Accepting payments as a rental business online isn’t as simple as flicking one switch, but it doesn’t have to be difficult either. You simply need to set up payment gateways in your Booqable account, and customers will be able to pay you through your online store.
Payment gateways allow you to make it easy for customers to pay for rentals on your website. They also make it possible for you to take partial payments from customers and pre-authorize security deposits so you don’t have to spend time refunding them if they don’t need to be taken.
How do payment gateways work?
Every time you make a payment online, you use a payment gateway, but you may not know how they work. So, let’s break it down. A payment gateway allows an online store to request payments from customers securely. Once a customer completes the checkout process, it handles everything to do with their payment.
What payment gateways do:
- Verifies customer billing information.
- Authenticates funds for a customer’s payment method.
- Approves requests, which allows your online store to issue a confirmation number.
- Finally, it gets you paid!
Now you understand “why” your online store needs a payment gateway, let’s look at the ones you can add to your online store.
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Stripe and PayPal
Both Stripe and PayPal are among the most modern payment gateways, so they make the perfect additions to your online store. Of course, you will have to set up a merchant account but this is easy and can save you time and effort when setting them up.
The best part about using these gateways is that you don’t need to charge bank accounts or do anything special to start accepting payments. They are also easy to integrate with your store, thanks to their quick setup process.
So, what’s the difference between Stripe and PayPal?
Stripe allows your customers to enter their credit card information and use a variety of different payment methods. It gives your customers the most options for paying you and even includes location-specific payment services such as iDEAL and Bancontact.
PayPal, on the other hand, is the payment gateway that’s commonly used on platforms like eBay. Customers can set up a PaypPal account and link their credit card to their account once and never enter their details again when paying for products and services online. It is commonly used among customers when shopping online, and your customers likely have an account on there already.
With either choice, you will be charged a small processing fee which covers the charges that companies like Visa and MasterCard charge merchants. It’s almost identical to the amount you will pay if you already have a credit card reader in your store.
Integration with your online store
By integrating a payment gateway with your online store, you can take payments from your customer without them having to leave your store to complete payments. This makes the checkout experience smooth and seamless, making customers more likely to convert than if they were sent away from your website to enter payments.
With Booqable, it’s easy to integrate PayPal and Stripe into your online store as the options are right there in your settings. Simply follow the steps in your Booqable account, and you can accept payments within minutes. In addition, you can choose to add PayPal, Stripe, or both to give your customers the maximum choice when making a payment on your online store.
Start with building your rental website
Every new rental business starts with a website to get their first bookings.
Accepting payments online is critical
Taking the time to add payment gateways to your online store is a critical step in setting up your store. It allows you to accept payments quickly and go full speed knowing that your payments are being handled. It also reduces the time you spend chasing payments, so you can focus on other parts of your business, like serving customers and marketing your business.
