How to Collect Payments Securely Through Online Forms?

Currently, businesses and individuals are increasingly dependent on online forms to collect payments. Whether a freelancer, a nonprofit organization, or an e-commerce entrepreneur, the ability to accept payments securely via online forms can streamline your operations and boost your credibility. However, with simplicity, comes the responsibility to handle payment information involving sensitive data, which, if mishandled, can lead to breaches, fraud, and loss of customer trust.

That’s why using secure, compliant, and user-friendly tools is essential. In this blog, we will guide you through key aspects of securely collecting payments through online forms and how Rebolt helps you do it effortlessly.

Why Need to Collect Payments Through Online Forms?

Collecting payments through online web forms provides you and your customers great flexibility and simplicity. Whether you’re a freelancer, small business, educational institution, or non-profit, payment forms streamline the transaction process without needing an expensive e-commerce website.

Benefits include:

• Faster Transactions: Customers can make payments directly through a form without navigating away.
• Custom Experiences: Add branding, logic, and custom fields to suit different payment scenarios.
• Automation: Integrated email confirmations, notifications, and analytics reduce manual tracking.
• Wider Reach: Mobile-responsive forms can accept payments from anywhere, anytime.

By integrating forms with different secure payment gateways, you can manage everything in one place. Also, collecting user information and payment details together in a seamless experience.

Important Security Factors with Online Payments

When money is involved, cybersecurity risks obviously occur. It’s important to be aware of the common risks associated with online payment collection so you can take preventive steps.

Top concerns include:

• Fraud and Fake Forms: Hackers may copy your forms to mislead users for entering credit card information.
• Data Breaches: When sensitive information is not secured or stored properly, it becomes exposed.
• Fraudulent Payments: Bots or malicious attackers may attempt fake transactions.
• Non-Compliance Penalties: Storing or processing payment data without proper protocols (like PCI-DSS) can result in legal trouble.

To protect your customers, your form tool must prioritise data security, make use of secure gateways, and enable encrypted communication.

Key Features for Secure Payment Forms

Not all form builders are created equal. If you're collecting money, your form tool should must include the following essential features:

SSL Encryption: Ensures that the data entered in your form is transferred securely. Always check for HTTPS in the URL.

PCI-Compliant Payment Gateways: Choose payment gateways that are certified under PCI-DSS standards, like Stripe, PayPal, or Razorpay.

Data Tokenization: Sensitive information should never be stored in raw format. Tokenization converts payment information into safe tokens.

CAPTCHA or Bot Prevention: Use CAPTCHA to prevent spam or automated transactions.

Form Expiry & Password Protection: For more important transactions, set the form to expire after a specified date or restrict access with a password.

Choosing the Right Form Builder, and Why Not Google Forms are Secure?

When we talk about online, free and user-friendly form builders, only one name comes to everyone's mind and that is Google Forms. Because Google Forms is very easy and helpful for all businesses. However, even though it offers a lot of free and useful features, it is not the best tool for creating payment forms.

Let’s check Limitations of Google Forms

1. Lack of Built-in Payment Processing

Google Forms wasn't built to handle payments. If you're collecting fees, donations, or selling products, you'll need to connect third-party tools manually - increasing setup time and the chance of something breaking.

2. Lack of Additional Payment-Specific Features

There are no options for features like recurring payments, promo code handling, dynamic pricing, tax calculations, or invoice creation. This limits its use to businesses or organizations with more than basic payment needs.

3. Limited Security Measures

Google Forms collects data securely via HTTPS, but when it comes to handling payment details, it doesn't offer PCI-compliance or other strong security needed to process financial data directly. Since it doesn't actually process payments, users must rely on third-party services to manage it securely.

4. Basic Analytics – Tracking and Reporting Capabilities

Google Forms offers very little analytics - simple response counts and pie charts. There is no revenue tracking, customer journey insights, drop-off rates, or real-time dashboards that are crucial for optimizing payment funnels.

5. Limited Customization Options

Design customization in Google Forms is very basic - there's no control over colors and fonts, layout for payment forms, branding, or mobile optimization. This results in an unprofessional or inconsistent experience for end users.

For these reasons, Google Forms is not the best choice, therefore we have given a Google form alternative, Rebolt Forms, it is a no-code form builder (means that no one needs any type of coding knowledge).

It gives benefits like drag and drop form design approach, advanced functionality, easy integrations, and best security options to make your form powerful and dynamic.

How to Create Payments Form Using Rebolt?

Step 1: Sign up and Create an Account

Click here to sign-up for free and create your account. (If you have already log-in your rebolt account!)

Step 2: Create/Select a Form

Once you've successfully created an account, you'll be navigated Rebolt dashboard.

Here, you can create your form by starting with a blank page and building your own form, or you can select a template.

Step 3: Adding the Payment Field

When you've filled out all of the necessary and important form fields, Add the Payments Field, from the Others section in the builder dashboard.

You can now view it like this, which is shown in the image below.

Now, specify the name you want for your payments section. You may also provide a brief description or error message.

Step 4: Connect the Payment Gateway

Next, you can select the Payment Service Provider like (Stripe, PayPal, etc.)

You will be redirected to the Payments Integration page.

Now, simply finish the procedure by carefully filling out all of the required details.

Once it’s completed, your Rebolt Payment Form will be integrated with your chosen payment platform. 

Step 5: Preview, Test your Form, and Publish

Just before publishing your payment form, you should preview and test its functionality to ensure the best customer experience.

When you are 100% satisfied with design, you can publish and share it with links. You can also embed the form code on your website or share the form's URL with customers.

Step 6 : Track and Collect Payments

When you start receiving payments, you may track and manage them using your Rebolt analytic dashboard. The Analytics part of the dashboard displays and allows you to analyse the overall performance of your form, such as the number of views, submissions, and so on.

Finally, cool down & collect unlimited payments.

Conclusion

Collecting payments through online forms doesn’t have to be risky, especially if you follow the right steps, use trusted tools, and follow security best practices. With Rebolt, you get a powerful, easy-to-use, and secure platform to collect payments, manage submissions, and build trust with your customers.

Now, start automating your payment process and watch your business expand with Rebolt!