Most countries around the world are spoiled with a choice of online payment methods.
Regionally, you’d find an ever wider variety of e-payment providers. China, for example, is one of the leading e-commerce markets on the planet where Chinese online payment providers dominate the industry. While many Western online retailers focus on common e-payment methods, like Google Wallet, PayPal, or credit card payments, the majority of customers opt for local e-payment solutions that are not well known to international retailers, such as Alipay (part of Alibaba group), UnionPay (online payment method provided by UnionPay financial services) and TenPay (part of Tencent).
Mobile payment methods are a rising trend not only in China but in many African and Asian countries. Kenya-based Mpesa, mobile money transfer and microfinancing company, offers e-payments for a variety of services, including online retailers, event tickets, flights, bills, travel providers, and more. Mpesa is a popular service in Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, India, and Afghanistan.
Choice for businesses
On the B2B side, Stripe currently dominates the market for the best online payment software. It can integrate a variety of payment options (card and e-wallets) and provides robust protection from identity fraud and chargebacks. PayPal Payments Pro and Amazon Payments provide a similar optimisation of marketplace activities both for the seller and for buyers, except Paypal Payments charge a subscription fee on top of transaction rate, while Amazon Payments pricing is entirely transaction-based.
User experience
Aside from regionally specific e-payment options, we usually have to choose between a few most common methods that address our concerns about safe online shopping.
Card payment
All online retailers and service providers accept debit and credit cards. You are required to enter your card number, cardholder’s name, card expiration date and a 3-digit security code, and most banks also provide a two-step authentication process whereby you receive a confirmation code on your phone to complete the transaction. The good thing about credit card payment, fraudulent charges are usually reversible if you detect them on time and contact your bank.
When you are directed to a webpage to pay online with your credit card, make sure to conduct necessary checks to ensure you are not endangering your credit card information. Firstly, the page must be SSL secure, i.e. protected with SSL protocol (https) that establishes an encrypted connection between the web server and the browser. SSL is a safe corridor to transmit the data you enter (your credit card details) and the bank that processes the transaction. In your browser URL, you will see a green ‘lock’ sign next to the web address that starts with https://, which means that the connection on the webpage is secure.
In general, card payment is a fairly secure method, provided that you remain vigilant and do not shop on sketchy platforms. Both major retail platforms (like eBay or Amazon) and your bank have invested interest in maintaining your data security. However, if you are being redirected to an obscure third-party website to complete your purchase, it is time to pause and think twice whether the seller is simply harvesting your credit card information.
Third party payment services
Paypal is the leader on the market of online payment services, primarily due to its broad geographic expansion compared to, for example, Google Wallet, and because it uses only ID email to identify the customer (unlike, for instance, Skrill or Payoneer). Paypal also offers buyer protection, which means you usually can get your money back if the seller fails to deliver your goods or services. On Russian online markets, QIWI Wallet or Yandex.Money provide similar services, offering you an online prepaid account for e-purchases of retail goods, airline tickets, phone credit, and more.
Cash on delivery
Good old’ cash on delivery method will make you nostalgic about the time long gone when you actually had to interact with the seller face-to-face and conduct an exchange of physical money to receive the goods and services. Cash on delivery is not only pleasantly vintage but is arguably the most secure way to pay for online purchases.
Individual security measures
As a general rule, never conduct online purchases on unsecured public networks: a typical way for hackers to intercept your payment data will be through a so-called ‘man-in-the-middle’ attack. Using a VPN on public WiFi is a good way to protect your data from being intercepted – if you absolutely need to use your credit card for an online purchase on an unprotected network.
Another risk you face is if your device is infected with malware such as keystroke logger, which will easily expose your card details or passwords to unauthorized parties. To protect yourself from malware, make sure to have your firewall on, to conduct regular antivirus scans across all your devices, and to be aware of phishing emails that may prompt you to download the malware on your computer inadvertently.