Since the 1990s, digital payments have become the most common and convenient way to receive funds from customers, but which option is the best for business owners? To help you parse the many types of online payments, here’s a side-by-side comparison of the most common ways businesses accept them—physical and virtual cards, standard and same-day ACH, wire transfers, and popular platforms like PayPal, Stripe, and personal payment apps like Venmo and Cash App.
What you need to know
- Each payment method has unique strengths: Card payments maximize customer conversion, wires and same-day ACH are ideal for fast and large payments, and ACH direct debit is best for convenient, low-fee recurring payments.
- To maximize conversion and payment speed while minimizing cost, choose an all-in-one banking provider like Bluevine that allows you to accept multiple payment methods based on your transaction and customer needs.
Overview of online methods for accepting payments
Bluevine supports debit and credit cards, digital wallets, standard and same-day ACH, wire, and payment links via Stripe.BVSUP-00180 The Bluevine mobile app also allows small businesses to accept in-person card and digital wallet payments via Tap to Pay.
While there’s no single best way to accept payments for small businesses, your business needs and financial priorities will help determine which of these methods is your best option. Here’s a comparison of the most common ways that small business owners accept online payments, and their pros and cons:
Physical debit and credit cards
When making an online payment, customers enter their physical debit or credit card information into your payment portal, which sends the transaction information to your payment processor, which facilitates transactions once it receives authorization from your and your customer’s banking providers.
What physical card payments best for: ecommerce, subscriptions or recurring customer payments
| Receiving physical debit and credit card payments | |
|---|---|
| Pros | Cons |
| Customer convenience: Easy and common option, free to send, quick refunds | Your fees: High (2.6–3.5% + $.15–60 per transaction) |
| Compatibility & integration: Near-universally accepted | Security: Higher risk of chargebacks than other methods |
| Speed: Instant | |
| Security: Strong multi-institution fraud-detection |
Digital wallets/virtual debit and credit cards
Customers can use a digital wallet to store virtual credit and debit cards. Virtual card purchases can be made the same way as physical card purchases, or by using a payment service like Apply Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay.
What virtual card payments best for: mobile payments
| Receiving digital wallet/virtual card payments | |
|---|---|
| Pros | Cons |
| Customer convenience: Requires some set up, but fast and easy after | Your fees: High (2.6–3.5% + $.15–60 per transaction) |
| Compatibility & integration: Accepted by all card-compatible payment portals | |
| Speed: Instant | |
| Security: Stronger than physical cards due to biometrics and information scrambling |
ACH transfers
An ACH payment is a type of transfer in which money is securely sent between U.S. bank accounts via an automated clearing house, a digital network that processes transactions in batches. Your customer can authorize an ACH direct debit—after which you can pull funds directly from your customer’s bank account—or voluntarily make a standard or same-day ACH payment.
What ACH transfers are best for: low-value payments (standard), recurring B2B payments (standard direct debit), time-sensitive payments (same-day)
| Receiving standard ACH transfers | |
|---|---|
| Pros | Cons |
| Your fees: Free to receive | Speed: 1–3 business days |
| Customer convenience: One-time setup for direct debit, free or low cost to send | |
| Compatibility & integration: Supported by most billing platforms, accepted by all chartered U.S. business banking accounts | |
| Security: Federally regulated, managed by non-profit Nacha |
| Receiving same-day ACH transfers | |
|---|---|
| Pros | Cons |
| Your fees: Free to receive | Customer convenience: Moderate fees to send, up to $10, no direct debit option |
| Compatibility & integration: Supported by some billing platforms, accepted by all chartered U.S. business banking accounts | |
| Speed: Same-day if sent before 1:15pm ET, otherwise next business day | |
| Security: Federally regulated, managed by non-profit Nacha |
Wire transfers
Wire transfers are a direct electronic money transfer between two bank accounts, and can be securely sent domestically or internationally.
What wire transfers are best for: large, time-sensitive, or international B2B payments
| Receiving wire transfers | |
|---|---|
| Pros | Cons |
| Your fees: Can be free to receive | Your fees: Can be high, up to $15 domestically and more internationally |
| Compatibility & integration: Accepted by most U.S. banking accounts and international accounts | Customer convenience: High fees to send, up to $35 domestically and more internationally, difficult refunds |
| Speed: Minutes, within 1 business day | |
| Security: One of the most secure payment types, low fraud risk |
Peer-to-peer mobile payment apps
Mobile payment apps allow for seamless peer-to-peer digital payments, and they offer business accounts for processing customer sales. When using these apps, you can only receive money from users of the same app. Those funds then go to your app wallet, which you can use to pay other users or transfer the funds to your business checking account. Common mobile payment apps include Venmo and Cash App.
What mobile payment apps are best for (in business): sole proprietorships, in-person events
| Receiving payments via mobile payment apps | |
|---|---|
| Pros | Cons |
| Customer convenience: Very convenient to pay via QR codes and mobile interface, customers rarely pay extra fees, easy refunds | Your fees: Moderate-to-high, range upward from 1.9% + fixed fees per transaction |
| Speed: Instant to app wallet, up to 3 business days to business checking account | Funds security: Low, if kept in app wallet—these are not FDIC-insured. |
| Compatibility & integration: Simple to integrate, but can only accept payment from users of the app |
PayPal
Though PayPal has a lot of overlap with mobile payment apps like Venmo and Cash App, we’ve separated it here to show the nuances of how the platform works. PayPal’s merchant services allow you to accept card and other payment types from customers who choose to checkout via PayPal. Money received from PayPal transactions goes to your PayPal Wallet, which you can use to pay to other PayPal users or transfer the funds to your business checking account. Customers don’t need to have a PayPal account to pay you via PayPal.
What PayPal transactions are best for: recognizable checkout flow, international low-cost ecommerce
| Receiving payments via PayPal | |
|---|---|
| Pros | Cons |
| Customer convenience: Very convenient—commonly used application with familiar interface, customers rarely pay extra fees, easy refunds | Your fees: High, 3.49% + fixed fee per standard transaction, more for international or BNPL purchases |
| Compatibility & integration: Strong support among billing platforms and payment portals | Funds security: Low, if kept in PayPal Wallet—these are not FDIC-insured. |
| Speed: Varies to app wallet, up to 3 business days from app wallet to business checking account |
What’s the best way for a small business to accept online payments from customers?
The best ways to accept online payments as a small business generally include physical and virtual cards, ACH transfers, and wire transfers. Which type is best for you will depend on your priorities as a seller.
- To maximize conversions and customer convenience, prioritize physical and digital cards.
- To pay the lowest cost for large transactions, accept ACH (standard or same-day).
- To receive large B2B payments fast and reliably, accept wire transfers.
A combination of the above payment methods is best for most businesses, as you’ll need to receive different types of payments from customers versus vendors. A Bluevine Business Checking account is the best platform for managing card, ACH, and wire payments from one place, as its dashboard acts as a banking hub for all of your business cash management, including payment processing through StripeBVSUP-00180 and a convenient two-way sync with QuickBooks Online.BVSUP-00056
Tips for startups on accepting online payments
If you’re a new business owner setting up payment portals for the first time, follow these tips to streamline your customer cash inflows early:
- Prioritize card payments during checkout to maximize customer conversion on mobile.
- Offer multiple methods for B2B payments: business customers will prefer ACH or wire depending on their security needs and payment size.
- Enable saved payment methods so returning customers can check out faster.
- Use ACH direct debit for high-value recurring payments to lower reception fees and make payment convenient for your customer.
- Connect payments to an accounting platform like QuickBooks Online or Xero.
Get paid effortlessly, directly into your business checking account.
