Payment methods for your online shop
If you have an online shop, you have to offer your customers different ways to pay. The law states that you may not require your customers to pay more than 50% in advance. Do you offer pre-payment? Then you must also offer at least one other option, such as credit card payments, and buy now, pay later.
No obligation to pay the entire amount in advance
You must offer your customers the option to pay at least 50% of the amount after receiving the product. Consumers buying for their own use may pay the entire amount in advance if they wish to do so. This rule does not apply to business customers; you may make different arrangements with them regarding advance payment.
Ways to allow your customer to pay afterwards include:
This service takes over the payment and the risk from you with a payment guarantee. For example, a payment service puts the money in an in-between account until the customer has received the product. You pay a fee for this service.
A credit card payment only counts as payment after delivery if you have the amount debited after delivery. Until then, the amount is reserved.
This is also known as cash on delivery. The customer pays when receiving the product.
Popular payment methods in the Netherlands
Credit card
With a credit card, the customer pays without the money being debited from their account immediately. Instead, the amount is first reserved on the credit card. Also, nearly all credit cards offer purchase protection. This insures your customer against loss and damage. If the product does not arrive or is damaged, they can retract the payment.
Several commercial providers offer software plug-ins. These let you accept credit card payments in your online store.
Costs for credit card payments
You pay a fixed amount per credit card payment plus a small percentage of the purchase amount to the payment provider. You may not pass this cost on to your customers. Exceptions to this rule are business credit cards such as American Express and Diners Club.
iDEAL
With iDEAL, your customers pay via their own bank and pay in advance. To use this online payment method, you must have an iDEAL agreement with one of theparticipating payment partners.These partners offer technical solutions to use iDEAL on your online store.
Costs for iDEAL payments
You usually pay a fixed amount per payment. Sometimes a payment provider also charges subscription fees. You may only charge your customer for the actual cost of using the service, never more than that.
PayPal
PayPal is a worldwide payment system for individuals, businesses and aauction websites. Your customers pay with a PayPal Balance, or a linked bank account, or credit card. Like a credit card, the customer benefits from purchase protection via PayPal.
Costs for PayPal payments
PayPal charges a small fee for every payment. The amount depends on your monthly turnover. You can calculate this on the PayPal website. You may only charge your customer for what the service actually costs to use.
Direct debit
Direct debit (automatische incasso) is a method by which a customer makes a payment directly from their bank account. The payment is immediately visible on the consumer's account statement and the amount is debited immediately.You may only debit money automatically if your customer has given you a digital direct debit authorisation. This authorisation specifies, among other things, the amount involved and the date of collection.
The disadvantage of direct debit is that your customer can (incorrectly) reverse a direct debit payment via their bank.
You can arrange direct debit for your online shop in 2 ways:
- via a payment provider
- via the bank where you have your business bank account
Costs for direct debit
You pay a small amount for each payment you make via direct debit and often an additional percentage if you use a payment provider. You may not pass on these costs to your customers.
Other payment methods
There are also other less common payment methods, such as:
You can also let the customer pay via bank transfer. The buyer then transfers the amount to your account in advance or afterwards. This is free for SEPA accounts. SEPA stands for Single Euro Payments Area: a single European payment market for non-cash euro payments.
Cryptocurrencies are types of digital money. To accept crypto as a means of payment, you need special software. After receiving crypto, you can choose whether to keep the crypto in a digital wallet or exchange the crypto for another type of currency, such as euros.
With iDEAL in3, the customer pays in 3 parts without interest. As the seller, you pay a certain percentage of each transaction.
Do you have a physical shop in addition to an online store? Then you can also let your customer pay in the physical shop.
With Tikkie Zakelijk, you can send payment requests to your customers. This can be done via WhatsApp, email, or social media. You pay subscription fees and variable costs per paid Tikkie.