Choosing the payment methods that best suit the needs of your online store is not easy, but this step can make your business go further. Due to constant advances in technology, any e-Commerce can have efficient payments with robust solutions and focus on the most important areas of business.
There are many methods and alternatives to select from, but today we will only talk about one of them: the POS. It is important to know in depth what it is, what it is used for, as well as its functionalities and features. If you are going to join us, the tour starts right here: the e-commerce locomotive runs at full speed. GO!
The acronym POS refers to ‘point of sale terminals’ and, although you may have heard of it in any bar or restaurant to mention a dataphone with which you pay for drinks or food, it is much more than that.
The POS is a computer system with which we can manage the entire sales process -invoices, tickets and more- and management operations are carried out through a reference number or code. In short, the POS is a useful tool to organize and speed the tasks involved in sales processes, increasing card charges and reducing cash in trade. Furthermore:
If you sell products or offer any type of service, it can be very convenient for your clients to pay by card. However, you cannot charge them directly through their credit or debit cards. First of all, you need to request a POS from your bank, and the entity will be in charge of checking data and validating sales. Do you have an online business? In this case, you would usually need a virtual POS, also called a virtual ATM.
With this device, you can collect and issue tickets in an integrated way on the website from which you offer your products or services, or as part of a payment gateway with multiple methods. Your customers will appreciate the security of card payment, since the POS guarantees the delivery of encrypted data to financial institutions, and these are also not known to the seller.
Once the POS is given, it also provides you with a package of programs to be installed on the server hosting your e-commerce. When clients make a purchase, they fill in the requested information (name and surname, expiration date, card number). The bank quickly checks this data and the existence of funds associated with the account, charging the customer and crediting the amount paid to the merchant.
An easy process, right?
Before implementing this tool, you first need a bank account where the payments received by your e-Commerce will be credited. The main components and features of the virtual POS are:
The costs generally include an opening amount, a monthly maintenance cost and commissions for its use.
When we talk about a physical POS for shops, its major advantages are:
Conversely, with respect to a virtual POS for online shops and businesses, the main benefits include:
Do you bet on a greater diversity of payment methods in your business?
If you need to accept payments from clients from different geographical locations, it is most likely that each one has their own methods. Adapt to them! The POS is a complete and effective universal alternative to sell your products online, collect your sales directly, connect with multiple forms of payment, save time and earn your customers’ trust. Anyway, it is not the only option.
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