Selling on eBay has been the go-to option for making additional or full-time income for many worldwide. Becoming a seller on the platform can be remarkably lucrative, with the average seller making around $35,000 (£26,688) per year. However, despite this, eBay takes a lot in processing fees, making this annual figure less impressive. But luckily, open banking payments can help. 

Depending on your product selling category, you could pay upwards of 12.8% + 0.30p in fees. Therefore, by only considering the percentage fee of 12.8 per cent, the average annual earnings get reduced to $29,890 (£22,792). 

Undoubtedly, this reduces profit significantly, and it isn't only something eBay requires for their services. Similar fees can be found on Gumtree, Amazon, Facebook Marketplace, etc. But using open banking solutions can reduce this fee to as low as 0.3 per cent, which is astonishing. 

How open banking can be used for eBay sellers

After reading the above, I'm sure you're eager to discover how you can potentially save 12.5% and 0.30p on each sale on eBay. If you're a marketplace seller, many different payment solutions are available to buyers. Depending on which platform you're on, it could range from Apple Pay, PayPal, Stripe, or even their own payment processing solution. However, each will have at least a 10% or more transaction fee for selling goods. 

To reduce these costs significantly, you can consider open banking payments. But the only problem with this is that it's a third-party software that cannot be embedded in online marketplaces. Therefore, you need to re-divert the buyer to either an eCommerce store or an in-person transaction. 

Because of this, to gain the ability to receive cheap payment processing, you must develop a technique that transfers the seller away from the platform. With the likes of communication and in-person sales, achieving this is relatively easy. For more information about how you can accomplish this, see the below options: 

Best open banking solutions for eBay sellers 

For those who understand the concept of open banking, you'll know that there are many solutions. Open banking isn't a single product; it's a system that allows third-party access to financial data through application programming interfaces (APIs). With this, we can broaden our financial services and not only be stuck with the large banks. 

As there's such a variety of solutions, it can be challenging to pick one or a few. However, to make this easier, see the below ideas. Here we recommend the best options for lowering payment processing costs on marketplaces like eBay. 

Payment URL

One idea that works superbly is payment URLs. These are excellent because they can be sent through popular communication applications like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or via text. Undoubtedly, a seller and buyer will have access to at least one of these communication channels, making it the ideal solution. 

The concept behind payment URLs is straightforward yet effective. Using a third-party open banking program allows you to get cheap payment processing by generating a link on their platform and sending it via one of the mentioned channels. From here, the receiver will click on the link, fill in their payment details, and the money will automatically be deposited into the seller's bank account. 

Another excellent perk to using a payment URL is that it isn't location-dependent. Therefore, if a buyer lives far away or wants to buy something else once they visit you, a new payment URL can be created and sent to the buyer. 

We highly recommend this to anyone selling on a marketplace because it's a simplistic way of paying somebody. By doing this, payment for eBay sellers becomes more profitable. 

Payment QR code 

Another way of payment for eBay sellers wanting to use open banking is through a QR code. Since QR codes were invented in 1994, they've adapted to our digitalised world and are now used everywhere. Because of their functionality and ability to improve user experience, around 86.66% of smartphone owners have scanned a QR code at least once in their life. 

Undoubtedly, it's a lot. Therefore, although it can seem somewhat high-tech, almost everyone understands the concept behind these square images. Because people know and understand this, they also feel more inclined to transfer funds this way. 

The way this works is that you'll create a unique QR code that's linked to an open banking payment gateway. Once created, the buyer will scan the QR code and get redirected to a payment screen. When the user is here, they'll be able to easily authorise the payment via their banking app and transfer the funds instantly. 

eCommerce 

The last method to obtain cheap payment processing with open banking is installing a plugin onto an eCommerce store checkout. But if you're selling on a marketplace, this might be more difficult to use than the other options. 

That's because you'll need to somehow transfer the potential buyer to a website where they can process the payment. Nowadays, practically all online marketplaces have bots that analyse private messaging for specific keywords that somebody would say to redirect them to another website. Therefore, you'll want to be careful using this method. 

Buying or selling outside of eBay and other marketplaces 

Now that you know about the available open banking solutions that could reduce your payment processing fees, I'm sure you're eager to start implementing them. However, you'll want to read the below before considering this: 

Using third-party payment processors on all marketplaces is forbidden and can get your account banned. Therefore, it's recommended only to perform open banking when customers visit you to see the product. From here, you can either redirect them to a website, create a payment QR code, or even send a link. 

Conclusion 

After reading the above, you should have a broader understanding of how to  decrease the enormous payment processing fees presented to eBay sellers. Suppose you're looking for an affordable solution that offers 0.3% transaction fees. In that case, we recommend checking out our open banking solution, Fena.