Simplify, Save On Your Payment Processing
An effective way of collecting payments is integral to your organization, regardless of the platform you are using.
However, with all the possibilities and features payment processing offers, you do need to take care that your payments processing system doesn’t add more complication and add further challenges to your business. For instance, a good example is a business that is using multiple systems, when one or two would suffice.
If you feel that payment processing is sometimes more complex than it needs to be, the points in this article suggests various methods to help you simplify your payment processing system, while improving the level of customer care you deliver.
Follow these tips to refine your payment processing system.
Introduce Integration
Introducing integration into your business is one of the easiest ways of simplifying your payment processing system and reducing admin. There’s several ways you can use integration such as:
- Your payment processing equipment can be integrated with your accounting or with customer relationship management software to reduce your work load. You can do this through software, or with some POS systems.
- A system with integrated mobile payments as well as regular payments will allow you to supply a broader range of payment options, without having to use separate systems.
- Using payment processing tools that integrate with what you have. For instance, if you’d normally prepare your accounts with QuickBooks, look for a payment processing system that can integrate with it so you don’t need to carry out two separate tasks.
Simplify Payment Processing for Your Customers
Whether you’re selling online or offline, customers want an easy way to pay you. Each business has its own customer base, so think about what you can do to simplify the way your specific customers pay.
Also, ask your regular customers about the common issues they have and get their suggestions for improvement. Once you know what your customers are looking for, you can find the payments system that best suits them and further customize it to the specific needs of your customers.
Other ways of making payment easier for your customers include:
- In general, if you’re selling online, customers like checking out to consist of as fewer steps as possible.
- If you’re looking to serve overseas customers, allow them to pay for items in their own currency; these two steps can help to reduce cart abandonment, which is a common problem for ecommerce retailers.
- A further way to make paying easier for your customers is to offer the broadest range of payment options. Research shows the majority of customers expect to see multiple payment methods. For example, you accept credit cards, take the widest collection of credit cards possible. However, don’t forget other payment options like ACH payments; ACH payments are highly popular. They are flexible in that they allow both regular and once off payments, and they’re well suited to customers who are reluctant to provide their card details.
- If enough consumers demand it, consider offering new payment methods like contactless payments, and mobile payments, which are fast becoming the favored way of paying among consumers.
Customize Your Payment Processing Systems
Just like customers, businesses will have their own preferences and requirements too. Any by customizing your payments processing to your business, you’ll make everything much less complicated.
For example, you could be using multiple methods of payments to satisfy a diverse demographic of customers, but a payments processor should be able to suggest ways to refine your payments system and make it more refines overall.
However, payment processing won’t just give you a fast, secure way to collect payments: they can assist your marketing efforts through loyalty schemes or gift vouchers.
Whatever your ambitions are, effective payment processing tools can go some way to helping you achieve your aims. Ask your payments processor what systems they can recommend to allow you to reach your business goals.
Upgrade Your Old Systems
If you’ve got an old system, then the model you’re using isn’t likely to be quite as efficient as it once was, and it will lack some of the newer features that would make your life easier. In addition, your old system might not be EMV compliant, which leaves you at a greater risk of chargebacks since the EMV switchover of 2015.
However, if like some merchants, you’re reluctant to invest in a new system or you don’t have the funds to do so, upgrading could be the answer.
Upgrading is a simple way to improve the way you accept payments. You’ll gain access to the up-to-date tools and functions, and there’s plenty of other benefits too.
New systems are far more advanced than older models, allowing much greater flexibility and speed. This added efficiency will allow you to serve your customers quicker; the faster the service is, the more customers you can serve and the more opportunity they’ll be to boost revenues.
Newer models also take up less room, so they’re beneficial if space is at a premium or you want a more portable system so you can better serve customers.
Combine Different Actions
If you’re still dependent on a traditional shopping terminal, consider changing over to a POS systems. Using multipurpose systems will allow you to combine different actions and will keep things simpler for your business, and for your customers.
For instance, if you’re in the hospitality business, a system that allows you to combine bar tabs and dinner bills will reduce admin load and reduce paper receipts. POS systems also allow you to add tips, and mobile systems let you take payments from tables and queues and print receipts as you go so you can serve customers quicker.
Conclusion
Payment processing doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, the right payment processing equipment can simplify your business and enable you to provide a better, more efficient service to keep your customers satisfied.
With the correct tools, you can integrate various features that will enable you to lower admin and achieve more, and simplify your payment processing.
The right tools can also allow you to build your brand through customer loyalty and make paying straight forward for your customers too.