Приём оплаты inside the Telegram bot has long ceased to be an experiment. Today it is a working channel in which the customer selects a product, pays and receives confirmation without leaving the messenger. The only question is which payment method is right for your business: an individual, a company with a current account or a service where the average check is above a couple of thousand rubles.
There aren't really one or two ways. Everyone has their own restrictions, fees, speed of enrollment and legal nuances. If you choose "like everyone else", you can get a headache with checks, refunds or simply lose some customers who are inconvenient to pay.
In this article, we will analyze five working options: payment by card through a payment provider, the internal currency of the messenger, invoicing for legal entities, installments, and prepayment. Let's show where each of them wins, where they lose and how to combine them wisely.
Payment by card through a payment provider
The most familiar scenario for the buyer: the bot issues a form, the client enters the card data, the money goes to the seller's account, the order is automatically confirmed. All this happens inside the widget or directly in the dialogue with the bot, without going to a third-party site.
The connection goes through a payment provider — an intermediary between you and the bank. He takes over the work with card data, verification of payments and generation of checks. You just have to choose a provider and configure the script.
This method suits almost everyone: retail, services, delivery, online courses. Средний чек — Any, there are practically no restrictions on the amount. The commission of the provider usually starts from a couple of percent and depends on the turnover and category of business.
When to choose?
- you sell to individuals and most of them are convenient to pay by card;
- the instant result is important — the money on the account almost immediately after payment;
- you need receipts and automatic document management, especially if you work with a labeled product or mandatory fiscalization.
Things to remember: to connect, you will need a contract with a provider and, as a rule, a company registration or self-employed status. This method requires the most organizational steps, but also closes the widest range of tasks.
Internal currency of the messenger
Telegram has its own currency for digital goods and subscriptions. The user buys it from the messenger, and you receive payment in this currency. In fact, this is an alternative to accepting a card for digital products: subscriptions, donations, access to a closed channel, one-time purchases of digital content.
There is no separate commission to the provider, and the currency itself is tied to the user's balance. For the client, this is a very simple way: a couple of clicks, and the subscription is active. For you, there are minimal technical difficulties, because all the mechanics are already built into the messenger.
When to choose?
- you sell digital content, subscriptions, tickets to online events;
- your audience actively uses paid messenger features and understands what it is;
- it is important for you to remove all barriers: you do not need a contract with the bank or a separate form of payment.
Restrictions: this currency is sharpened for digital goods. You can't use it to pay for physical goods or services outside the messenger. If you have a mixed catalog, you need a second method — for example, payment by card.
For our customers, we most often use just such a bundle: digital goods and subscriptions go through the internal currency, physical ones — through the payment provider. We wrote more about this bundle in the article about the catalog and payment in one window, and here we will analyze the logic of choice.
If legal entity:
If your customers are companies, payment by card is inconvenient for them: the accounting department needs an account, a contract and closing documents. In this case, the bot can generate an invoice, send details, and accept payment confirmation.
Technically, the scheme is simple: the client leaves a request, the bot sends an invoice with details and the amount, after the receipt of money, the manager or automatic notification confirms the order. In the widget, you can show the payment status and immediately issue documents.
When to choose?
- you work with the B2B segment: corporate orders, wholesale deliveries, business services;
- the average check is measured in tens or hundreds of thousands of rubles;
- post-payment or deferred payment is important — the invoice allows you not to rush the client with the transfer.
Things to remember: automation is incomplete here. Payment comes by bank details, and the bot can not always track it at the same second. Usually, the order is confirmed either upon notification from the bank or after manual verification by the manager. But you close the key need — documents for accounting.
Installment plan
Installment is a way to increase the average check by reducing the load on the client's wallet. A person does not pay the full amount at once, but in parts: once a month or once every two weeks. For business, it is a tool that turns "expensive" into "convenient".
In the Telegram bot, installments are implemented through integration with a specialized service. The bot checks the possibility of installments, sends the terms to the client, after approval, fixes the order and marks it as paid. The client makes further payments directly to the installment service, you receive money on schedule.
When to choose?
- you sell goods or services with an average check at which the customer begins to doubt;
- your audience is young professionals and families, for whom it is more comfortable to pay in stages;
- you want to increase conversions in expensive categories: furniture, appliances, training, repairs.
Restrictions: installments require a business agreement with a service provider and are verified by the client. There is a small percentage of rejections, and not all product categories are suitable. In addition, installments increase the total cost for the client, so the conditions should be transparent.
Prepayment and Postpayment
Not all purchases are convenient to pay instantly. Sometimes a customer needs to first confirm an order with a manager, coordinate a delivery, or check availability. In this case, the bot can fix the prepayment, book a product or service and, after the final settlement, mark the order as closed.
Prepayment is a way to reduce the risk of canceling. This is especially important for individual services: photo shoots, repairs, consultations, when the master reserves time for a particular client. Postpayment, on the contrary, gives the client freedom: he pays only after receiving the result.
When to choose prepayment:
- you are working on a record and it is important to confirm the client's intention;
- you purchase goods for a specific order and want to compensate for the risks;
- you want to reduce the number of "empty" applications and not waste the manager's time.
When to choose a postpayment:
- you have loyal customers whom you trust;
- you work in a segment where post-payment is a market rule (for example, corporate services with a contract).
In both cases, the bot automatically records the payment status and sends reminders if the payment is delayed. This reduces the burden on managers and makes the process transparent for the client.
How to combine methods with each other
There is no one-size-fits-all solution. One business operates only with a map, the other needs all five ways at the same time. Here are some practical schemes.
Retail store: card through the provider for physical goods, the internal currency of the messenger for subscriptions and digital goods. Optionally — installments for expensive positions.
B2B service an account for a legal entity as the main method, postpayment for regular customers with a contract, prepayment for new customers.
Service Studio: prepayment for recording, card for additional options, invoice for corporate clients.
Online School subscriptions through domestic currency, one-time courses — by card, corporate training — on account.
The main rule: the more payment methods you give, the higher the chance that the client will not leave at the "how to pay" stage. But at the same time, each method must be configured correctly: with its own script, statuses and notifications.
So, what to start the selection with?
In order not to get confused in the options, start from three questions.
Who is your customer An individual or a company? It depends on whether you need an account for a legal entity or have enough cards.- What is the average check? If it is low, the cards and the local currency will close 90 percent of the tasks. If it is high, consider installments and an invoice.
- What do you sell? Digital or physical product, one-time service or subscription. It depends on which methods to connect in the first place.
After that, you can choose a specific provider, agree on conditions and discuss scenarios. In our practice, most often they start with one method — cards through the provider — and gradually add the rest as they grow.
Final
Accepting payment in the Telegram bot is not about "turning on and forgetting", but about setting up the correct bundle for your model. Payment by card closes most scenarios for individuals, the internal currency of the messenger is ideal for digital goods, the account for legal entities needs B2B, installments help to sell more expensive, and prepayment and postpayment manage risks and trust.
No need to connect everything at once. Start with the method that will close the main flow of customers, and expand as needed. The main thing is that the client at each stage has a choice and an understandable scenario: he opens the bot, chooses the product, pays in a convenient way, and receives confirmation. Then the payment ceases to be a bottleneck and begins to work for sales.
If you think which set of payment methods is right for your business, and want to discuss a bunch of scenarios, write to us — we will analyze the problem and offer a specific solution: https://botservice.biz.
