In our digital age, online payment methods are rapidly becoming the norm for vendors. Chances are, if you sell a product, you want to accept payment methods that make the purchase process as simple and friction-free as possible for customers.
The word “rapidly” is no exaggeration. The value of digital payments is set to reach $6.6 trillion in 2021, a 40 percent increase within just two years, according to Italian investment firm Finaria. This eye-opening and exciting statistic highlights an enormous area of opportunity, one worth your consideration and focus as a business owner.
Chief among these digital payment methods is German-based internet payment company Giropay. Now taking up a huge section of the digital economy in Germany, this platform represents a massive consumer base. By understanding Giropay and properly implementing it into your payment system, you open yourself up to an enormous sector of the European marketplace and international business growth.
What is Giropay?
Giropay was founded in 2005 and officially released the following year. Postbank runs its services; that’s the retail banking division of the multinational investment and financial services company Deutsche Bank — one of the largest in the world.
Since its rise as a payment method, Giropay has expanded rapidly, reaching a milestone of 70,000 sign-ups a month by 2010 and racking up nearly 6 million total transactions. Today, Giropay boasts more than 40 million members, and it’s the most popular payment method in its native country, representing 16 percent of Germany’s online transactions.
We can attribute Giropay’s success to its expansiveness and effectiveness for its German customers. Through real-time digital bank transfers, Giropay fully guarantees each payment. It also connects with more than 1,500 German banks, covering a wide customer base and increasing its convenience.
How can Giropay work for your business?
You’re probably really wondering what Giropay can do for your business. Think of Giropay like many other digital payment platforms you’ll come across when setting up your e-commerce site. Universally used payment methods like Google Wallet, Apple Pay, or PayPal are good reference points to understand how Giropay fits into your system.
As mentioned, Giropay is a direct banking transfer on the customer’s behalf. Anyone buying products or services on your site needs to transfer banking access data — a PIN and a transaction authentication number (TAN), which generate one-time passwords (OTPs) that confirm the source of the purchase (though a TAN is not required if the purchase is below 30 euro). The buyer has a full security guarantee through this direct access, and vendors can confidently process the order and receive the credited amount within one banking day.
How to use Jotform to accept Giropay payments
Giropay does not interact directly with dealers for payment plans or payment installations but rather with individual acquiring banks. Although it’s a German company, many platforms support it in the United States and internationally. One of the largest is Stripe, a multinational payment processing software company that lets platforms like Giropay — those not otherwise available in the United States — access the American market.
Stripe supports a range of international payment platforms like Giropay, charging merchants individual fees for each. On these international transactions, Stripe incurs a 1.5 percent general fee along with an additional one percent fee for currency conversion. With Giropay, Stripe charges a 1.4 percent fee along with 30 cents per purchase.
With all that considered, it’s important to think about generating value from a Giropay integration. You want to take advantage of Stripe in a way that feels natural for any customer of your e-commerce site.
Thankfully, with Jotform, you can easily integrate Stripe into your customer checkout forms, allowing you to tap into Giropay’s access to the greater German and European market. You can build your own payment form with Jotform’s Form Builder and add the Stripe integration or use one of Jotform’s templates with the integration built in and tailor them to your product or branding. The Stripe integration receives payments from Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Alipay as well, adding to your payment forms’ functionality.
What’s more, you can accept payments through Giropay with the assurance of high-level security and the knowledge that Jotform never charges fees on these forms. This integration enhances the customer experience while giving you access to a huge market in a few quick steps.
So, what is Giropay? It’s just one of many international payment methods you want to take advantage of as you expand your e-commerce business. Its strong market share in a major European region can translate into a boon for your business. Give yourself and your business a new stage for profit and success, both domestically and in expanding overseas markets, with Jotform and Giropay.
Photo by Negative Space
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