Families Pay Faster Using Payment Links

BY JIM LUFF

If you have ever used an app from Starbucks or McDonald’s, you likely used a payment link to pay for your purchase. Disguised as a “Pay Now” button on popular apps, that button facilitates your payment to merchants by offering up your credit card details to pay for the purchase or perhaps you’ve linked your computer or mobile device to a bank account to use payment links to pay from your checking account.

The Convenience

We all enjoy the convenience of the “set it & forget it” concept. Enter your credit card details into an app onetime or pay a bill or make a payment through your phone, laptop, tablet or desktop and your card information or banking details are securely stored for future use with a single click. If you have an Amazon account, you know payments are made fast and easy on subsequent purchases.

Getting Paid for Services

Looking at it from a merchant’s point of view, the most important aspect of your business is getting paid for your services. Making it easy and efficient for families to pay in their time of grief is greatly appreciated by those who embrace technology. Payments are received 40% faster when payment links are offered by death-care providers. The payment experience should be easy and not add more stress to the family. Payment links are also a great option for collecting money on outstanding invoices quickly and easily.

What is a payment link?

A payment link is a way to request payment from families to collect fees for services instead of using a credit card terminal to run the credit card. Invoices or quote presentations include a “Pay Now” or “Pay Invoice” button. Invoices can be emailed or sent by text message to a phone. The recipient clicks the payment button, and they are taken to a payment page showing the amount due and various options to pay, including the option to use PayPal.

Using PayPal as a Payment Method

Because PayPal can be used as a form of payment through most Merchant Service Providers, family members can contribute to a single PayPal account that can then be used by the responsible party to make payment after receiving a payment link. PayPal is a payment option like MasterCard, Visa or American Express. This eliminates funeral homes and other death-care providers from being forced to accept multiple family member payments and promotes collection as a single payment.

Benefits of Payment Links

The biggest benefit of a payment link is making it easier for families to pay. Payment links provide a broad range of payment methods, including PayPal. On average, invoices are paid 40% sooner than any other billing method because 95% of all text messages are read within 3 minutes from the moment they are received. Payments are usually made within 20 minutes. That gives you an idea of how fast you could be paid by providing families with a payment link. If you are making arrangements inside the family home, you can email or text a payment link that can be paid on the spot from the recipient’s mobile phone.

How to Implement

Merchant Service Providers, also known as credit card processors, can create payment links for your business and even customize your payment page with your own logo and branding colors. Using payment links reduces the workload of your accounting department and saves time.

Jim Luff is the Corporate Communications Manager for Aurora Payments, a Merchant Services Provider dedicated to providing service to the funeral industry. He is very knowledgeable about funeral home operations, cemetery operations and the needs of families paying for arrangements. Jim retired as the CEO of The Limousine Scene after 25 years of service contracting with numerous funeral homes in California. He worked with funeral directors to arrange and provide family transportation. He can be reached by email at hello@risewithaurora.com.