How to Choose the Best Wix Payment Plugins for Businesses in Europe

European merchants need a payment strategy for their Wix store that supports scalable cross-border growth, and provides customers with their desired payment methods. 

For this reason, the best Wix payment gateway providers must support a wide variety of payment methods that include local and alternative payment options that customers trust.

Understanding the preferences of customers in each market is key to successful growth.  Europe, in particular, has diverse payment preferences from the Netherlands, where customers prefer online bank transfers, while in the United Kingdom, 50% of customers prefer to use a credit card.

Merchants need to address each market with a unique set of options that incorporates multiple payment methods and continuously adapts to changes in consumer preference. 

How to Choose the Best Wix Payment Plugins for Businesses in Europe

What Payment Methods Does Wix Offer?

Wix merchants can utilize Wix pro ecommerce features to enhance their site and drive traffic, but they also need to offer customers the payment methods they know and prefer – be they global, regional and local payment options. These include:

Credit Cards

• Credit cards are one of the most popular payment methods in Europe for ecommerce, and for Wix sites credit card processing is essential. It’s key to use a European-based acquirer to process payments in Europe to keep fees low and acceptance rates high. Although large credit card schemes including Visa, Mastercard and American Express are popular, not all cardholders can make payments outside their domestic markets. 

Digital Wallets

• Digital wallets store and encrypt customer and payment information. Payment is simplified as the customer does not need to enter credit card numbers, payment is processed by unlocking a mobile phone. Even better, as a merchant, accepting these makes your fraud risk far lower. By 2023 the number of Europeans using cashless payment is set to reach more than 700 million. (Finanso) 

Offline Payments

• Offline payments include cash, checks, and postal orders. Offering offline payment methods can help you reach customers that do not have access or interest in using online payment methods. Although ecommerce is growing fast in Romania, the preferred method of payment continues to be ‘cash on delivery’. (Flanders Investment and Trade).

Questions to Ask When Choosing a Payment Provider

As a Wix merchant, you want a payment provider that lets you reach new markets and drive sales. You need to work with a payment provider that can dynamically present those methods consumers expect, including local cards, as well as other local payment methods such as bank transfers, ewallets and cash. 

There are several questions to consider when choosing the right Wix payment gateway for your business, including the payment methods supported, fees included, currencies supported, subscription availability, merchant and customer locations, and technical support available. 

1. What payment methods are supported?

Offering customers the local payment options that they recognize and trust creates a positive user experience, increases conversions and develops loyalty. Preferences vary significantly by country, and so you may need to present options including international card schemes, offline payments in addition to alternative payment methods (APMs) – regionally preferred payment types that aren’t credit cards. 

2. What are the fees for processing Wix payments?

Fees are charged for processing payments from customers. The actual amount is dependent on the risk of the transaction, type of card as well as the pricing model. Be sure to do your research and select a provider offering a low-cost payment processing platform to cut fees significantly without compromising service.

3. What currencies are supported?

Foreign exchange can become complicated when your business expands into new countries. Your Wix payment method provider should enable you to accept a variety of currencies and settle transactions in your home currency – with efficient and seamless Forex to minimize your currency conversion and realization costs.

4. Does the Wix payment provider support a subscription model?

A subscription business model is an effective way to acquire and retain customers.  Integral for subscription model businesses is giving their customers the ability to set up and manage recurring billing – using their preferred payment method.

5. Does the payment provider support your target markets?

As market opportunities arise around the world, you need to be working with a partner that can seamlessly support the expansion of your business in those new countries.  For this, you will want to ensure your Wix online store can securely accept local and alternative payment methods from wherever you do business.

6. What local and compliance support does the payment provider offer customers and merchants?

Each market has its own unique characteristics that you need to understand and manage to be successful. Working with a payment provider that has local experts available to support you ensures that the business delivers truly local, compliant, and secure commerce experiences wherever you do business.

Choose a Wix Payment Solution that Supports More Payment Methods

Merchants need to address each market with a unique set of options that incorporates multiple payment methods and continuously adapts to changes in consumer preference. 

If you’re looking for a payments provider that supports all of these, consider the Rapyd Payments Plugin for Wix, the best solution for accepting online payments using hundreds of payment methods worldwide. 

Rapyd offers transparent pricing and built-in fraud monitoring. Our plugins have a global reach, with local and alternative payment options available and support in countries around the world. 

Try The Most Comprehensive Global Payments Plugin for Wix.

Photo by Dominika Gregušová for Pexels.