What documents to check, what to look for first and why it is not necessary to go to large services. We answer 10 common questions about payment systems.
A good payment system is a friend and assistant to any company engaged in online trading. Not everyone knows, but the successful operation of such a system directly affects the conversion of a site that accepts electronic payments. Therefore, it is very important to find a reliable and efficient service for the integration and maintenance of such payments.
We hope that our advice will help you in making the right decision.
Why accept online payments through an intermediary?
Before starting the basic questions, let’s try to figure out why we need a service that will accept payments for you, and is it possible to cope with it using only our resources? Let’s say right away – theoretically you can set up accepting payments on the site yourself. But few take such responsibility because this process will take a lot of time and effort.
It is difficult for people who do not have the professional knowledge to cover the entire volume of work and take into account every nuance. For example, for the impeccable work of the payment system, you need to conclude an agreement not with one, but with at least two banks. For the convenience of customers and high conversion – connect not one, but all possible payment methods. A certified payment service will perform the entire amount of work in a week, having a reputation, connections, and necessary developments. A company that decides to do this without intermediaries has a long process of communicating with each channel separately and waiting for authorization, for example, at Visa and MasterCard.
Should I go to the services that are in the top 10?
Servicing with large well-known companies with a name has not only advantages, but also disadvantages. On the one hand, you a priori expect to receive excellent service from recognized experts. But in fact, authority does not always guarantee impeccable quality.
The larger the company, the more likely it is that an important interaction factor suffers – an individual approach. Services from the top 10 serve thousands of customers, so do not be surprised if your request is processed indecently for a long time. Therefore, we advise you to look for reliable payment services that have not yet earned a name for themselves, but already provide services at a high level – there are many of them. They value each client and give all the best for 100.
What documents should be checked before starting cooperation?
A company can provide online payment acceptance services only if it has passed the international PCI DSS certification. This is a security standard that allows you to process payment card data and conduct financial transactions on the network. The PCI DSS team regularly checks how well the service can cope with fraud, bot attacks, and other threats from online scammers. If the test results are unsatisfactory, the company loses the right to engage in Internet acquiring.
In addition, ask which banks, mobile operators, and USAA Routing Number the service cooperates with. Banks must be reliable, and payment methods in demand.
How long should the payment system connect?
The connection is to work with documents and technical integration. As a rule, the first stage takes most of the time. It includes the coordination of all parties and the verification of the company for safety. If the company has passed all stages of verification, you can proceed with the integration of the payment form.
Integration is carried out in a few clicks if the service has ready-made technical solutions for your site. Therefore, before concluding an agreement, make sure that the company is competent: does it have modules for CMS, web-frame, SDK for mobile? A company with experience will connect the payment system to the site for a week.
How much should the connection cost?
A good customer-oriented Internet acquiring company takes care of all the costs associated with connecting a payment system and further introducing you as a client. Therefore, the monthly fee and bank payments should not be charged either. You are also entitled to request a free test of the payment system even before the conclusion of the contract.
Can individuals accept payments?
Yes. Your service should have solutions for accepting payments by individuals. As a rule, this is done using P2P payments – an online money transfer from one bank card to another.
Card payments are integrated on the website in the form of a web form where the payer enters the necessary data for payment. If you do not have a website, you can create a personal page for receiving such payments. This option is suitable for transferring money for personal purposes (to borrow friends, pay your part of the bill in a restaurant), and for business (relevant for paying for purchases through social networks).
How many payment methods should an Internet acquire service offer?
The bigger, the better. To cover 100% of the solvent population of the country, all popular payment methods should be integrated on your website: payment by bank cards Visa, Visa Electron, MasterCard, Maestro; e-wallets Qiwi, WebMoney, [email protected]; mobile balance through MTS, Megafon, Beeline, Tele2, Rostelecom operators.
In America, traditionally, the most popular method of payment is bank cards, but do not forget about the growing popularity of electronic wallets. Mobile commerce (payment from the balance of the mobile) takes a leading place among transactions of small and medium sizes – from 10 to 5,000 dollars.
Should the service be flexible in integration issues?
There are two types of integration of a payment system on a site: the use of ready-made modules and the development of individual solutions specifically for your business. As a rule, turnkey solutions cover the needs of most customers. But if none of them suits you, the development team should have sufficient technical skills to create original tools.
The design of the form of payment is an important point that affects customer loyalty and increases the conversion of the online store. Therefore, flexibility in customizing payment forms for each site is a sign of the professionalism of the company.
What additional services can a company provide?
The minimum package of services is 24/7 technical support for clients, tools for communicating with clients (informing via SMS and e-mail), providing payment analytics, consulting on business processes based on this analytics.
Some companies provide services that go beyond their competence, but in practice are very useful for website owners on the Internet. For example, site support, solving technical issues on the site, help in the development of web design. Services can also offer you to create a mobile application for your business with the online payment function.
How to evaluate the effectiveness of the payment system?
If you look at the analytics of your site and notice that at the stage of paying for an online order, visitors leave the site without completing it, then your payment system can’t cope with its functions. The reason may be in technical flaws: payment failure without explanation, mandatory registration, unadapted layout for mobile devices. As well as in design: the form does not inspire confidence, the “Pay” button is not visually highlighted, the name of the fields and buttons is incorrect.
Reducing the percentage of failures during payments to zero is the primary task of the Internet acquirer. In addition, technical support should work without failures, like your personal manager, who must quickly solve all problems.