5 things ISVs should consider in choosing a payments partner
Independent software vendors (ISVs) can benefit greatly from working with an experienced commerce enablement partner, but not all payments providers are created equal. In the digital era, finding a seasoned payments partner goes beyond straightforward payment processing. There are plenty of factors to consider between omnichannel experiences, digital payments, improved security, and enhancing the customer journey.
The ability to expertly serve merchants means leveraging a payments partner that has deep insights into the state of payments — and where they’re headed. This knowledge goes beyond the buzzwords of omnichannel, PCI, and frictionless and ventures into more specific territory. Here are five things to consider when seeking a payments partner.
1. Payment integration process
Payment integration should be simple and fast. Payments partners should facilitate the process by offering robust, flexible APIs that are easy and fast to integrate, regardless of your integration method. While speed-to-market and easier development cycles are important, also consider how your partner’s team will interact with your technical team. Do they take the time to discuss your technical requirements and educate your team on various features? Do they walk you through different ways to consume APIs to ensure a feature-rich payment functionality that adds value to your software?
These are important questions to ask as they can significantly impact your development timeline and how well-prepared your team will be to support a new integration.
2. Merchant onboarding
Merchant onboarding is an involved process, but it should be as easy and seamless as possible for your customers. Successful customer onboarding is the key to customer retention and loyalty. Some payments partners may offer a digital option, making the merchant onboarding process faster and easier for merchants. Speed and ease of use mean more satisfied customers who are not only interested in working with you for the long haul but who are apt to recommend you to others.
3. Broad payment acceptance methods & devices
While digital payments are increasing exponentially, card-present and traditional payment methods are still flourishing. As this Deloitte survey points out, preferred payment methods change constantly. This is why it’s critical for ISVs and their merchants to offer a wide range of payment methods to accommodate a broad spectrum of consumers. For ISVs, this means working with a payments partner that can facilitate not only debit and credit card payments and checks, but also contactless payment options, wearables, digital wallets, and alternative financing.
Many merchants also rely on card-on-file and recurring payment methods, so ISVs should ensure that their payments partner offers functionality for all the ways consumers may want to pay.
Payment methods each have their own technology requirements, and emerging tech seems to be moving at the speed of light. Your payments partner should offer all of the necessary card readers and terminals your merchants may need and an option to rent processing devices to remain agile and adapt to evolving consumer demands.
4. Value-added products and services
As mentioned at the top of this article, payments are about more than payment processing in 2021. As commerce revolves around an omnichannel experience, it has become more complex to manage. Not only do consumers expect to be able to pay in their preferred method on their preferred channels, but they also expect a highly personalized experience. More specifically, 76% of customers expect companies to understand their needs.
Working with an embedded commerce partner that understands what merchants and their customers need to succeed and have a positive experience can help boost the adoption of your software solution. Payments partners may even offer additional products and services like analytics, customer engagement, and marketing tools to give your software a competitive advantage and help your merchants better serve customers.
5. Revenue sharing
The ability to monetize payments through embedded commerce can be a huge win for ISVs. It’s a growth opportunity for ISVs who choose the right payment partner that is as interested in their customers as they are.
While the pull to go with a simple solution may be strong, working with a partner that has a strong go-to-market strategy and the ability to provide value-added services can have a huge impact on business. It’s not unheard of for ISVs to earn more in payment processing revenue than from software fees when their payments partnership is solid.
Taking the time to consider these key factors can lead to a valuable collaboration with a great payments partner — an invaluable relationship for an ISV. It’s important to gain insights into each of the elements above to deliver a robust embedded commerce software solution and payments experience that goes above and beyond.
Global Payments Integrated is a true partnership in every sense of the word: flexible, innovative, agile, and reliable. Contact us to see how our partnerships elevate payments for ISVs.
Originally published at https://www.globalpaymentsintegrated.com.
