Payments
Cash on Delivery vs Online Payment: What Should Your Store Offer?
Cash on Delivery remains popular with Bangladeshi shoppers, while online payments are growing. Offering the right mix affects your conversion rate, cash flow and returns.
· 5 min read
Why customers choose Cash on Delivery
- Trust — they pay only after seeing the parcel
- Familiarity — many first-time online buyers prefer it
- No need for a card or payment account
The costs of COD for sellers
- Cash arrives later, after the courier settles
- Refused parcels cost you delivery both ways
- More manual reconciliation of collected payments
Why add online payments
Online payments bring money in at the time of order and reduce refused deliveries. They also suit customers who prefer not to handle cash. In Bangladesh, a hosted gateway such as SSLCommerz lets customers pay with the methods enabled on your gateway account.
A balanced approach
- Offer both COD and online payment on standard delivery
- Consider online-only payment for express or distant delivery options
- Make it clear at checkout which options are available for the chosen delivery method
- Never mark an online order as paid until the gateway confirms it
How Ecomesta handles this
Ecomesta supports Cash on Delivery, SSLCommerz and Stripe. COD is allowed or blocked per shipping method, and online payments are validated with the provider on the server before an order is marked paid.