Alternative payment is a phrase that a majority of consumers are not yet familiar with.  The thought of releasing certain personal credit information online makes some customers cringe in fear.  Many consumers have sought an alternative payment method, but are not aware that the dream has come true. 

 Each person has bills they must pay monthly in order to survive.  It is just a fact of life.  There are products and services we all need and want.  Paying for these products and services has been made a little easier using the alternative payment method of billing to a telephone line.  Billing your purchase to your telephone account is a method offered by a number of online merchants.  Said merchants are striving to cater to the wants and needs of their customers.  By doing so, these merchants are improving their relationship with their consumer base, while at the same time, increasing their profits.

 Many services can be billed through a telephone account.  These services include subscriptions, pay-per-view services, and material downloaded. Payment for services is required monthly just as the telephone and power bills are expected monthly.  Although your payment is made at a later date, this method of payment differs from making a purchase using credit.  When using credit as a form of payment, personal credit information is shared. This information can pass through many avenues before finally reaching the destination where payment is completed.  The credit data, once posted on the internet, is there for the taking of anyone able to do so. There is what is called secure billing, however, nothing is one hundred percent.  This being the case, those that seek to obtain your information are able to do so without regard to these fire walls. While credit has its place in the real business world, the virtual business world is too broad to be protected from identity thieves. 

 Using alternative payment for services or products is the new way to maintain peace of mind and ownership of identity in this financial online world we live in.  Being able to bill your services and products to you telephone bill is a great benefit to the new online experience.

As our economy slowly recovers, there are still many changes to business strategies and decisions to come that will continue to affect the everyday credit card consumer. Many credit card companies continue to change their guidelines and credit score requirements as they prepare for a continuous increase in defaults.

The result for online merchants will be a steady decrease in available consumer credit and thus resulting in a fewer sales. The online merchants who implement alternatives now have a chance to make-up for the loss in credit card purchases by introducing ‘bill me later’ type alternative payments, like Bill to Phone also known as LEC Billing.

From a processing and billing standpoint, Bill to Phone operates similarly to a credit card. The consumer makes a purchase, and the merchant transmits consumer and transaction data in real time via a secured network connection to iValidate (ILD Teleservices’ validation platform). The buyer information and account is verified by ILD through the authorization request submitted by the merchant.

Alternative payment options allow a much larger consumer base to still take the advantage of buying items online, and instead of entering credit card information, the buyer inputs their telephone number to authorize payment via their phone bill.

Would it help you if were trying to sign up for an online service and you didn’t have to pull out your wallet, find the right card, try to read the tiny digits and instead you simply just provided your phone number and add the charge to your phone bill? There are lots of people who have wanted to make purchases online but couldn’t because either the merchant only accepted specific credit cards, or the buyer just didn’t have a credit card. I know I’d rather save my credit card (and all that ugly interest) for bigger ticket items and put my smaller charges, like move downloads, music downloads and even games on my phone bill.

If you are interested in reading more about the impending changes in the credit industry, they are covered in the following articles.

Citi Dumps Credit Card Customers at the Pump – http://www.ecommercetimes.com/rsstory/68452.html

BofA Won’t Hit Customers With Rate-Hike Squeeze Play – http://www.ecommercetimes.com/rsstory/68318.html

Last Minute Credit Card Tricks – http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/17/opinion/17sat3.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

 Zeus Research Teams with STi Prepaid to Launch Innovative Payment Platform for Virual Goods – http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/02/prweb3575734.htm

Example of Social Media Marketing on Facebook

It’s a given that merchants continually look for new ways to increase revenue and on the flip side, reports show that online consumers look for payment options at checkout.  So watch the clips, which aim to inform merchants on the does and don’t of online marketing. 

If you are a YouTube fan, you can view ILD’s “Web Marketing Best Practices” on YouTube hereor enter “ILD Teleservices” in the search box of YouTube.  The same webinar can also be found in a different viewing format on Vimeo hereor search mouse over Explore, choose Channels and enter ILD Telecommunications.

After you watch the webinar, if you have any questions about online marketing or want to discuss ILD’s services, please contact us. 

As part of my daily routine, I skim through news stories and blogs to stay up to date on relevant alternative payment related information.   Today, an article caught my attention so much that I wanted to share with our readers.  The topic is cart abandonment which is a major problem for all online merchants.  

What can you do about?  Well, the #1 recommendation in the article by Marketing Experiments suggests retailers should offer more alternative payment methods (APM).   In order for APMs to be effective, however they need to be promoted within the shopping cart as well as on your homepage and product pages.  It’s important to let visitors know that there are “no credit card required” payment options available on your site, and let them know as soon as they land on your website. 

Why?  Well, speaking from personal experience when the merchant provides easy usability, greater convenience and more choices, buying becomes more appealing.  It’s not just me, though.  Statistics indicate APMs also appeal to new customer segments like non-credit card holders, and benefit both online consumers and the retailers that cater to them.

Not sure how to find the right APM?  We did some homework and you can read about it here.

For many online merchants, it is difficult to pick an Alternative Payment Method (APM).  There are payment platforms like PayPal which is very popular amongst merchants but not a popular option to the consumer, because not everyone has a credit card or checking account option.  Alternative payment options are on the rise with the credit crisis and economic downturn hampering the average American’s budget.  Adding an APM to the checkout process allows merchants to reach a bigger market and ultimately grow their business in a down economy. 

ILD Teleservices offers a Bill to Phone payment option for merchants conducting business online.    Additionally, the company operates as a back office backoffice resource for ecommerce providers and digital merchants.  ILD operates US based call centers and support to handle any backoffice problems a merchant might have.

Visit our site to learn more about how ILD Teleservices can help you grow your online business.