The Ultimate Online Payment Option?

I thought I was pretty smart with the payment options I offer clients on my Payment Form. Always offer choice they say. Make it easy for people to pay you they say! So I offered 4 methods:

1. Credit Card (via Stripe),
2. PayPal,
3. Bank Transfer,
4. Cheque.

Cash in a brown envelope isn’t on the list but obviously I’d take that too!

The latest option I added, Stripe is very cool. Finally being able to take a credit card payment with minimum hassle is awesome BUT. There’s hassle involved with all of the options above. Stripe credit card is probably the easiest method for my clients but I get stung a bit in fees from Stripe. I also get stung with fees from PayPal. Cheques are hassle for both sides and is the slowest method so that leaves bank transfer. When you chose Bank Transfer on my payment form above all it does is give you my bank details but clients then have to go setup a beneficiary in their online banking accounts before they can transfer.

Here’s what I’d like to see..

Some kind of automatic bank transfer method that combines the ease of payment that stripe credit cards offer the client, combined with the low fees of accepting bank transfers. My clients could fill out a form on my site, entering their bank details, name and payment amount and when they click submit my own bank withdraws the money from their account instantly then notifies me that I have funds.

Is that too much to ask!? We’re already doing it in an arse about tit, slow, inefficient and costly way right now. It just needs some tweaking.

Leon