In the last couple of years, small and medium consumer brands have become bolder than ever. Instead of depending solely on large e-commerce companies to list their products, they are ramping up efforts to sell directly to customers. This is their way to create their own brand and identity over the internet.
This fledgling direct-to-consumer (D2C) sector is set to grow exponentially. There are already over 600 D2C brands in India and about 16 of them have an annual turnover of over $60 million.
A large number of entrepreneurs who run these D2C businesses are selling their products online for the first time. And as this market grows, there would be more and more such entrepreneurs who would want to get on the D2C bandwagon.
For businesses with very little to no experience in online sales, understanding payment gateways might be a little daunting at first. However, businesses should give themselves ample time to understand the nitty-gritty of payment gateways.
Things to look for in a payment gateway
The one thing that a new D2C business can’t afford to lose is its credibility among users. On the face of it, paying online and accepting money from customers might look easy, but it involves a lot of complexities. To make online payments easy and frictionless a lot of third parties and government bodies work together.
Businesses should check the credibility of payment gateways and that if they have proper security certification from the authorities.
There are a handful of other factors to consider before zeroing in on a payment gateway:
- Instant activation
Ideally, integrating a payment gateway with online businesses should involve minimal paperwork and the whole process should be over in the shortest possible time.
However, the truth is that most of the payment gateways have a lengthy documentation process and the activation might take anywhere between two to four days.
Paytm Payment Gateway provides online onboarding with minimum paperwork. Our APIs fasten the activation process and with very little coding, businesses will be able to accept payments within 30 minutes.
What this means for D2C brands
As major e-commerce companies increase their platform charges, D2C brands want to get their e-commerce venture up and running as soon as possible. Partnering with a payment gateway that takes a long time to integrate with the online store will unnecessarily push the launch date.
Delaying the launch of the e-commerce store after spending money on marketing and informing customers about it will portray a bad image of the brand. Moreover, it can also negatively impact its relations with third parties such as shipping and enterprise companies that would be expecting operations to begin.
Paytm Payment Gateway can get D2C brands up and running, making their platform prepared and secure to accept payments from day one.
- Multiple payment modes
Online shoppers want to have the flexibility of choosing one of the various payment methods that are out there. One of the first things to look for in a payment gateway is if it supports all the payment options.
Right from netbanking, debit, or credit card payments, to UPI and digital wallets such as Paytm Wallet, Paytm Payment Gateway does it all. In addition to these, it is adept at handling EMI-based payments and BNPL facilities like Paytm Postpaid as well.
How multiple payments can benefit D2C brands
Although shopping from a D2C brand is in vogue now, customers don’t fully trust the security of their payments page. Since Paytm Payment Gateway is compliant with PCI DSS regulations and comes with a security seal, customers would feel confident of the safety of the D2C portal.
Secondly, since we provide various payment options to buyers, they can easily choose any one option they are most comfortable with. New customers who don’t want to type their sensitive card details might want to use UPI to pay as it doesn’t require users to add any debit or credit card information. Paytm Payment Gateway enables D2C companies to ease their customers’ payment woes with multiple choices.
Additionally, customers will be more willing to buy from a D2C brand if they see it’s powered by a known brand like Paytm Payment Gateway.
- Faster checkout
Nothing turns off a buyer than a long check-out process. Patience wears thin in this day and age of instant checkouts. Even a shopaholic would dump their cart at the billing counter at the sight of dozens of details to be punched in.
The fewer the buttons for buyers to click on, the more the chances of them to make the payment.
What’s in it for D2C brands
The good news for D2C brands is, Paytm Payment Gateway’s checkout process is succinct and fast. The checkout page of e-commerce companies is a graveyard of abandoned carts. A young D2C company should do everything in its power to ensure buyers don’t dump their cart because of the clunky checkout process. For this, Paytm Payment Gateway’s checkout process is ideal.
Unlike other payment gateways, Paytm Payment Gateway processes everything on a single window without any redirections.
D2C brands that partner with Paytm Payment Gateway get an added benefit. Since we are the largest payment company in India, the chances of your customer having an account with us are higher than any other payment gateway.
One time-tested way to fasten the checkout process is to allow users to pay from their saved cards or a digital wallet. Over 330 million users have their e-wallet with us. And an upward of 200 million users have saved their card details with us.
All that users have to do is punch in their mobile number on the checkout page. Our API will work its magic, auto-filling their card details connected with their registered phone number. In comes the OTP, off goes the order confirmation. Kaching!
- Instant bank settlements
Digitally receiving money from customers and being able to use that money are two totally different things. Once customers pay online, payment gateways and banks have to verify the payment before the money is transferred to the receiver’s account.
Most of the payment gateways take two to three days to settle the amount. Businesses using Paytm Payment Gateway can get their payments settled in T+1 days, that is the next business day from the date of the transaction.
Designed to end the liquidity crunch of D2C brands
In the early years of operation, liquidity is of prime importance for D2C brands. While bigger e-commerce companies have enough cash flow to last them for months, D2C companies that have just started don’t have that kind of luxury. It will be suicidal for them to compromise on liquidity as they have to pay employees and vendors on time. Defaulting on payments, especially in the early days of operations, can be detrimental to their relationship with vendors.
D2C companies can use our premium paid feature of instant settlements and get their money in the bank the same day of the transaction. Instant settlements by Paytm Payment Gateway can be a huge relief for D2C companies.
- Easy refunds
Customers shopping online expect every product can be cancelled and that they will get a refund as soon as possible. Online businesses should partner with a payment gateway that can handle refunds smoothly.
Businesses will benefit a great deal if they use Paytm Payment Gateway’s Instant Refunds feature. We ensure that buyers instantly receive their refunds without them having to constantly check the refund status.
Why D2C brands should prioritize refunds
As a new D2C brand, making a great first impression is very important for their success. D2C companies that ensure their customers get refunds instantly for cancellation or returning a product are destined to see repeat customers. This is the kind of customer service for which buyers prefer online shopping.
On the other hand, partnering with a payment gateway that delays refunds might cost the D2C brand their customer base.
D2C brands can trust Paytm Payment Gateway with handling refunds. Our dynamic refund process allows D2C companies to initiate bulk or individual refunds directly from the dashboard. Giving customers the delight of easy refunds can go a long way for D2C companies in cementing their online brand and winning customers’ trust.
How to expand your D2C brand
As internet startups gain prominence and take the center stage in India’s business landscape, Paytm for Business has built a suite of products for them. Paytm Startup Tool Kit is catered to young and upcoming digital companies that struggle with solving non-core problems.
We understand that D2C brands already have a lot on their plate. Instead of solving all the problems on their own, it’s better to outsource these non-core problems.
Paytm Startup Toolkit can help early-stage D2C companies with:
- Distribution of apps: Paytm Mini App Store is designed to give early-stage startups like D2C companies the opportunity to reach millions of customers from a single platform
- Banking services: As digital-first companies, D2C brands don’t have to deal with legacy banking systems anymore. Paytm Payments Bank allows D2C companies to do all their banking processes right from their dashboard
- Payouts to employees and distributors: Paytm Payouts takes care of all financial activities of a D2C company. Be it vendor payments, utility payments, or salary, Paytm Payouts is a one-stop solution for all
- Showcasing products to millions of customers: D2C brands can leverage the power of Paytm Ads to advertise their products and new offering. The Paytm ecosystem has over 150 million monthly active users
In a nutshell
With the rising number of D2C brands across categories, the coming years would see unimaginable competition in every category. To be ahead of the competition, make the right move and switch to Paytm Payment Gateway.
Sign up now and make the most out of the Paytm Payment Gateway today to take your startup to the next level!
