Payments processing can be a minefield, especially for merchants new to dealing with its complex systems and terminologies. So how can they take the hassle out of managing payments processing, while offering a better user experience for their customers?

Understanding how payments processing works

Payment transactions might take just seconds to complete, but behind the scenes there are many different players working to make sure the payment is made swiftly, correctly, and securely. This includes a payment gateway, the acquirer, the issuer, and the card network as well as the retailer themselves.

In theory, payment should pass from each party without the customer ever noticing. However, with a multitude of providers involved this can be prone to errors or delays in the transaction, leaving the customer with a poor experience and less likely to return for repeat sales.

Ultimately merchants have to be sure that all their transactions have been processed, and that the money has been sent to their bank account.

End-to-end payments processing

Many providers profess to offer full-service end-to-end payment capabilities but few can actually achieve it. Those that truly can are able to offer merchants revolutionary technologies, enhanced profitability, security control, transparency and improved service for their customers.

Some acquirers provide PIN entry devices alongside a centralised payment gateway that handles omnichannel payment transactions from the point of sale to the transaction acquirer. As a managed service, this optimises costs by centralising transactions, simplifying installations, maintenance and updates, and guaranteeing availability of the entire system.

Pairing this with technology such as the state-of-the-art Smart Acquiring Solution results in an end-to-end seamless payment solution with simplified integration and certification processing, along with eased reconciliation and fast settlement for merchants.

Omnichannel acceptance requires a partner able to process and centralise all payment methods into the same platform and provide next-level monitoring with full visibility. At the same time, it will ensure all payments are completed through an easy to manage reconciliation process with detailed IC++ reporting and an API layer for real-time reports.

As the entire solution is housed under one roof, all merchant payment needs can be serviced, making the process as seamless as possible. The platform scales automatically, enabling merchants to deal with large card volumes at any given time.

By offering a fully integrated, end-to-end payment solution with integrated advanced security software, vendors can help merchants by making their processes more accessible. And by simplifying the process, merchants will benefit from faster, secure, and seamless payments.

If the service you provide gives customers the convenience and speed they are looking for, they are more likely to return because they?ve had a good experience, which thereby increases room for profit.

The Future of Payments Infrastructure - Digital Innovation Summit, 2-20 November

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a dramatic and irrevocable effect on how customers in the UK, and abroad, conduct their payments. This in-depth panel discussion reviews the effects the pandemic has had on the payment's ecosystem, how it has forced innovation, and what the next steps might be for payments, both at home and abroad.

Learn more about the Payments Tech stream at the Digital Innovation Summit, here.