When it comes to payment gateways your options sometimes may feel limited, and other times overwhelming. With Zoho you have plenty of options including some of the main key players in the industry, but which is the best? Does the best vary on your business?
The truth is there isn’t per se a best solution when it comes to choosing a payment gateway. They almost all have the exact same transaction fee of 2.9% and vary on the additional cent charged per transaction. Some are better for international charges, some include auto-pay, some take e-checks, and some handle bulk transactions better.
In this article, we will break down the different options available in Zoho Subscriptions for payment gateways, review the different payment methods, and even include some pointers on invoicing.
1 – Know Your Options
Let’s take a look at the different options in Zoho Subscriptions in the order in which they appear.
Stripe’s payments API makes it the preferred gateway of choice for Zoho. At the time of writing this article we have noticed difficulty setting up ACH with Stripe for Zoho.
Cards & Wallets Rates: 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction, accepting all major cards.
ACH Rates: 0.8% with a $5 cap.
In-Person Rates: 2.7% + 5¢ per transaction, accepting all major cards.
Apple & Android Pay: Yes.
Global Payments: +1% and an additional 1% if currency conversion is required.
eChecks: Not currently.
Recurring Subscriptions: Yes.
Instant Payout: Yes with a 1% fee.
If you are looking for a simplified way to set up a merchant account and require only USD, WePay is an excellent solution that easily integrates with Zoho Subscriptions.
Cards & Wallets Rates: 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction, accepting all major cards.
ACH Rates: 1% with a 30¢ per transaction.
Apple & Android Pay: Yes.
Global Payments: Yes.
eChecks: Yes.
Recurring Subscriptions: Yes.
Instant Payout: Yes.
Depending on what transactions you are processing you may want to keep PayPal as an option for all ACH transactions. You can save BIG if you can receive payment from another PayPal account
Cards & Wallets Rates: 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction, accepting all major cards.
ACH Rates: FREE between PayPal accounts.
In-Person Rates: 2.7% or 3.5% for manual entries, accepting all major cards.
Apple & Android Pay: Yes.
Global Payments: Yes, 4.4% + additional charges that vary depending on the country.
eChecks: Not currently.
Recurring Subscriptions: Auto-charge disabled.
Instant Payout: Yes with a 1% fee capped at $10.
Payflow Pro is a secure, open payment gateway. Link whichever internet merchant account you’d like to Payflow Pro.
Transaction Fee: 10¢.
Recurring Subscriptions: Yes.
Though 2checkout has a slightly higher transaction fee, the catch with them is there is no monthly fees or startup fees. Also, no credit card is required to get started.
Cards & Wallets Rates: 3.5% + 35¢ per transaction, accepting all major cards.
ACH Rates: 3.5% + 35¢ per transaction, accepting all major cards.
In-Person Rates: Not available.
Apple & Android Pay: Yes.
Global Payments: No international fees.
eChecks: Yes.
Recurring Subscriptions: No, auto-charge is disabled.
Instant Payout: No, depending on your plan payouts are weekly or monthly.
Is a payment gateway that also handles the processing of transactions as well. The initial monthly fee for the gateway is $25.
Cards & Wallets Rates: 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction, accepting all major cards.
ACH Rates: 0.75% of the transaction.
In-Person Rates: 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction, they offer a card reader.
Apple & Android Pay: Yes, but tricky to configure.
Global Payments: An additional 1.5% per transaction.
eChecks: Yes, 0.75% of the transaction.
Recurring Subscriptions: Yes.
Instant Payout: Within 24-hours after batch, 10¢ per batch.
Forte offers competitive pricing for companies doing larger volumes. Contracts start at a year and have a $75 application fee along with $25 chargeback fees. Other than whats listed below, Forte doesn’t list much on public domains.
Cards & Wallets Rates: Visa/Mastercard 2.75% + 25¢ per transaction, Amex.Discover 3.5% + 25¢ per transaction.
ACH Rates: Unknown.
In-Person Rates: 2.7% + 5¢ per transaction, accepting all major cards.
Apple & Android Pay: Yes.
Global Payments: +1% and an additional 1% if currency conversion is required.
eChecks: 25¢ per transaction.
Recurring Subscriptions: Unknown.
Instant Payout: Unknown.
Worldpay currently ranks poorly with the BBB with a rating of C+. This gateway from the reviews has poor customer services and unreliable fees.
Cards & Wallets Rates: 2.75% + .20¢ per transaction accepting all major credit cards.
2 – Understanding Payment Methods
Now that we have a breakdown of the various payment gateways, let us take a look at what it all means for you and your wallet. The main thing to consider is transaction rates of cards vs ACH.
Debit & Credit Cards
We all know what these are and the major players, Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and Discover. These are hands down the most common form of payment for any online sale. Almost all transactions for B2C are going to be done using this payment method and even most B2B transactions as well. Why wouldn’t you? We all love the simplicity of debit or credit cards, and with the right card, points are easy to rack up, especially with larger business transactions.
But as a merchant, this isn’t always the best when it comes to your wallet. If you are B2B that deal with larger sums per transaction, you may want to consider asking your clients for another payment method. With an average rate of 2.9%, the amount of money this adds up to be can be an additional salaried employee or more! Overall, the convenience, fraud protection, and simplicity of cards make them extremely practical and commonly used despite the higher % rates.
If you are strictly doing bulk transactions using Visa/Mastercard we would recommend you check out Forte, for the slightly lower transaction rates, otherwise Stripe, WePay, Authorize.net or PayPal are all excellent choices for a gateway.
ACH
Automated Clearing House (ACH) is an electronic network for the United States processing financial transactions. Within this network, ACH can process transactions like direct debits, direct deposits, direct payments, electronic checks (eChecks), and electronic funds transfers (EFTs). Very similar to a white transfer just takes slightly longer to process.
Some downsides to ACH are they take slightly longer to process and are limited to just the United States. However, the upside is the much lower rates per transaction. In fact, if you are processing a transaction ACH from one PayPal to another Paypal account, it is FREE!
Our pick for ACH is a draw between PayPal and Stripe. Since PayPal is such a common gateway used, the no-charge per transaction between accounts is huge. While on the other hand, the low rate of .75% per transaction with Authorize.net is great, Stripe capping the total transaction fee at $5 makes those larger transfers much more appealing.
3 – Get the most out of your Invoice
If your clients are receiving an invoice rather than simply using a subscription service, get the most out of your invoice. Yes, the template look and feel of your invoice are important, but the wording is equally as important.
If you’re business deals with larger value deals be sure to word your preferred method of payment. Maybe even incentivize it for your clients. By providing wire, PayPal, or ACH information on your invoice you could save your business thousands or more annually. Sure you may not get everyone to choose your preferred method, but you will most likely convert more than before.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, it all boils down to what works best for you and your business. There are a lot of variables out there that might make one solution better than another for you. There isn’t a rule saying you can only choose one, maybe a combination of solutions works best for you. Of course, if you have questions or need help we are always here for you over at Zenatta. Book a free consultation today and we’d be happy to help dial in a payment gateway that works for you and your Zoho implementation.
