# Forms of payment



## footballfan993 (Aug 29, 2015)

I'm just curious what types of payments do most of you accept from clients?

I currently have roommates and they have to pay utilities, for them, I take Cash, Check, Cashier's check, credit and debit cards (with a 2.75% fee) I use a Square account, I have also purchased the new Square NFC reader, so I can process payments from NFC devices, such as Apple Pay. I also have a Square Cash account, where you can link your debit card and send and receive money for free.

What kind of payment forms do you accept? What do you like and/or dislike about them? What forms of payment would you like to accept, but currently do not?


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## Vtec44 (Aug 29, 2015)

I accept cash, checks, and CC.  I also have payment plans since it is a HUGE chunk of money to spend on wedding photography.


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## 480sparky (Aug 29, 2015)

Check, cash, plastic.  As for CC fees, it's part of your CODB and should be rolled into your overall price structure.


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## tirediron (Aug 29, 2015)

480sparky said:


> Check, cash, plastic.  As for CC fees, it's part of your CODB and should be rolled into your overall price structure.


Not to mention that passing those on to the customer as a direct surcharge is a violation of the TOU of most CC services.


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## Overread (Aug 30, 2015)

Generally speaking for students I'd take cash every time 


As for professional it depends how you trade.
1) In person - you want cash, cheques, credit/debit cards - the last two are a must these days as many people do not carry much money any more and with many major stores phasing out cheques its another thing most don't carry.

2) Online - credit/debit cards, paypal - at the very least. Again these are the most common and dominant forms of payment. There are some others, but I would limit and only stick with the most dominant; that keeps things simple and easy to manage and reduces the number of potential confusions. 

I would avoid and never commercially trade nor list any bank transfer or money transfer options on the market. This is generally because whilst they are legal they are not consumer protected and if you look around you will never see any major nor even independent traders offering payment through services like Western Union. Indeed the display of such payment options on a website is often taken as a sign of a potential scam site.


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## OmbreFox (Sep 1, 2015)

I've been using PayPal to buy & sell since... well the very beginning, and I have never ever had a problem that couldn't be resolved. Their policies are fair and customer service is always stellar.

Square and PayPal are very competitive. They both offer the same processing fees, and while PayPal does have a debit card you can use for your balance, they also have a line of credit with incredible interest rates. I had been a PayPal member in good standing for a few years before I applied and it's actually the lowest of all my credit cards by like a land slide.

The only extra benefit of PayPal is that it has been around longer so obviously more people have heard of it and have an account. It's so easy to get paid even if say your client doesn't have their credit card on them, wants to pay with a bank account or balance, or maybe you don't have the reader; but you can still log in on your phone, send an invoice to their email, and they can pay it from their phone right then and there. No muss no fuss!

I'm sorry but I'm just not ready to climb aboard the Bitcoin train yet - even though it's growing in popularity, I just don't have a good feeling about it.

Checks are becoming rather obsolete - I had to think about it but the last time I accepted a check was in '08 under special circumstances. Even before that it had been a while... 

Of course Cash is King in a world where big brother can track every single electronic transaction penny for penny - not that I'm condoning practices that are untoward or anything... *shifty eyes*


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## Tailgunner (Sep 1, 2015)

Cash or C/C...debating about checks since it requires a bit more work to accept them at my location.


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## 480sparky (Sep 1, 2015)

Tailgunner said:


> Cash or C/C...debating about checks since it requires a bit more work to accept them at my location.



Using a smartphone app is all the rage these days. Contact your bank and see if they can get you set up to deposit checks with your phone.


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## Tailgunner (Sep 1, 2015)

480sparky said:


> Tailgunner said:
> 
> 
> > Cash or C/C...debating about checks since it requires a bit more work to accept them at my location.
> ...



Yes sir, but I hate using my phone for financial transactions. I'm sure I'll have to over come this as it's seems to be an easier solution for check cashing. As it stands, I have to add a separate phone line and but so I can hook up the check verifying machine.


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## 480sparky (Sep 1, 2015)

Tailgunner said:


> 480sparky said:
> 
> 
> > Tailgunner said:
> ...



You don't need all that.  Just the app your bank uses.  Enter the check amount, take photos of the front and back (after endorsing it) and confirm the deposit.  Bam.  You're done.

If you're worried about financial transactions over the wires, you'd better drop banking altogether and stuff your cash in the mattress.  Most financial stuff is by wire today no matter what you do.


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