Hello everyone,
And we wish you all the best for 2020!
Here are the first developments of the year that have been put online and are effective as of today.
1) Alternative payment methods
You're familiar with traditional payment methods such as cash, cheques and bankcards. Nowadays, alternative payment methods are increasingly used by your customers and elloha is offering you the possibility of accepting them by activating the Stripe option.
These alternative payment methods are Giropay, Sofort, Bancontact and iDeal and are used mainly by customers in Belgium, Germany and the Benelux countries. This is a plus for the members of your network who can now better reach customers in these countries and reassure them about the security of their future bookings.
Giropay is a German payment method introduced in 2006 and based on online banking services. It enables customers of the majority of German savings banks and cooperative banks to carry out online transactions via their online banking interface, with the funds being debited from their bank accounts. Depending on the bank, customers confirm payments on Giropay using two-factor authentication or a PIN code. Payments are immediately confirmed to the seller and are irrevocable.
Bancontact, founded in 1979 under the name Bancontact / Mister Cash, is the most widely used payment method in Belgium, where it is used for a third of online transactions. Bancontact payments are authenticated by customers and immediately confirmed for businesses. Bancontact is offered as a payment option by more than 80% of online businesses in Belgium and processed more than 27 million payments in 2015. In 2014, Bancontact introduced a mobile app to simplify the payment experience. Using their mobile app, customers can identify themselves by scanning a QR code that is presented to them at the time of payment. Each transaction is then confirmed by a PIN code. The roll-out of the application has been a success; it is now used in over 50% of transactions on desktops and 90% of transactions on mobile phones and tablets. E-commerce and on-demand platforms are sectors for which Bancontact is a suitable payment option.
SOFORT is a bank transfer payment method widely used in Germany and Austria. To pay with SOFORT, customers are redirected to the SOFORT website, where they enter their bank details. Once this authentication has been completed, SOFORT initiates the bank transfer from their bank account.
It is important for businesses to understand that although a successful authorisation indicates a high probability of payment, the funds are not guaranteed until they are actually received, usually within 2 working days, although this can take up to 14 days. Once received, payments cannot be cancelled, except in the case of a refund initiated by the company.
iDEAL is a payment method used in the Netherlands that allows customers to carry out online transactions using their bank details. All the major Dutch banks are members of Currence, the system on which iDEAL operates, making it the most popular payment method in the Netherlands, with a market share of almost 55%.
To pay with iDEAL, customers are redirected to their online banking environment, where they can authenticate their payments using two-factor authentication. The exact user experience varies depending on their bank. Although the iDEAL payment process may seem complicated to businesses new to it, it is well understood and appreciated by Dutch customers. Payments are irrevocable and immediately confirmed, two strong value propositions appreciated by companies choosing iDEAL.
Links to the knowledge base article click here
2) Entering the intra-Community VAT number
All service providers liable for VAT in the European Union can now enter their individual tax identification number - the famous intra-Community VAT number- in their elloha account.
As a reminder: for companies domiciled in France, the number is made up of the FR code, a 2-digit or letter computer key and the company's Siren number (9 digits).
This information will enable better tax traceability of payments made between elloha and its customers, as well as automatic application of the correct VAT rates depending on the customer's status. This process, in phase 2 (end Q1), will enable even more automated management of elloha subscription invoicing.