Built-In Payment Systems

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Built-In Payment Systems

When you're setting up a website to sell digital products, it's important to think about how you'll take payments. Many website-building platforms have built-in payment systems that make this easier, but they also have their disadvantages. Let’s take a closer look at some popular website platforms and discuss the pros and cons of their payment systems.

Platforms with Built-In Payment Systems

These website-building platforms come with built-in payment systems. I picked from the ones we talked about in previous chapters:

1️⃣ Shopify

2️⃣ Wix

3️⃣ Squarespace

4️⃣ Stan.store

5️⃣ Zaap.bio

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Also, Gumroad and Etsy have their own built-in payment systems, but I’m not going to talk about them because both are marketplaces. It's obvious that they will use their own system instead of any external third-party system. Their systems are usually integrated with PayPal and others.

Pros of Built-In Payment Systems

✅ Ease of Setup

  • Built-in payment systems integrate seamlessly, allowing you to quickly set up your store and start accepting payments.

🔒 Security

  • These systems offer advanced security measures like SSL encryption and fraud detection, ensuring safe transactions.

📊 Unified Dashboard

  • Manage sales, refunds, and customer payments all in one place, simplifying your operations.

🛡️ Customer Trust

  • Customers trust well-known platforms' payment systems, enhancing their confidence in your store.

Cons of Built-In Payment Systems

💸 Fees

  • Built-in payment systems often have transaction fees higher than external gateways. Over time, these fees can reduce your profit margins.

🔧 Limited Flexibility

  • While convenient, built-in systems may lack the customization and flexibility of third-party gateways. This can be limiting if you have specific payment needs.

🔗 Dependence on the Platform

  • Using a built-in payment system ties you closely to the platform. Switching platforms later can make transitioning your payment system more complex.

🔌 Limited Integrations

  • Built-in payment systems might not integrate with as many tools as options like Stripe. This limits your ability to use certain marketing or analytics tools.

🔄 Conversion Rates

  • Not all built-in checkouts are optimized for high conversion rates. A less efficient checkout process can deter potential customers and affect sales.

Why We Switched To External Payment System?

I already mentioned that our first website, a couple of years ago, was built on Wix. We also used Wix's built-in payment system. But there were many reasons why we eventually decided to switch to the external payment system, Stripe.

❌ We couldn’t customize the checkout to our brand identity.

❌ Lack of customization options for the checkout (too many mandatory fields).

❌ As an EU-based company, it didn’t offer EU-friendly invoices (we couldn’t edit the information in every invoice).

❌ No automated TAX for B2B EU companies. (EU VAT).

❌ No options for upsells in checkout.

❌ Unsatisfactory UX design, which led to a lower conversion rate.

❌ Higher loading times and higher error rates.

Yes, built-in checkouts may be easier to set up and connect to other internal systems, like delivering your product after purchase. But I would personally recommend looking into external options, which have many more long-term benefits.

Also, consult this decision with your accounting company since every business has different requirements, and you will need certain features (for example, invoices) that a built-in payment system might not offer.