According to the 2021 payments recap, growing numbers of consumers explored different payment processing methods in recent years. And businesses are shifting to digital platforms to meet that demand.
As the demand for new payment gateways grew, so did the gateway platforms in the market. So, how to make a decision for choosing a payment processing method that’s a good fit for your business?
In this blog post, we have outlined the followings.
- 9 Questions to ask when considering new alternative payment processing method
- Digital payment methods – a new reality
- Will this be a competitive edge for business leaders?
- Wrapping up
Nine Questions to Ask When Considering a New Payment Processing Method
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Does the gateway support currencies and is accessible in the countries where you do business?
In most cases, a payment gateway supports transactions to certain countries, payment methods, and currencies. Therefore, it is critical to ask if the gateway you are choosing supports the countries and currencies where your business is established.
Global businesses, specifically, may want to choose multiple gateways which enable them to route transactions based on their geographical location.
Having a second gateway will enable you to conduct A/B split tests to identify which has higher approval rates based on critical criteria relevant to your business.
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Will the Payment System be Easy to Implement?
Implementing a comprehensive and complete payment system is usually an expensive and timely process, so you must ask if the system is easy to implement.
Make sure the payment system is easy to use for you and the customer sign-up process is seamless.
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What can business expectations be in terms of the onboarding experience?
Not all gateways are created on the same platform. Some of the key points you should ask while considering a gateway are:
- How fast is their process to onboard new customers? Ask them how long is the process to go live and what steps are involved in setting up a new merchant account.
- What kind of DIY tools do they provide, and what capabilities do those tools consist of? Smooth and quick customer service is a must-have, but the option to self-serve can be a great advantage. Explore what self-serve options they offer to answer basic questions or information.
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How Good is Their Customer Support?
Credit cards and other types of payment processes have multiple benefits and challenges for both on the business’ and gateway side.
When resolving payment issues, a gateway’s customer support team comes into play to identify and resolve errors. It’s important to gain knowledge on how the team will work with you to solve issues, how accessible and responsive they are, and what policies they put in practice. When considering a gateway, a few questions to consider are:
- What kinds of support does the gateway offer? For example, do they offer chatbot or phone support? Or are they only answered via email? Quick and smooth gateway support has a direct impact on how quickly problems or issues can be resolved.
- What options are there to track open issue status? Similar to the above, having an easy route to determine the status of an issue eliminates delays and bad customer experience. Also, what are the escalation options if an issue isn’t resolved on time or the response is not satisfactory? Having suitable levels of escalation is critical when the gateway is unable to resolve an issue on time.
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What does their service cost? What are their terms of service and other additional fees (if any) ?
Price is an essential consideration in any type of business that ensures the quality of service. Fees are another important criterion while choosing the right gateway. Different gateways will have different fee structures which might include fixed fees, monthly fees per transaction, variable fees based on the transaction amount, and extra charges for activities like international payments, chargebacks, and currency conversions.
Whether you’re thinking of collaborating with one or multiple gateways, you should ask for a complete fee and charges from several gateways to analyze exact gateway’s fees according to business requirements.
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How Secure is their Payment Process?
Carrying out secure business payments means you have to collaborate with the right provider that could ensure your customer’s payments are protected and data processing is secure. The payment method should incorporate fraud prevention tools to prevent both the merchant and customer from cybercrime.
Indirect settlements whereby the customer’s payment is transacted through a third-party platform before being credited into your account can also increase the risk of not getting paid on time.
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How Smooth is it to Switch Providers?
For some reasons like expanding business globally or relocation to a different geo-location, how easy is it to switch to a different gateway? Terms of policies, the payment processing structure, and contractual requirements are all subject to change. In case your gateway fails to achieve your business needs, will the process be easier for you to switch providers without facing any challenges in terms of paying bills and collecting revenues?
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What are the integration options?
For a subscription business, it is critical to choose a payment gateway that can be integrated with their checkout pages and billing system. Many different technologies are there that support such types of integration options. So do confirm if the payment gateway you’re considering can support the integration technology you prefer.
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What do They Offer When it comes to Credit Card Portability?
For expanding business or moving to another country, a business may want or need to switch to a different gateway. In such a situation, one needs to export their credit card data from their previous gateway.
This is when it is extremely critical to put a gateway’s credit card data portability processes and policies in place. It will help in mitigating the risk of breach of sensitive information while exporting the data from payment gateways.
In most cases, such processes take months to schedule and cost a good amount of thousands of dollars as professional services fees. Also, the business will lose access to their sensitive data that will need to be reconfigured.
Therefore, do ask them what support or tools they offer to import and export customer and credit card information. You should also find out if there are any hidden charges or fees involved in this process and the duration of the process execution and completion.
Digital Payment Methods- A New Reality
The dominance of technology has accelerated digital payments and influenced consumers to choose cards and digital payments over cash payments. Around 45% of consumers often use e- wallets, net banking, and credit and debit cards to make payments in the year 2020. This shift in payment method for b2b businesses will rise to 200 billion transactions by 2025, Capgemini estimates.
According to McKinsey & Company, 82 percent of Americans using digital payments methods, such as browser or in-app online platforms, in-store checkout using an e-wallet and, or QR code, and credit card processing payments in 2021 exceed last year’s 78 percent.
Will This Be a Competitive Edge for Business Leaders?
Anticipated growth in the use of digital payment processing methods is an advantage for businesses looking to expand their customer base globally.
But to completely turn it into a competitive edge, they will have to provide considerable payment options to suit consumers’ needs and budgets. Simply put, they need to set up the back-end systems and tools needed to support as many digital payment methods as possible — from e-wallets to QR codes and more.
Wrapping up
When choosing a payment gateway, it is critical to consider various factors that are most important to your business. Also, it is necessary to understand how a gateway can meet your business requirements and ensure its growth without major challenges.So, make sure you ask the above questions while considering alternative new payment processing methods.
