Why and How I switched to Stripe for Online Payments and Ecommerce

500% sales conversion increase.

Credit card checkout on the same website (without having to go to PayPal and back).

Lower fees than PayPal.

I could go on for hours if I had to list all the reasons why I’m highly recommending all my Ecommerce clients to switch to Stripe for Credit Card processing (and yes, you can keep using PayPal for PayPal account holders, and Stripe for credit cards only…).

So, after a few whys, here are a few more. Plus, a handy “how do you do it?” guide.

1. First things first: which countries can use Stripe?

According to Stripe, users from 39 countries (as of May 2020) can create a Stripe account and accept online payments.

This covers 100% of my clients and ecommerce projects, so… woo-hoo!!!!

Anyway, Stripe is so successful that in the next months will probably launch in your country as well.

2. You need an SSL cert

If you passed the first test (country) you’re nearly done. There is actually no reason why you shouldn’t use Stripe for online payments.

As I said earlier, a client of mine had a fivefold increase on sales conversion when she added Stripe as an optional payment on her website. The reason is very simple: Stripe allows customers to checkout on your website, without having to leave it to go to PayPal and get back.

So, it’s faster, easier and the user experience is much better.

Plus, on the client’s side, fees are lower than PayPal’s (check out Stripe: Pricing). Funds are then transferred directly to your bank account every 7 days.

In order to process payments with Stripe, you need an SSL cert (see Wikipedia) – that is some extra security your website requires. This is why customers are currently sent to PayPal secure servers. Your website needs a little extra security to make sure credit card numbers can be handled safely.

Costs for an SSL cert vary a lot. If you’re on Blacknight hosting, you can get one for €90+vat/year. This cost is nothing if you compare it with the amount of increased sales you can make.

Check with your hosting provider anyway, they usually have third party agreements with SSL providers and have the best price.

3. And then, website integration

If only all the websites were developed in WordPress (well, they now have 60% of the market anyway!), you only needed to install a simple plugin, and Stripe would be active on your website right NOW!

This is how simple it is (get in touch at hello@ecommerceandbeyond.com should you want to know if your website is compatible, or what plugin you need). The longest set up is actually getting the SSL cert installed.

So, if you’re based in one of the countries above, and you already have an SSL cert, creating a Stripe account is very easy and super fast. Not that crazy PayPal stuff! Just logon to Stripe.com and follow the simple instructions.

If you’re aware of the PayPal “burocracy”, you’ll be amazed by Stripe 🙂

4. Finally! Customers can pay faster

Now that everything is set up, Stripe will suggest you to test a few demo purchases with their test credit card numbers.

5 minutes and you’re good to go!

And if you’re wondering why sales conversion is higher:

a) customers can pay faster (and therefore they have less time to chenge their mind)

b) customers who still think “I need PayPal to pay with PayPal and can pay with credit card” will now be able to checkout

c) customers pay on your website, therefore the experience is consistent

d) customers have to visit less pages to pay (bye bye PayPal)

Plus, you also get a lot of benefits as a client:

a) if you earn €2000/month via PayPal, switching to Stripe will now cost you only 2.4% + €0.24 (that is €48.24) as opposed to PayPal (3.4% + €0.35 = €68.35)

b) if you earn €2000/month via PayPal, having Stripe as an additional option can probably higher your sales just because you have it

c) therefore, paying for an SSL cert will probably be worth your while!

If you have any doubts or questions, feel free to ask them in the comment box below.