Payment methods overview

Choose a payment method group based on the customer experience, market, and billing model you need to support. To compare payment methods in the commonly transacted countries documented by Cleverbridge, see Find payment options by country.

Method group	Typical use
Cards	Broad coverage for one-time purchases and recurring payments.
Digital wallets	Faster checkout through a stored wallet account or device.
Real-time payments	Bank payments with rapid authorization and confirmation.
Direct debit	Authorized collection from a customer's bank account, often for recurring billing.
Bank transfers	Account-to-account payments initiated by the customer.
Offline payments	Checks, invoices, and purchase-order workflows.
Other payment methods	Local or specialized methods that do not fit the main payment groups.
Guidelines for customers	Shareable instructions that help customers complete a payment.

The payment-method articles explain availability, processing, renewals, and operational considerations from the client perspective. When a customer needs payment instructions, share the matching article from Guidelines for customers.

What to compare between payment methods

A payment method is more than the option displayed at checkout. Review these points before deciding whether a method fits your customer journey and billing model:

Question	Why it matters
When is the method displayed?	Country, currency, transaction type, device or browser, checkout configuration, and account setup can all affect presentation. The applicable method article describes the confirmed Cleverbridge conditions.
What must the customer do?	A customer might complete the payment in checkout, authorize in a wallet or banking app, follow a redirect, or pay later using separate instructions.
When is the order paid?	Customer authentication, payment authorization, payment confirmation, settlement, and delivery are separate events. Their order and timing depend on the method.
Can it be used for renewals?	Automatic renewal requires a reusable payment authorization, such as a stored card, billing agreement, or mandate. Some methods instead require a new customer-initiated payment for every renewal.
What happens after a failure or refund?	Retry, return, dispute, and refund behavior is method-specific. Use the applicable method article rather than applying card behavior to another payment type.

Do not treat successful customer authentication or a bank's acceptance of an instruction as proof that the Cleverbridge order is paid. Use the Cleverbridge payment result, order status, and applicable notification to determine when the order can be fulfilled.

Paid order notifications

The PaidOrderNotification format does not change based on the payment method. Continue to use the standard notification fields and your configured notification processing for card, bank-based, wallet, and premium payment methods.

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Explore this section

Credit cards

Bank cards remain one of the most popular methods for online payments.

Digital wallets

Digital wallets are payment applications that securely store multiple payment methods-such as credit and debit cards-in one place.

Real-time payments

Offer bank payments with rapid authorization and confirmation through supported local payment methods.

Direct debit

Compare BACS and SEPA Direct Debit payment flows, authorization, processing, and recovery behavior.

Bank transfers

Compare ACH, SEPA, SWIFT, and Zengin bank-transfer flows, payment matching, and delivery behavior.

Offline payments

Compare checks and purchase-order workflows, including review, payment confirmation, and delivery timing.

Other payment methods

Explore the guides and reference information available for Other payment methods.

Guidelines for customers

Explore the guides and reference information available for Guidelines for customers.

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