Integrated payments: a game changer for sports platforms

Sports software platforms have evolved over the past several years and the industry continues to accelerate rapidly. According to a recent report, the industry is predicted to develop at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.4% between 2018 and 2025. More and more sports platforms are being developed to bring efficiencies to sports organizations, changing the way they manage teams, schedules, tournaments, camps communications and much more. To remain a competitive player in this market, it’s critical for sports platforms to continuously enhance their software and adapt to ever-changing consumer expectations. One of the best ways to scale a sports platform is to integrate the right payment technologies.

Integrated payments eliminate complexity

Payments are a major pain point for many of the participants in a sports organization ecosystem, including coaches, referees and parents. Many organizations still collect cash, accept checks and shuffle paperwork. Coaches already have a busy schedule and in many cases coach in their free time as a hobby, so the last thing they want to do is spend time chasing down parents for payments and making trips to the bank. These time-consuming, manual processes cause real headaches for those involved and hurt organizations due to missed or late payments, or people dropping out of the organization due to the hassle of managing this process.

When sports platforms integrate payments, organizations can easily accept payments online or on the go – whether they are on the field, in the stands or even in the parking lot. They can easily track transactions, access reporting, and gain greater visibility into their bottom line. And all other aspects of the sports software, such as registration, schedules, and communications, are combined with payments into a single platform, which creates a seamless experience and enables users to simply pay registration fees, purchase uniforms and take advantage of all other features within one system.

Streamlining the payment process is important, and this starts with onboarding. Every sports organization wants an easy, quick onboarding process without having to deal with the complexity traditional merchant account applications. When considering a payments partner, it’s smart to seek out providers who can build customized, automated and white-label onboarding tailored to each platform. This way sports organizations will have an effortless and consistent enrollment process, allowing them to easily start accepting payments immediately.

Payout flexibility is key for sports platforms

Different sports organizations, such as youth leagues, club sports, camps and non-profits, have different payment needs. Some payments need to be routed to the sports organization, whereas a portion may need to ultimately reach a coach, a referee or a state or federal sports association. Your payments partner can provide technology to help you automate this process.

Choice of Payment Method and How to Pay

Sports organizations also need various payment methods and mediums to meet the needs of their customers. Look for a partner with a variety of reliable payment technologies so that registration can be made online, in app, by phone or in person. Customers also want to pay using their preferred payment methods so look for a payment partner that offers cards, bank transfer, electronic checks and mobile wallets like Apple Pay® and Google Pay®.

Scale globally with payments

The sports management industry is quickly growing across the globe and more platforms are expanding internationally. A payments company who supports multiple currencies and acquires transactions locally to optimize conversion and keep payment acceptance costs down is important. Each region has their own compliance regulations and a payments provider with global expertise can guide developers through these specific requirements.

Stay ahead of the curve

As the sports management industry continues to grow, now is the time to prioritize integrated payments and find a reliable payments partner. Don’t let complicated payments prevent you from getting in the game.