Boost your store’s conversion rate with multiple payment solutions

Online shoppers today demand convenience and speed when it comes to online payments. This shift in consumer behavior has pushed companies to look for multiple payment solutions to increase their checkout conversion rate.

By providing multiple payment solutions, businesses are able to offer an extensive range of payment options to customers, which increases customer satisfaction and reduces cart abandonment. 

In this article, we will talk about the advantages of integrating multiple payment methods online and in physical stores. Which payment methods to integrate? How can Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay help speed up your sales? How to choose the right payment solution for your business? And how do you get started?

What is a Payment Solution?

A payment solution is a system that allows businesses to accept payments from customers. It typically involves a combination of software and hardware that enables businesses to accept payments online, in-store, or via mobile devices. 

Payment gateways like Silkpay allow businesses to accept online as well as Point-of-Sale payments from customers.

Clients Use More Payment Methods

The rise of online shopping has sparked the need to provide a variety of payment methods to customers. According to a survey by Global Payments, the traditional credit card is no longer the only payment method used by customers. 

Contactless payments allow customers to pay for goods and services without the need for cash. The use of contactless payments has grown by 19% in the last year, according to a survey by Mastercard. 

Customers now prefer to use other payment options such as e-wallets, prepaid cards, and contactless payments.

E-wallets such as Alipay, and WeChat Pay are popular among customers in Asia. However, they are becoming increasingly popular in other regions as well. According to a survey by Mastercard, e-wallet usage has grown by 23% in 2022.

UnionPay prepaid card is also becoming heavily demanded in all European countries. Our main prepaid card holders come from France, Italy, Czech Republic, Portugal, Spain, Russia, Poland, The Netherlands and Germany.

According to a survey done by Nielsen, most consumers worry about security and personal information protection. UnionPay cards are a perfect payment method to accept in your store. 

Prepaid cards are payment methods that are also on the rise, with a survey by Mastercard showing that the use of prepaid cards has grown by 15% in 2022.

Benefits of Implementing Multiple Payment Solutions

Implementing multiple payment solutions can provide numerous benefits to businesses. Here are some of the main benefits of offering multiple payment solutions to customers.

• Increased Customer Satisfaction: Providing multiple payment methods at the checkout allows customers to choose the one that best suits their needs. This increases customer satisfaction, as customers are now able to make payments in the most convenient way.

• Reduced cart abandonment: By providing multiple payment solutions, businesses can reduce cart abandonment. Customers are more likely to complete their purchase if they have a payment option that they can pay with.

• Increased Conversion Rate: Offering diverse payment solutions increases the chances of a successful sale. Customers are more likely to complete their purchases if they have more payment options to choose from.

• Increased Revenue: A successfully completed transaction means increased revenue, however, a non-successful transaction is a loss in turnover and a missed opportunity to satisfy a client. It can also be a missed opportunity for a recurring payment.

Use Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay to triple your sales

Alipay, WeChat Pay, and UnionPay are the most popular payment solutions in Asia and the most used worldwide. An average Chinese customer spent €4000 using these payment Apps in 2022.

Alipay and WeChat Pay are e-wallet that allow customers to make payments using their mobile phones. Customers can link their bank accounts or credit cards to their Alipay/WeChat Pay accounts and then use the App to make payments by a simple QR code scan.

• Alipay: 

In 2013, Alipay recorded nearly €150 billion in mobile transactions.

10 years later, Alipay is still the most used e-wallet in the world.

Alipay still holds the top position with 1.3 billion users. Learn more about Alipay.

• WeChat Pay 

WeChat, the Chinese social App, has 1.112 billion monthly active users worldwide, of which 900 million are users of WeChat Pay. 

In 2019, WeChat Pay had announced that Europe would be their next key-market of WeChat Pay cross-border business.

WeChat Pay has now officially entered more than 49 overseas countries and regions, making it an excellent way for European merchants to quickly and effectively connect with Chinese tourists. Learn more about WeChat Pay.

• UnionPay: 

UnionPay is present in 180 countries, and has issued nearly 9 billion cards in the world. In total, 25 trillion euros have been processed via UnionPay's network.

The studies have confirmed that every Chinese consumer is most likely to be a UnionPay card holder. In other words, there is almost no Chinese consumer who doesn’t have a UnionPay card. 

It is also the only card that they use abroad given the huge advantages UnionPay gives to its cardholders when spending abroad. 

If you are looking to accept payments from Asian or Russian customers, you will need to provide these 3 payment methods.

Alipay, WeChat Pay for cross-border transactions

Cross-border payments can be difficult to manage, as different countries have different payment systems and regulations. If stores both online and offline are looking to accept payments from customers in different countries, stores will need to provide multiple payment solutions. 

An Alipay research points out that nearly 70% of Chinese consumers prefer using popular e-wallets in China rather than using cash or local European e-wallets. This means accepting Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay is a sure competitive advantage that will improve customer satisfaction and create a higher conversion rate.

How to Choose the Right Payment Solution

Does the payment solution used impact the conversion rate? The answer is Yes. 

It is undeniable that choosing the wrong one can make you lose customers while choosing the right one can boost your conversion rate.

When choosing a payment solution, it is important to consider the needs of businesses as well as their customers. Here are some factors to consider when selecting a payment solution.

Payment types: First, merchants need to consider what types of payments to accept. 

• Online business: 

If it is an online business, not only credit and debit cards are necessary (Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, American Express, CB…), but also digital wallets such as Alipay Plus, WeChat Pay, Google Pay, Paypal…

• Physical stores:

If you run an in-store business, the merchant will also need to accept; apart from cash; credit or debit cards, and contactless payments such as Apple Pay and Google Pay.

• Remote payments: (PaybyLink):

If you accept payment from your clients from a distance, PaybyLink is the right solution for your business. You can send a simple and secure link to your customers via social media, email or SMS. They only need to choose the payment method of their choice and complete the payment.

Silkpay offers you a range of 30+ payment options to choose from both for your online and offline business.

Fees: The merchant needs to consider the fees associated with each payment solution. Different payment solutions have different fees and it is important to understand them before selecting a payment solution.

Choosing a transparent payment provider with no hidden fees is the second criteria you need to consider. Make sure to ask as many questions as you can in order to fully understand the fees structure. 

Security: The merchant needs to make sure the payment solutions are secure. It is important to select payment solutions that have strong security features to protect customers’ data such as a 3D Secure option or double authentication.

Customer support: As we deal with payments, an available customer support is a must-have criteria in any payment gateway you will be choosing.

While accepting and making payments, unexpected scenarios can happen, like fraud attempts, wrong paid amount, technical issues or other. The payment gateway’s customer service needs to be able to solve your problems as soon as possible.

Bottom line: 

Implementing multiple payment solutions can provide numerous benefits to businesses. It can increase customer satisfaction, reduce cart abandonment, and increase the checkout conversion rate. 

There are a variety of contactless  payment solutions available, such as Alipay, WeChat Pay, UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard etc. It is important to choose the right payment solution for business and customers. This can help merchants attract more customers and increase their revenue.

In a nutshell, offering multiple payment solutions is one of the success keys that help merchants thrive.

About the author: Silkpay

Based in Paris, Silkpay provides omnichannel and secure payment solutions to help physical stores and e-commerce in Europe accept more than 30 of the world's most popular payment methods: Visa, Mastercard, CB, UnionPay, Alipay+, WeChat Pay as well as Asia-Pacific’s major e-wallets.

Silkpay is a winner of the LVMH Innovation Award. The company was also selected as a finalist for the "Money 20/20" Best Startup and in the "MPE Berlin” Startup Awards. Silkpay also won the "Best Fintech" awards from Capgemini and BPCE.

Silkpay helps merchants deliver the smoothest payment experience to their customers. We are a talented and international team driven by a single goal: to improve the customer experience and make payments simple and secure.