In personal life we are familiar about loan. Credit cards offer you a limit that you can use to make transactions. This is like a short duration interest free loan that you need to pay as soon as the billing cycle completes. There is a transaction date, billing date and due date. The entire credit card world revolves around these three dates. Many people do credit card defaults or miss due dates. This affects their credit history. You can increase chances of getting a loan by making timely payments. You can use credit cards for making payment online. They also provide protection against fraudulent transactions.
7 – Bank Prepaid Cards is great method of making payments online
Prepaid cards are like debit cards. Normally these are low limit cards where you do not want to use your debit cards. Instead, you take a prepaid card from bank. In this case your actual debit card is protected from any card of fraud. This is one of the best strategies for preventing bank fraud. The prepaid debit card has a little amount to spend.
8 – PayPal is most common way to make payment online
Do you know how many people use PayPal across the Globe. Pay pal has more than 250 millions users. This is also one of the best online payment methods available for many users. For example, you want to pay online with debit card and the person lives in a different country. If using PayPal is legal in that country then you can make payment using PayPal. You can make a PayPal account and send money online to anyone.
9 – Make Online Payments using Google Pay
Google is the biggest search engine company in the World. When a company enters into the payments business, it has a big responsibility of making secure online transactions. Due to this I believe they follow all needed steps for safe online payments. Due to this, Google Pay is becoming famous day by day among customers who want to make payment online.
10 – Make Payment Online using Payment Gateway
There are many payment gateway companies that provide option to make payments online. For example, you are buying a product online. Take Amazon for reference. When you place the order, Amazon asks you to select the payment mode. If you select anything other than cash on delivery, it will redirect customer to payment gateway. Here you will have all the payment options. You can pay online with a debit card, credit card or internet banking. You can also convert bill to EMI. Payment gateways are really important for companies selling product in international markets.
Payment gateways is also one of the most preferred options for accepting online donations. People running a blog also install payment gateways for selling digital products online. Blogging is among best ways of generating passive income and automating payments via payment gateway gives you an upper edge.
11 – AEPS – AADHAAR Enabled Payment System
This is an India specific payment mode. AEPS is a bank led model which allows online interoperable financial transaction at Point of Sale or Micro ATM. Everything is processed through the Business Correspondent (BC)/Bank Mitra of any bank using the Aadhaar authentication. You can read more details about APES on Government of India’s official website for Cashless payment.
12 – POS – Point of Sale
Full form of POS is Point of Sale. This refers to a place where the customers make payment using credit or a debit card. POS transaction also happen online where websites provide electronic receipts of transactions. In case of a physical location, the POS transactions happen using a POS machine or a POS software.
13 – Micro ATM
We all know about ATM. The full form of ATM is automated teller machine. But what is Micro ATM?
To answer this we need to understand how ATM machine works. The core job of an ATM is to do some financial transactions. The machine is connected to a bank network. First of all ATM authenticates the customer and then allows the transaction. Similarly Micro ATM is a small device (you can carry and operated it in one hand) that companies use to accept payments online. Businesses use this to deliver basic banking services. You will find them on local shops and businesses. You can simply go to the nearby shop with a micro ATM.
How micro ATM works?
It is very easy to withdraw money using a Micro ATM and deposit money. The device is linked with bank network with the shop ID. First of all, the machine will authenticate the customer and then allow the transaction. The shop will work as a bank officer for you and give cash. You can also transfer cash using a Micro ATM and do a simple balance inquiry.
14 – Make Online Payment with Wire Transfer
Wire Transfer is another name to bank transfer. You can transfer money funds electronically using wire transfer technology. You can also use this for bank-to-bank money transfer. This is an internationally accepted mode of payment where you can also give send cash to the bank. Bank will take care of the wire transfer to your requested account.
How does a bank wire transfer work?
The process starts when you send a message to bank using SWIFT or any other secure system allowed by bank. As soon as the bank receives the information it processes the transaction on your behalf from the reserve funds.
How long does a wire transfer take?
The maximum time to process a wire transfer is 24 hours. You can also do international wire transfer. The time duration for international fund transfer differs country to country. In case you want to do wire transfer to another country the expected time is anywhere between 1 day to 5 days.