Feesbuzz – Simplifying Fees Payment Collection & Management

2019 is the age of digitization & automation. Millions of people are turning to online payments which are done in a few clicks. There are also payments done in “one tap”, which is turning out to be highly convenient for payers.

Implementation of automation simply adds value by reducing manual labour, saving time & improving efficiency.

So why not automate the fee payment process as well?

Automating the fee payment process would make things easier as you can pay quickly, in a timely manner.

Every educational institution has to go through a lot of hassles when it comes to collecting fee payments from students. Fees payment collection & management is a critical aspect for institutes & it has to be intervened carefully. Manual intervention in such critical aspects can be tedious, prolonged and error-prone.

What is Feesbuzz?

Feesbuzz is a payment cum domain specific solution to educational institutes.

This platform is a CMS driven dashboard with complete reconciliation functionality that drives end to end payment facilities from your own control. This is the only platform which offers an end to end reconciliation with student instalments on your own dashboard.With Feesbuzz, the educational institutes can provide online fee payment as an option to their students. Feesbuzz enables you to seamlessly conduct your fees related activities with maximum accuracy, efficiency & automation.

How Feesbuzz simplifies your fees collection & management?

Feesbuzz provides a CMS driven dashboard to institution where in the institution can control core fees related activities.

Fee structure creation

You (Institute user) can create a fee structure as per the course & allot the created fee structure to respective batches. The fee structure consists of the course, batch & the amount for the particular course & the batch to whom the course is to be assigned. You can also create fee structures with respect to certain student categories like general, OBC etc.

Installments

For every fee structure you create, you can create installments on the total amount of the fee structure, that student will pay as per the due date of the installment. These installments can be created on any created fee structure which is assigned to any particular batch.

Optional installments

There are some parts of the fees which are compulsory for the student to pay; like university fees, exam charges, tuition fees etc. Also there are some parts of the fees which are dependent on the choice of the student.

For example – If the student chooses hostel accommodation, then the installment of “Hostel fees” will be applicable to the student. Similarly other installments like ‘Mess fees’, ‘Gym fees’ are totally dependent on the student, whether he chooses these services or decides to opt out.

Keeping the above scenario in mind, Feesbuzz lets you to create optional installments for students, which will be applicable only if the students wish to have the particular facilities. All the installments are created with a due date and so that you can expect payment from students in a timely manner. Also in any case, if a student fails to pay the respective installment before its due date, you can easily manage the installment & extend the due date for that particular student.

Discounts – Enable discounts on the installments of your fee structure. Simply just select the fee structure on which you wish to enable discount. You can set a new payable amount for the installment, which will differ from the initial installment amount.

Assigning installments to students – Now assign the created installments to a whole batch of students in a single click. Simply upload a CSV file containing student details & done! All the students will be populated & have respective installments allocated.

Share Fees payment URL with students – Once you have created the fee structure with all the details, you can share the URL across your student base to let them pay online. You can share this URL on your website or by any other mode of communication.

How students pay their fees – We at Easebuzz understand that paying the hefty installment amounts online is a big deal for student & his family. This is why, before paying fees online, the student has to verify himself to avoid any risks regarding payment. The student, after accessing the fees payment URL will verify himself with his PRN number or any Unique Identification Number as per the institution’s record & only after successful verification, the student may proceed to pay.

Fees Payment Reports – As the students pay according to their installments,you can have a detailed report of students’ payments. These reports can be generated for the whole batch in a single click or you can even generate transaction wise reports. Also you can manage refunds raised by students from the dashboard.

Split Payouts with Feesbuzz

Education institutes that collect fees from their students include various categories according to their fee structure. The fee structure breakup will have a certain amount of tuition fees, library fees, hostel fees, project fees, library fees,etc.

So the fees that are collected from a student, is the total payment with respect to the fee structure. Having collected that, the institute will decide to make splits out of the total fee structure amount & those split amounts will be routed to respective accounts to map the purposes.

Like, a certain percentage of the total fee amount will be routed to institution’s tuition fees account, another percentage of total amount will be routed to library fees account, rest will be routed to hostel fees or any other account depending on the institute & its purpose.

As Feesbuzz is integrated with our online payment gateway named Easebuzz, you can avail split payouts to your multiple bank accounts. You being an institute user, will provide us a ratio of the splits which you wish to route to your accounts & we will route your payment to your bank accounts as per the split ratio that is provided by you. In the above case, if a situation of refund arises, we route the refund amount from your bank accounts to the customer’s bank account.

How Feesbuzz reduces manual intervention & boosts productivity

The above radar chart displays the difference in the performance of all the above aspects with Feesbuzz & without Feesbuzz i.e the traditional method

This is how Feesbuzz makes life easier for both institutes & students by eliminating all the tedious and prolonged processes of fees payment. Also automating the above aspects will ensure in accuracy & time will be saved at a greater extent, improving overall efficiency.

UPI 2.0

It is no surprise that UPI has been playing a critical role in encouraging digital payments in the country.

Post demonetisation, UPI-based online payments have soared in the country. According to a report of Inc 42, UPI has seen a massive growth in processing transactions, i.e from 0.93 million to 246 million within a time span of August 2016 to June 2018.

Also, the number of banks actively integrating with UPI has grown from 21 to 110 partner banks.

These are the reasons why UPI becoming the most preferred payment option:

• Money transfer is possible anytime (24×7×365)
• It acts as an email address for the customer’s money, which can be shared instead of bank details
• A highly secured payment option

NPCI launched UPI 2.0 in August 2018, which is an updated version of UPI.

Key features of UPI 2.0

Linking of overdraft account : 

In addition to current and savings accounts, customers can link their overdraft account to UPI. Customers will be able to transact instantly and all benefits associated with overdraft account shall be made available to the users. UPI 2.0 will serve as an additional digital channel to access the overdraft account.

One-time mandate:

 UPI mandate could be used in a scenario where money is to be transferred later by providing commitment at present.UPI 2.0 mandates are created with one-time block functionality for transactions. Customers can pre-authorize a transaction and pay at a later date.It works seamlessly for merchants as well as for individuals. Mandates can be created and executed instantly. On the date of actual purchase, the amount will be automatically deducted and received by the merchant/individual user.

UPI 2.0

Invoice in the inbox: 

According to NPCI, this feature is designed for customers to check the invoice sent by merchant prior to making payment. It will help customers to view and verify the credentials and check whether it has come from the right merchant or not. Customers can pay after verifying the amount and other important details mentioned in the invoice.

Signed intent and QR:

This feature is designed for customers to check the authenticity of merchants while scanning QR or quick response code. It notifies the user with information to know whether the merchant is a verified UPI merchant or not. This provides an additional security. Customers will be informed in case the receiver is not secured by way of notifications.

Business cases

With the launch of 2.0, UPI has the potential to digitize the entire ecosystem around the core payment functionality. Financial institutions (FIs) can look at utilizing the enhanced version of UPI and its features for multiple P2M (Person to Merchant) transactions across innovative use cases.High-value products/services will now also become attractive for UPI transactions as the amount has been revised and capped to 2,00,000 INR. Below are few business cases.

Future Scope of UPI 2.0

A report of Boston Consulting Group (BCG) says that between 2021–22 and 2024–25, the role of cash in the payments space will be shrink. The report said that UPI will dominate the payments space with 59% payments transactions. This would be followed by mobile and internet-based payments, which will constitute a fifth of the total number of cash and non-cash transactions.

The report further said that ATM transactions are expected to comprise 5% of total transactions between 2021–22 and 2024–25. It is being reported that the change in the payments landscape is a result of an intention to move towards a ‘cash-less economy’.

UPI 2.0 with its new features has a lot to offer consumers and merchants.From a consumer perspective, the functionality of the application will increase as it widely used nowadays.One could use it to book a taxi, pay for groceries, or purchase equity investments,etc.

In the near future, we at Easebuzz, will be looking forward to provide our merchants all the features that UPI 2.0 provides. We intent to provide our merchants UPI 2.0 as a payment option.

Why You Should Partner with Easebuzz Right Away

Easebuzz payment gateway

From the barter system and metal coins to plastic cards and mobile transactions, the way we pay has evolved tremendously. Whether we are buying a pizza or even a life insurance policy, almost everything today is purchased within a single click. According to Statista, the number of individuals using mobile payments is expected to amount to 697.8 million by 2023 in India. With a number that high, it has become imperative for small and mid-sized businesses to partner with the best online payment service provider like Easebuzz, who can facilitate smooth online transactions. Now, let us delve deeper into why you should partner with us.

1. Do not spend more than five minutes to create a merchant account

Yes, you read that right. Gone are the days when you had to spend more than a week to submit all the documents, get them verified and wait until your account is created. With Easebuzz, you can bid farewell to this tedious process and create an account for your business within a couple of minutes. All we need is your KYC documents and bank account details. Once you have submitted all this, you will be all set to receive payments without any hassle.

2. Pay only when you use

When it comes to choosing a payment gateway solution, businesses often hesitate due to the high cost of investment. Well, you won’t have to worry about this when it comes to our payment solution. This is because we are a free portal. This means we do not charge anything until you do your first transaction through our platform. Want to learn more about our affordable pricing plans? Go here.

3. Don’t worry about security

Businesses are often worried about security when it comes to online payment. They have questions such as is this method safe? Will anyone steal my bank details? Will I lose my hard-earned money? With a partner like Easebuzz, you would not have to worry about any of this. This is because we use PCI-DSS compliant servers which makes our online transactions compliant with bank-level security. Accepting and paying money online through Easebuzz is as good as closing your eyes and doing it.

If you are looking for an online payment portal which will provide your customers with a better experience and help you save time and money, get in touch with us right away. You can also browse through our website to learn about our features and pricing plans. We hope this helps you out! Feel free to get in touch with us if you have any doubts or queries.

Evolution of Payment Gateway

Evolution of payment gateway

When it comes to payment methods, we have witnessed significant advances. From barter system to digital payments, we have come a long way. This blog outlines the evolution of payment gateway all over the globe.

Barter system begins

So, before we start talking about our protagonist, i.e. the best payment gateway for e-commerce, let’s have a quick glance at the payment methods used before payment gateway. Around 3000 BC the barter system was used. In the barter system, two or more parties engaged in an exchange that involved goods or services of the same value.

The closest a civilization came to discovery of coins

Around 1600 BC, China came closest to inventing the coin. Before 1600 BC, tools and weapons were widely used in China as a medium of exchange. To aid convenience, the Chinese started using miniatures of these tools and weapons. These miniatures were later made in the shape of a circle. At this point of time, this was the closest any civilization had come to the discovery of coins.

The advent of coins

In 600 BC, coins were minted for the first time in Lydia. They were made from a mixture of gold and silver called electrum. The king of Lydia, Alyattes, the fourth king of the Mermnad dynasty is credited to have minted the first gold coin. It was the official currency of Lydia.

China introduces cash to the world

In 806 AD, the printed notes were first used in China. Their western counterparts were not willing to implement this payment method at that time. But their usage grew over the next 500 years. Marco Polo was an Italian explorer who was one of the first explorers to provide a detailed report of his experiences in China. In his report, he wrote of the paper money being used in China, which made it a thriving economy.

Europe catches on

It was in the 16th century that European countries started using cash instead of coins. A bank in Sweden first introduced the concept of cash (paper money) in 1661. Eventually, more banks in Europe accepted the idea of paper money. These notes were issued to depositors and borrowers instead of coins. A bank was liable to pay the equivalent value of gold or silver coins if a person took these notes to the bank.

The world decides to go cashless

People realized that cash was merely a means to an end. It enabled you to buy the object you needed. So, the value was in a product and not the cash in the bank or cash at hand that bought it. That is when the idea of going cashless started to emerge. A notion developed that it was possible to transfer money without using these mediums. So you don’t have to carry cash and coins all the time.

Taking this notion forward in 1979, Visa introduced its breakthrough product: the credit card. So, what is a credit card? A credit card is a plastic card that enables us to buy goods and services on credit. The bank that issues the card decides a line of credit up to which a user can borrow money. This money is paid to the merchant who has offered goods or services. The credit card faced resistance initially when merchants didn’t have the necessary machinery at the point of sale. But eventually, it became a prominent electronic payment platform. This resulted in the development of the terminal ecosystem. A terminal is a device that facilitates electronic fund transfer once a card is swiped. This resulted in a significant increase in the sales of hardware manufacturers.

The internet era begins

By mid-90s the winds of change had begun to blow. The world witnessed an internet boom which took businesses online. This gave rise to several e-commerce giants. One of these online businesses is Amazon, who ventured into the business world as a start-up in 1994. It was followed by eBay in 1995. This increasing amount of online businesses made the terminal ecosystem insufficient. A better payment method was the need of the hour. This gave rise to companies that provided the technology of payment gateway.

So, what is a payment gateway? In simple words, a payment gateway is a means of making an online payment. It enables a merchant to collect money from the customer. It verifies the information provided by the user and the payment method and then authorizes the transaction. A customer provides sensitive data while making the transaction like card number, CVV, etc. To protect this sensitive data, payment gateway solutions use encryption.

Payment gateway companies focus merely on providing an interface between a payment portal such as a website and the acquiring bank. A few of these companies are PayPal, CyberSource, DataCash Group, etc.

Today, this new type of payment is not just limited to the western world. India has mirrored the scope for payment gateways as well. It has more than 1 billion mobile subscriptions, which is the second-largest in the world. There are over 240 million smart-phone users and these numbers are only going to increase. It is predicted that by 2020 over 600 million users will have internet access with 3G or 4G connections.

All of this provides a very promising future for payment gateway companies in India. Moreover, the government and regulatory bodies have created a congenial environment to welcome these companies. They have taken steps such as KYC relaxation for small transactions, 2-factor authentication exemption, etc. The most important action taken by the government was the promotion of cashless transactions. Indians were gradually shifting to cashless transactions, but the government regulations accelerated this process.

Today, these companies need to take care of several factors such as security, integration and transparency. Easebuzz is one such payment gateway company in Pune that focuses on facilitating online transactions. We are PCI DSS compliant. We provide end to end encryption that protects sensitive data and offers strong security to our clients. All of this makes us a perfect fit when it comes to choosing a safe and instant payment method in 2019.

5 Things to Look for While Selecting a Payment Gateway

A business owner has to make several decisions that sometimes can become a headache. Much of these decisions have nothing to do with your core business such as: selecting a payment gateway. It is very necessary to select the right payment gateway. A payment gateway can make or break an e-commerce business. This importance attributed to a payment gateway and the lack of knowledge on part of some of the entrepreneurs can lead to indecision.

So, what is it that you should look for while buying a payment gateway? We asked successful entrepreneurs about factors that make a payment gateway, the best payment gateway for e-commerce.

Here are 5 factors they said you should look out for when selecting a payment gateway.

Fees

Do not give in to marketing gimmicks. You must know all the factors of the fee structure before availing the service. Do not be influenced by the competitive fees that are on display. Sometimes, a few payment gateways may charge extra for certain services or the low fees are applicable only if certain conditions are met. Make sure the pricing policy is transparent and there are no hidden fees. Have a thorough understanding of the fee structure.

Flexibility

This is a very important factor to look out for. Every business is different and it operates in its unique way. Will the payment gateway adjust to the needs of your business? Can it adjust according to payment scenarios that emerge according to your business? You also have to pay attention to the technical integrations it offers. Do you have to wait days for a certain change or can you do it in a few clicks? Do you need a developer to make the changes or a simple business owner can perform it with a few clicks?

Safety

This is an absolute must in your payment gateway. It is imperative that you make sure your the payment gateway you are about to choose has security factors such as SSL Certification, PCI DSS Compliance & Certification, 128-bit encryption, and Two-factor authentication.

Metrics to check

There are a few metrics that you should look for before you make a choice. They are Transaction Success Rate, Time taken to set up a payment gateway, Time taken for settlement.

The transaction success rate is the percent of success in processing transactions. A transaction can fail due to several reasons but what matters at the end is what is the transaction success rate of the particular payment gateway.

Time taken to set up a payment gateway is a self-explanatory term. It can take a few minutes to days.

Time taken for settlement. This is the amount of time it requires for the payment gateway to send the money in your bank account. It could take around 2 to 5 business days.

Customer experience

A payment gateway should provide a seamless experience. Does it take the customer away from your website to another website for payment? In such a case, the customer might lose faith and might not make the payment. It is very necessary that the customer feels safe. Can the user pay the amount with minimal effort? Make sure the customer feels safe and you will see your business thrive.

These are the factors that you should look for while selecting an e-commerce payment gateway. We hope you make the choice that helps your business thrive.

Does Your Business Really Need a Payment Gateway Solution?

Globalization has brought the world closer, but it has made it more complex. Gone are the days when payments were all about giving money to the cashier across the counter. Now, we have payment gateway solutions to help us out. Wondering what is a payment gateway and why your business needs it? This article will provide you with all the information you need to know about an online payment gateway. Let’s get started.

What is a payment gateway?

To put it in simple words, a payment gateway offers online payment solutions. Before processing the payment, a payment gateway identifies and verifies the payment method and then accepts the amount paid by the customer. Another important task that a payment gateway performs is that it encrypts sensitive information such as name, CVV and credit card number. All of this results in it being a very safe method of accepting payments.

Today, everyone has brought some product online. It seems very easy, isn’t it? Select the product you like, add it to your cart, make payment and voila! It is at your doorstep. What seems so easy actually involves a lot of processes taking place behind the scenes. Now, what ensures this smooth transfer of payments is a payment gateway. To explain further, it is a merchant service provided by an e-commerce application service provider that authorizes credit cards or direct payments processes for online e-business retailers or traditional brick and mortar retailers.

Now that the concept of a payment gateway is clear, let us focus on why does a merchant need one.

Why does a merchant need a payment gateway?

If you own a business online, you should have a payment gateway. According to Easebuzz mentioned below are the statistics that highlight why you need a payment gateway.

1. 42% of shoppers prefer online payment

2. It is expected that by 2023 the number of users making online payments will rise up to 699.4 million

3. The Digital India campaign resulted in 1.11 Billion digital transactions in January 2018

A payment gateway reduces the frequency of credit card theft and fraud as it encrypts sensitive information.

Now, that you know all you need to know about payment gateways you can go ahead and introduce one to your business that will increase the profitability. There are several factors you need to pay attention to while selecting a payment gateway, and it is advisable you do thorough research before choosing one. Easebuzz is a leading company in Pune that provides best payment gateway for small business. Make sure you visit their website before finalising a payment gateway solution for your business!

Security Measures in Payment Gateways

The boom of the e-commerce market in India has been so high that almost everyone buying products online are accustomed to the concept of payment gateway. An e-commerce payment gateway provides a secure platform to carry out the transaction process between the customer and the e-commerce website. You can either carry out the payment through your credit card, debit card or any other third party app.

The payment gateway is the crux of an online portal as most payment transactions happen online over a delivery mode like COD. Without a secure gateway, online websites cannot sell their goods or services, while customers cannot buy products without proceeding to a payment gateway.

Fear of fraud

The basic difference between buying a product from a local shop and buying online is a sense of trust. The chances of getting defraud while buying from a shop are minimal to zero, as compared to buying online. The common fears that are prevalent among customers are paying for a product online and never receiving it and risking our credit card/debit card details to a third party app.

Thankfully, the major players in the e-commerce business spend huge sums to maintain a robust framework so that we securely make transactions to buy products.

Let’s take a look at the security measures undertaken by these websites.

Security measures :

1. Data encryption

Data encryption is one of the most important security measures in the payment gateway. How does it work? When you enter your details in the payment gateway, it gets encrypted by using payment gateway public key and can only be decrypted by the payment gateway’s private key. Sounds hard to grasp? Consider this example.

When you are about to buy a product from an ‘X’ e-commerce’s app, and you click the credit card/debit card option, the app gives you ‘pay securely’ option, where you have ticked the box and as a result, the app saves the details so that the next you pay through the app, the process is sped up. This process is called encryption. The data can only be viewed by you and nobody else (unless somebody else views your phone). The data appears scrambled and illegible to anyone handling the server. This is known as decryption. It makes sure that your data is absolutely secured and even in case of a hack, your data appears illegible to the thieves in case they want to crack it.

2. Secure socket layer (SSL)

SSL is the standard security protocol used in online transactions which are practiced by all the major e-commerce websites. SSL establishes a link between a server and a browser. You enter the information on the browser and the information is taken by the server. SSL is also used for the authentication of the identity of the visiting customers and protects sensitive information like card details entered by customers.

While all the major e-commerce websites use SSL, the same cannot be said of the portals outside the list. So, it is advisable to the customers to only make transactions from websites with an SSL certificate. You can identify it by checking out the prefix ‘https’ at the start of the link and also look out for padlock symbol at the top left corner, adjacent to ‘https’.

3. Tokenization

Tokenization is a unique way of secure payment gateway, where the sensitive data like credit card/ debit card details are replaced with a string of illegible characters so that there is no risk associated with data breach. It secures the card’s data in the server and provides the customer with a unique token number that replaces the CC/DC details. Therefore, the next time the customer re-visits the website for a transaction, he can use the token number as a one-click payment.

These are some of the security measures used in payment gateways. If you are looking for online payment solutions practicing these security features, check out Easebuzz. It’s an online payment gateway in India that aims to make payment simple for businesses.