What the online payment process should be and how it can increase sales and customer loyalty
The online payment process is not just the customer's final step, but the point at which he or she makes the final decision - whether to complete the purchase or leave. Even minor complications - unnecessary clicks, unclear forms and sudden transitions to other pages - can ruin the product experience and scare away even a motivated customer.
Every element of the user journey during online payment affects conversion rates. The simpler and more transparent the process is organized, the higher the likelihood of purchase completion, repeat transactions and increased brand trust. Companies that take a systematic approach to payment optimization gain a competitive advantage - they don't lose customers at the last stage, but turn payment into a convenient and predictable service.
Let's take a look at the key features that help build a really efficient and comfortable payment process - both on the website and in mobile applications:
Card linking in the partner's service
Card linking allows customers to pay for goods and services without re-entering data.
❌ The customer has to enter card data each time he/she makes a payment, which reduces convenience and increases the likelihood of rejection of the purchase.
✔️ ️ Online-store provides an opportunity to link the card in the personal cabinet on its website or in the mobile application. As a result, the number of successful repeat payments and customer loyalty will increase.
Holding funds
Holding is useful when payment must be confirmed after certain conditions have been met - for example, when booking services, renting goods, or confirming orders.
❌ A customer pays for a service but then cancels the order. The refund takes several days, which reduces his satisfaction.
✔️ ️ Online-store accepts the order for goods, but debits money only after confirming the availability of goods in stock, which excludes erroneous debits.
Splitting payments
Splitting payments allows you to automatically distribute funds to multiple vendors.
❌ The marketplace first accepts the full amount into its account and then manually transfers to sellers, which slows down the payment process.
✔️System automatically distributes the payment between the seller and the platform, ensuring instant settlement and convenience for all parties.
Recurring payments
Recurring payments allow automatic debiting for subscriptions, services and recurring payments.
❌ The customer has to manually renew the subscription every month, which increases churn.
✔️System automatically deducts subscription fees at set times, which increases revenue stability and customer retention.
Payment in a widget or on a payment page
The ability to conduct transactions either on the payment page itself or through an embedded widget on the website gives customers more freedom.
❌ The customer is redirected to an external payment page, which causes distrust and reduces conversion.
✔️Payment takes place inside the site through a built-in widget or in a natively integrated form in the application itself or on the site, which reduces the number of payment refusals and increases customer confidence.
Support for both local and popular international cards
Support for popular international systems helps to increase user outreach by providing a convenient payment method for holders of various cards, including those of foreign issuing banks.
❌ A customer from another country cannot pay for goods with their card and refuses the purchase.
✔️System allows the customer to choose a convenient payment method, which increases the number of successful transactions.
Fast payment refunds
Quick processing of refunds increases customer confidence and reduces negativity.
❌ Refunds take 7-10 days to process, which causes customer dissatisfaction and reduces the likelihood of repeat purchases.
✔️System processes refunds within 24 hours, which increases user loyalty and allows customers to return even after a failed transaction.
Uninterrupted 24/7 operation
Service reliability is critical: if payments are unavailable, businesses lose money and customers.
❌ The payment system regularly fails at night, making it impossible for customers from other time zones to pay.
✔️Equiring with high fault tolerance and distributed infrastructure ensures stable operation without downtime.
The online payment process is not just a technical setup. It is an important part of the service that directly affects sales, the attitude of customers to your business and whether they will come back. If everything works quickly, clearly and without unnecessary steps - a person pays quietly and feels that they have been taken care of. This means that they are more likely to come back again and recommend you to others. It is important to think about every moment, everything should be convenient for the user. This approach helps you not to lose clients at the last step and makes payment not an obstacle, but an assistant in sales.