Whether you need one-click payments as an option for your ecommerce store depends upon a number of variables. Before looking at these, and the advantages and disadvantages of offering one-click payment solutions, it might be worth explaining exactly how one-click payments work.

How do one-click payments work?

In simple terms, a one-click payment system works on the basis of the customer already having saved their payment card details on file. These details can then be charged with no additional authentication required once the consumer hits the ‘pay’ or ‘buy’ button on a website or within an app. Although it’s called ‘one-click payment’ it doesn’t always involve the customer having to click, as sometimes merely the completion of a specific action is enough to trigger a payment. An example of this type of one-click payment would be an Uber trip, when payment is taken as soon as the journey ends.

Do I need to offer one-click payments?

Before deciding whether you should offer a one-click payment option for your customers, ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I have repeat customers? – One-click ordering was created with the aim of offering convenience to customers making repeated purchases from the same site without needing to fill their card details in every time.

• Have I provided enough information? – One-click payments might actually damage the sales process if customers feel that they are being pressured into buying before they have all the information they need.

• What information do I need to convey? – Customers will want a range of information before making a purchase, from the obvious such as price, product details and shipping information through to customer reviews and when they can expect to receive the item.

The advantages and disadvantages of one-click payments

Advantages

• Speed – the one-click payment option greatly speeds up the purchasing process, something which modern consumers demand in an age of instant digital gratification.

• Ease of use – one-click payment solutions, particularly one-click mobile payments, offer the ultimate user experience in terms of making a purchase. By removing as many barriers to payment as possible, one-click payment solutions turn the checkout process into one which is completely intuitive.

• Convenience – removing the stage at which users used to have to enter details such as their card number, expiry date and CVC number makes online shopping a much more convenient solution.

Disadvantages

• Security – although the tokenisation system used for one-click payment solutions means that the merchant doesn’t actually have access to the card details, there is still a sense amongst many users that just posting their details to an ecommerce site is a security risk. Regular news stories about data breaches at companies as large as Facebook, Adobe and LinkedIn will only serve to cement this worry.

• Pressure – some consumers may feel that they are being pressured to make a purchase without giving it proper thought, which could persuade them to shop elsewhere.

• Mistakes – human error is the biggest risk of one-click payment solutions, with the error in question being made by consumers mistakenly clicking ‘buy’. Mistakes of this kind, or good old-fashioned buyer’s remorse following a swift impulse purchase, could result in merchants having to deal with multiple chargeback issues.    

Ultimately, any decision on one-click payment solutions will have to form part of the larger realisation that the best way to maximise sales, income and cash flow is to offer as many different payment options as possible. Put simply, when it comes to making payments, consumers like having the choice of options such as payment cards, digital wallets and bank transfers.

We can help

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