Alain Guillot

Life, Leadership, and Money Matters

How To Take Customer Payments Anywhere With Zero Pain

How To Take Customer Payments Anywhere With Zero Pain

When you have a side hustle, the whole point of the activity is to get paid a bit extra. After all, your regular job just doesn’t seem to offer enough. 

But there’s just one problem: you’re always fumbling for cash. You can’t really transact easily, and it’s limiting the amount of money you can make. 

Fortunately, there are ways to turn this situation around. It turns out that you can take payments anywhere these days with minimal hassle. But how? 

Add Buy-Now, Pay-Later Options

The first phase is to add some “buy now, pay later” options. The idea here is to set up services that deal with late payments while you essentially focus on doing what you love and want to do. 

For example, let’s say you use Klarna. Instead of you waiting around to get paid the money for your services, these buy now, pay later schemes create a debt with the client and pass you the money immediately. 

These setups are handy because they let you spread the cost of big-ticket items without having to accept the risk yourself. You can set up clients on payment plans, but then it is another company’s responsibility to collect the money. 

Use Subscriptions 

Another option is to use subscriptions. You could charge your clients or customers a fixed fee every month to keep you on retainer. 

For example, one option is Patreon. Here, people can pay you automatically for your time and services, allowing you to generate a consistent source of income that supplements your regular salary. 

Merchant service provider North suggests using high-quality vendors that understand the needs of your business. Subscriptions can be a powerful money-generating option, but they also require very specific products, too. 

Use QR Codes

You also want to use QR codes for seamless payment. These are handy if you want to avoid giving customers complicated instructions for what they should do next. 

QR codes are pretty easy to use. People switch on their devices, point their cameras at them, and then click the link that appears. After that, they go to a new website and add their payment information to complete the purchase. 

Again, there are all sorts of payment systems now available that use QR codes. These are ideal for physical products and services. 

Offer Bank Transfers

You can also offer bank transfers. These are a hassle for customers to set up, but once they have you as a payee, it becomes much easier for them. 

Bank transfers have some advantages. But, of course, they don’t allow customers to use their credit or debit cards. Plus, it requires that they trust you completely because recovering their funds can be challenging. 


Bank transfers can work well for larger transactions but not smaller ones. However, the security isn’t as high, so it is something you may only be able to do with customers you trust. 

Accept Credit Cards

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Another thing you’ll want to consider is accepting credit cards with mobile readers. These let you take payments in a post-cash society, making your life significantly easier. 

The problems with cash are growing by the year. It’s risky to carry around, most people don’t use much of it, and many consumers now prefer their credit cards. Because of this, it is becoming essential for everyone, including those who love side hustles, to accept this payment method. 

These hand-held card reader machines are far easier to use and connect digitally to the payment cloud, so there aren’t any wires to worry about. 

Set Up A Digital Wallet

Another way to do something similar is to set up a digital wallet. These allow people to pay you just by tapping their phones. 

This option also makes sense because people bring their phones with them everywhere, even if they don’t carry a wallet. Many store their cards on their phones, meaning they can pay you any amount, whether they have cash or not. 

On top of this, many people trust their phones and card readers more than other digital payments methods. As such, you may find that you have even more customers this way. 

Use A Payments App

Lastly, if you’re feeling really clever, you can use a payment app for your side hustle. These make it simple to get paid, but don’t have the same flaws as traditional bank transfers. 

For example, you can use e-wallets to make online payments. These will often verify the business you’re paying. 

So there you have it: some of the methods you can use to take payment for your side hustle without the usual pain. 


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