Wondering how to accept credit card payments online for free? We're happy to say it's possible with Formidable Forms Lite! Just follow these simple steps.
Approximate read time: 5 minutes
We've all heard the saying, "It takes money to make money." Well, not anymore.
๐ฐFormidable Forms's free plugin lets you collect online payments!๐ฐ
That's right, you no longer need to pay for a premium plugin to process credit and debit cards. So you can start accepting payments while keeping costs to a minimum.
Pretty sweet, don't you think?
But before we show you how to set up online payments for free, there's a common question we want to address first. ๐
How can I accept online payments without fees?
As much as we wish it were possible, there's no way to accept online payments without any fees. That's because credit card companies like Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express charge transaction fees to process payments. ๐ณ
Plus, all the most popular payment gateways, including Stripe, PayPal, and Authorize.net, charge fees, too.
You're probably thinking, "But wait a minute, I thought you said you'd show us how to accept credit card payments online for free. What gives?!" ๐คจ
Well, we mean the payment plugin is free to download and install. So there's no upfront cost to you!
Our plugin just charges a small fee on each transaction.
It's the perfect option for non-profits and small businesses who don't want to pay hefty monthly fees for processing online payments.
Now that we know how our free WordPress credit card payment plugin works, let's get it on your website and help you make money online! ๐ธ
How to accept credit card payments online for free in WordPress
Step 1: Install and activate Formidable Forms Lite
To get started, log into your WordPress admin. From the sidebar, select Plugins โ Add New.
Search for "Formidable Forms," click Install Now, and finally Activate the plugin.
You can also manually download the free payment plugin and then upload it to your WordPress site.
Step 2: Connect your website to Stripe
Now that you have Formidable Forms on your site, head to Formidable โ Global Settings โ Stripe tab.
Here, select to Use the Stripe test mode while we get things set up. Then, hit the blue button to Connect to Stripe.
This opens up the Formidable Forms Stripe integration so you can log into your Stripe account.
Don't have a Stripe merchant account yet? No worries, the wizard will guide you through the steps to make one. ๐งโโ๏ธ
Once you've logged in or created your account, your website will be connected to Stripe!
Yep, it's really that quick and easy!
Step 3: Create your payment form
To accept credit card payments online for free, you need to create a payment form for your site.
But don't worry, that's part of what makes Formidable the best payment plugin around โ it's actually a powerful WordPress form builder, too! ๐๏ธ And you can even automatically generate PDF invoices from forms, too!
Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though, and focus on making your form!
In the back-end of your website, go to Formidable โ Forms. Then hit + Add New.
Select Blank Form to make your free online payment form from scratch.
Don't want to start from the ground up? Pre-built payment form templates are available exclusively to Formidable Pro users.
Next, use the drag-and-drop form builder to add a Payment field to your form. In addition, we want to add a Text field for the customer's first and last name, as well as an Email field for customer information.
After that, add any other fields you want to your form, and when you're finished, click Update to save. ๐พ
Step 4: Configure your form to collect payments
Last but not least, let's get your form accepting payments!
Under the Settings tab at the top of your screen, select Actions & Notifications โ Collect a Payment.
Here's where you can customize the payment description and amount and choose your currency and payment frequency.
โ๏ธ For a complete guide to configuring payments, check out our knowledge base article.
Hit Update again to save your changes, and ta-da! You're ready to start collecting online payments for free! ๐
All that's left is to publish your form on whichever page or post you choose. Just add the Formidable Forms block in the WordPress editor, pick your payment form from the dropdown, and Publish your page.
What's the easiest way to accept card payments online for free?
The easiest way to accept card payments online is by using Formidable Forms Lite to collect Stripe payments on WordPress. But it isn't only debit and credit card payments you can accept online for free with Formidable Forms Lite...
Take your online payment forms up a level
With this one free plugin, you get access to 15+ Stripe payment options for your online store or subscription site. ๐ฒ
You can also offer customers a wide range of payment methods, including:
- ๐ฑ Digital wallets and mobile payment apps - Google Pay, Cash App, Apple Pay, AliPay, and more
- ๐ฆ Bank account transfers and direct debits - ACH payments, iDEAL, SEPA
- ๐ Buy-now-pay-later payment processors - Klarna, Afterpay / Clearpay
And all it takes is one click in your Stripe account to add all these extra payment services.
Looking for lower transaction fees for online payments?
If you're getting tons of transactions on your site, did you know it could save you money to upgrade from our free plugin to Formidable Forms Pro?
Our Business and Elite premium form maker plans have no transaction fee so you can keep a bigger piece of the pie! ๐ฅง And who doesn't want more pie?
Click the button below to check out our Pro plans ๐
For more eCommerce tips and tricks, check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
Learn more about accepting online payments
How To Set Up WordPress Recurring Payments [Stripe & PayPal]
7 Best WordPress Payment Plugins To Boost Your Bottom Line
How To Add Cash App to Your Website (In Under 5 Minutes!)Did you know that Formidable Forms is the best form builder for WordPress? If you aren't already, get started with our free plugin or upgrade to our full-featured WordPress form maker to ramp up your website!
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