Online Payments: Taking, Comparing and Collecting Payments

Choosing the payment methods clients use, opening a payment account, connecting it to your invoices, testing it, telling clients how to pay, and matching payouts to invoices.

Deciding where customers will pay, choosing a processor and comparing costs, card security under PCI DSS, surcharges, and reconciling payouts, with a worked example.

Taking payments on a phone with tap to pay, mobile wallets and portable card readers, plus security, receipts and closing out a market day.

Choosing the invoice currency, then cards, PayPal, wires, SEPA and letters of credit, with a worked example of fees and currency conversion.

The topic of locating a Stripe API key to connect Stripe to other software.

Requesting a PayPal API signature using PayPal's own steps, how it differs from an API certificate or a client ID and secret, and which PayPal credential you need.

The main players in a card payment, authorization, clearing and settlement, processing fees and chargebacks, with a worked example.

Where a gateway fits, how it differs from a processor and a merchant account, hosted and integrated checkouts, and card data security.

Who's involved in a card payment, your own merchant account or a payment facilitator, the discount rate and interchange, and holdbacks and reserves.

Payments connected to invoicing or sales software so each one is recorded against its invoice, compared with standalone payments and integrated checkouts.

What counts as a cashless payment, the main types, how each one reaches a business, and how US consumers pay according to Federal Reserve data.

Payments, business accounts, cards and loans inside software you already use, whether money in an embedded account is FDIC-insured, and questions to ask first.

The two kinds of open banking service, how consent works, where the rules stand in the EU, the UK and the US, and an invoice paid through a payment initiation service.

How the ACH system works, ACH credits and debits, how long a payment takes according to Nacha, and how ACH compares with card payments.

Speed, limits, fees, reach and settlement on the three US networks, and which one fits supplier payments, payroll, refunds and recurring billing.

How RTP and FedNow work for supplier payments, where they fit, risks and controls for accounts payable, and when ACH or a wire fits better.

What each provider's own pages say about payment methods, invoices, payouts and pricing models, with a sample fee calculation.

Stripe's and PayPal's published US fees for card payments, checkout, international payments, invoicing and disputes, with a worked fee example.

What invoicing apps' own pages say about online payments on invoices: payment methods, reminders and payment tracking, with a sample fee calculation.

What payment tools' own pages say about invoices and payment links, payment methods and reminders, with a sample fee comparison.

Apple Pay, Google Wallet, Samsung Wallet, PayPal and Venmo for small businesses: which run on your card setup, which add an account, and a worked example.

What each tool's own pages say about recurring invoices, subscriptions and failed payments, with a sample retainer.

What subscription billing tools' own pages say about recurring invoices, plan changes, failed-payment recovery and tax, with a sample proration.

What makes up a fee, working out your effective rate, ways to lower the cost of each payment, how debit cards are routed in the US, and a worked example.

How to word a payment request when you send the invoice, on the due date and after, by email or phone, with sample wording for a part-paid invoice.

Ruling out a problem with the invoice, a final written request, a payment plan, pausing work, collection agencies and the FDCPA, court, and bad debt.

How BNPL works for business sales, who carries the risk if a buyer doesn't pay, comparing the cost with your own net terms, and what providers say they offer.

Holding or converting crypto, choosing a processor or wallet, invoicing in dollars, US tax basics, and refund and payment terms.

What counts as a stablecoin in US and EU law, what the rules require of issuers, how to invoice in a stablecoin, and what the IRS says about tax.