Previous ArticleCorrespondent banking: Are we heading towards a crisis?Next ArticleInvisible payments: a bumpy road ahead?

Are you being short changed by your payments system?

The five considerations businesses need to bear in mind when taking on a payment service provider in order to make sure they’re getting the right partner for their current and future needs.

Payments are the backbone of all businesses - both online and bricks-and-mortar retailers - without the right system in place, your organization’s revenue may not be optimized and can potentially hamper your growth.

With this in mind, it’s imperative that a payment system does what your business needs it to do, now and in the future, and this means choosing the right payment service provider (PSP). Whether it’s properly scoping your business’s payment requirements, or ensuring you have the right level of ongoing support, having the right PSP is vital to aid your future expansion aspirations.

So, what should you bear in mind when choosing a payments specialist for your business? Here are a few things to consider to help you find the right partner:

1.       Do they support merchants across all retail channels?

More and more bricks-and-mortar merchants are expanding into the digital space, offering new eTail hubs where consumers can order goods and services online. And more recently this desire to be ‘omnichannel’ and have both physical and digital presence is having the reciprocal effect on online businesses; more and more eTail natives are leveraging temporary pop-up or permanent stores to further their reach.

Partnering with a PSP that can provide smooth, reliable and seamless payment systems across both physical and digital retail channels can do more than ensure your customers have the best possible shopping experience, reducing cart abandonment and bolstering conversion rates in the process. It can also streamline your supply chain needs, saving you time and money in your day-to-day operations. 

2.       Can they offer international payments?

If your business is online and serving customers globally, you need to find a payment partner that specializes in enabling secure cross-border eCommerce in the most cost-effective and compliant manner.

You should ask if the provider offers a broad range of global payment solutions capable of processing payments in multiple local currencies. Providers with specialist fraud and risk management tools can help take the stress out of processing international payments, giving you peace of mind that your business is safe.

3.       Do they provide a wide range of payment products?

The way consumers want to pay continues to diversify, and so to cater to their needs, you must ensure your payment systems are equipped to process as broad a range of transaction methods as possible. PSPs that can offer not just card payment processing, but also handle payments via direct bank transfer, or from consumer wallets, and other alternative payment methods such as pre-paid cards and cash replacement systems, enable businesses to attract a greater number of customers and reduce cart abandonment.

Offering a wide range of payment options is particularly important for businesses selling internationally, as the diversification of online payment methods has resulted in regional payment preferences that businesses must acknowledge in order to successfully enter multiple markets.

For example, at Paysafe we offer a range of solutions that can process payments by digital wallets, as well as cards. We can also support your business in processing direct bank transfer payments by Rapid Transfer.

4.       Are they easy to integrate?

Whatever the nature of your business, you need payment solutions that are easy to integrate into your existing systems – online and offline – and that are straightforward for consumers to navigate. At the same time, you need to ensure full and complete data security to protect the confidential information of users.

With this in mind, you should consider payment providers that offer turnkey solutions designed to be simple to incorporate and integrate, while also providing a “standard” format that users will be familiar with from other sites and apps, helping to simplify the payment process.

Partnering with a smaller number of payment solution providers, or even a single solution supplier that supports the broadest range of functionalities such as Paysafe, will ease the burden of integration complexity and cost.

5.       Do they offer customized support?

Finally, you should look into the extra services offered by your potential PSP partner. Those that offer additional support in supplemental areas can add significant value to your business to help you further simplify business processes and improve the service you offer users.

There are many areas where payment partners can add value. Integration support, for instance, can help you get your payment systems up and running as efficiently as possible. PSPs that offer “tokenization”, can help you simplify recurring transactions for online customers by giving your payment systems a feature that allows users to store their payment data on a platform for future purchases.

PSPs that offer personalized, one-on-one customer service support, meanwhile, can be key to helping them enhance the payments process on their platform or website, so they continue to offer users a great service.

The key to a successful partnership

The way consumers want to pay around the world is diversifying rapidly. Whilst cash usage remains strong, innovations such as contactless payments are gaining traction in-store; whilst in the digital world, alternative payment methods such as digital wallets and online cash replacement services are growing their market share.

Having the right PSP then is vital to ensure your business has a reliable, secure payment system in place to enable your consumers to pay the way they want for their goods and services.

If you want to know how we can support your business in making the most of its payments systems, then visit our solutions page.