How to Choose the Right Payments Partner for Your Software Business.
You already know the benefits of adding integrated payments to improve top-line revenue growth, customer stickiness, and the end-user experience. But with over 230 solutions on the market, finding the right one can be challenging. After all, not all payment processors are created equal.
Outside of looking for a seasoned payments partner that can elevate your operations, there are several factors like integrated digital payments, security, and more that must be considered. As you embark on your journey, navigating the ever-evolving payments processing ecosystem, consider these five factors to help narrow down your choice.
Ease of Payment Integration
Time is of the essence when you’re running a business, and the last thing you want is to be bogged down by a lengthy and complex integration process. Your payments partner should provide guidance on how to best integrate with their solution while offering a library of open application programming interfaces (APIs) to leading software partners that are easy and fast to implement.
Not only will this speed up development cycles, but it will also make it easier to attain the level of customization needed for your business. When interacting with your payments partner, pay special attention to their flexibility and transparency. This will be a good indicator of whether the payments partner will be a good fit.
Level of Payments Options
The way to win with customer experience today is to offer customers a wide variety of payment options. A payments partner should be able to offer a wide range of payment methods such as credit and debit cards, contactless payments, ACH, e-Invoice, text, digital wallets, and more.
In addition, you’ll want to make sure that you pick a vendor that is plugged into the latest payment innovations and can provide you with the proper support and infrastructure to capitalize on these improvements. The more payment options you can offer to your customers and end-users, the better off your business will be.
Streamline Customer Onboarding
Customers shouldn't have to jump through hoops to set up user accounts on your software. Look for a payments partner that provides a seamless and easy setup process for your customers and their end-users. The benefit here is two-fold. With an easier and more intuitive implementation process, you can reduce customer churn while providing an attractive solution for new customers.
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Security Features and PCI Compliance
Security is a top concern for customers. 59% of respondents in a recent PwC survey said they’ve become more protective of their data, with data security serving as a major indicator of whether they’ll trust the brand to make a purchase now and in the future.
When comparing payment processors, keep the following security features top of mind:
You'll also want to ensure that PCI compliance is built into the entire experience. This will reduce your spend on PCI certification and maintenance while also reducing your liability in the case of fraud.
Revenue Earning Opportunities
You can tap into a new revenue stream by monetizing payments through your software. The key is to find a partner with an attractive fee/revenue share structure. As you negotiate the terms of your relationship, make sure to come to a consensus on the percent of revenue share that best aligns with your processing volume, pricing model, and the number of customers.
Move Forward with Confidence
Going to market with just any payment processing solution can be tempting but taking the time to suss out the finer points of your engagement can go a long way in ensuring the future success and growth of your business.
When looking for an integrated payments provider, going with a seasoned partner that is at the forefront of the payments industry can pay dividends in the long run. Not only will these considerations be baked into their offering, but it means you can rest assured that your software will be up to date with the latest payment acceptance channels, security features, and PCI compliance requirements.
For more than 20 years, MerchantE has been a change agent in the payment landscape—knocking down the walls to the needless costs and barriers to doing business today. When you partner with MerchantE, you can rest assured that your software business will have the support and solutions to win in today’s digital world.