Payment Methods for Online Shoppers in Pakistan

Online shopping in Pakistan has come a long way. There was a time when people could only their credit cards to shop and not a lot of us had access to foreign brands because of the hassle of payments. But all that started to change, when emerged the trend of online shopping and it is raved about even today.

But with so many sites out there and not to forget 1000's of Face Book pages, it has become rather a point of consideration whether to trust a seller or not. As I too have had some bad experience with online shopping, I now don't place an order without proper thinking or unless I'm given some flexible payment options. So which ones can we avail in Pakistan and which ones are reliable? Read on to find out.

1) Cash on Delivery: Mine and a lot of other people's, I'm sure, most trusted and preferred method of payment. Just place an order and pay when the goods reach your provided address. This service can be provided free or the receiver is asked to pay delivery charges to the courier guy. Reliability: High

Tip: Make sure you are present at your provided address to receive your order or ask someone else to receive it for you. Failing to do so can cause misunderstanding between you and the seller.

2) Online Deposit: Requires the buyer to deposit cash into the seller's provided account number through the specified bank. This service is not free. You'll have to deposit online transfer fee (different for different banks) along with the cash deposit, otherwise the bank will deduct the charges from your payment. When the seller has received the payment, the order is dispatched. Reliability: Medium

3) ATM Transfer: I've never used this method but it requires money transfer directly from an ATM machine. Make sure you proper details of the receiving account which you'll need to input and a fee will be charges against your card. This is a sensitive method though. One wrong punch and you might end up with a bug. Reliability: Low

4) Easy Paisa: If there's no COD facility I go for Easy Paisa. The seller provide his/her cnic number and cell phone number to which the money will be transferred. The buyer is required to submit his/her cnic copy and cell number. When the transaction is completed, the buyer and seller receive messages. The buyer additionally receives a payment slip with a code mentioned on it, which the seller needs in order to redeem money from an Easy Paisa shop. After the seller has been given the code, the order is dispatched. Easy paisa is not a free service and every account has a transaction limit of Rs. 15000/- per month. Similar services include UBL Omni, Timepey etc. Reliability: Medium

Tip: If you're paying to a seller with a lot of customers or to a company/brand, make sure to ask them about their remaining account limit before submitting payment. Saves time and hassle of visiting the shop.

5) Credit Cards and Debit Cards: For general transactions, payments with CC and DB cards are rarely made online in Pakistan. Reliability: Medium

Precautions: Make sure you have proper seller info and provide your proper details whenever you're making a payment, because a problem can arise at either side. And only buy from sellers you trust or ask friends or other people for recommendation.

I hope this post was of help to you. xoxo...