Why are digital payments a good option and why should businesses use these

January 8, 2021

Digital payment or Electronic payments are methods of making payments online for our purchases, through digital payment options. These can also be simply known as “online payments”.

Digital payment options are available in abundance today and over 80% of people who use internet use this option for making payments. Some examples of digital payments available in India today are:

These payment methods enable people to make payments online, using a mobile, laptop or computer; and the foremost reason people choose these methods is the convenience they provide – payments can be done in few clicks on your device; and 100% safety is warranted.

There will be no hassle for shuffling change and ending up paying a rounded off amount that could be a bit more or lesser than the actual price.

Another reason is speed – digital payments are quick and smooth, and can be done in just a couple of clicks on your device – mobile, laptop or computer.

Though safety could seem like a huge concern for online payments, these are governed by a forward-looking, cautionary body that is concerned with the protection of account holders online. Cards and accounts can be blocked immediately if stolen or lost, which do not take much time for people to realize. In case of cash – if we lose our wallet or money, we know that it is all gone, and cannot be retrieved – there is no security attached to it, that can help us bring that back. But with digital payments, it is simpler – we lose it, we block it – and its financial exposure is immediately limited.

Another payment method that is not digital, apart from hard cash is paper based payments like cheques or DD (Demand drafts). when paying through hard cash is not always feasible, so some customers choose these options for payment. But it cannot be denied that paper-based payments are bit of a hassle, both for a business and a customer – be it checks, or DD; Checks are also less trustworthy - there is no guarantee that a given check is tied to an account that has sufficient funds, and if it doesn’t, the check bounces!

Why should businesses include digital payment options?

Online payments make the process much easier, and many customers online prefer these today. In fact, some customers are reported to have been discouraged from purchasing a product or service that does not have electronic payment option, and instead look for another similar product that might have this option. This gives those businesses a disadvantage over their competitors who do provide digital payment options.

And this is applicable to all kinds of businesses - big or small. Digital payment options can be used efficiently for offline or physical store purchases too.

So, it is advisable for any business or brand, to include digital payment options in their online store.