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What is click to pay?

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The GoCardless content team comprises a group of subject-matter experts in multiple fields from across GoCardless. The authors and reviewers work in the sales, marketing, legal, and finance departments. All have in-depth knowledge and experience in various aspects of payment scheme technology and the operating rules applicable to each. The team holds expertise in the well-established payment schemes such as UK Direct Debit, the European SEPA scheme, and the US ACH scheme, as well as in schemes operating in Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand. See full bio

Last editedMar 20222 min read

Click to Pay explained

In simple terms, Click to Pay makes it possible for customers to make online purchases by clicking a single button. The customer is then presented with a list of credit or debit cards that they have already saved through the Click to Pay scheme. By choosing one of these cards, the customer can complete the purchase.

What is Click to Pay for?

The main aim of Click to Pay is to speed up the purchasing process. Rather than having to manually enter the details of their payment card, the customer simply chooses the Click to Pay button, then selects the relevant card. In the age of online shopping, convenience of this kind can help to drive sales and revenue for merchants. Another aspect of Click to Pay which customers find appealing is the security – their card details are never shared with Click to Pay websites, but are held securely by the Click to Pay service.

The advantages of Click to Pay

From the customers’ point of view, the chief advantage of Click to Pay is that it replaces the multiple online shopping buttons offered by the likes of American Express and Visa with a single, overarching system. In the past, merchants might have offered options such as Masterpass, American Express Checkout and Visa Checkout, single-click options set up by the individual payment card companies. These were superseded by the launch of Click to Pay in 2019.

Why use Click to Pay?

From the point of view of a merchant eager to make more money through ecommerce, Click to Pay is the latest innovation to enhance the customer experience. From fast loading times to responsive websites and ease of navigation, the online shopping experience is all about speed and convenience. Any customer who finds a website doesn’t offer maximum convenience is likely to look elsewhere. Click to Pay offers maximum convenience by being standardised across all websites and payment platforms – and it’s easy to use.

The Click to Pay experience

To use Click to Pay on a merchant’s website, customers must sign up then add their payment cards to the account. They can do this via a payment card network such as Visa or MasterCard. They will be asked to enter the details of any payment cards they want to add to Click to Pay. Once done, every time they see the Click to Pay button on a website they just have to click on it to complete the payment process. Clicking on the button will trigger the sending of a six-digit security code to the customer’s phone or other device.

Once the code has been entered, all the customer has to do is select which enrolled payment card they wish to complete the purchase with. The biggest advantage of this system is that the security aspect hinges upon the unique six-digit code the customer receives each time they use it, rather than relying on the customer having to memorise yet another password.

Less friction

Ecommerce grew significantly during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, when lockdowns meant that more and more shopping shifted online. A one-click payment option is the latest innovation designed to ensure that customers who switched to online shopping through necessity continue to embrace it on the grounds of convenience. By removing friction from the payment process, Click to Pay helps to drive sales higher and keeps customers coming back to a merchants’ website, safe in the knowledge they can get what they want quickly and simply.

We can help

If you’re interested in finding out more about Click to Pay, then get in touch with our financial experts. Discover how GoCardless can help you with ad hoc payments or recurring payments.