Before you can start receiving online payments, you must have a secure system to handle private customer data. This is essentially what a payment gateway plugin does. It securely authorizes online transactions and charges your customers’ credit cards. There isn’t a default option in WordPress to integrate any payment gateway. To set up a payment channel on your website, you need a plugin that works with WordPress.

In this article, we will learn why a payment gateway plugin is crucial and what are the factors to consider while choosing one:

Seamless Integration

In terms of business, one of the most essential things a payment gateway should be able to do is let you connect the payment gateway plugin to your website and different credit cards and banks.

Ideally, you should pick a payment gateway service provider that enables your customers to visit the provider’s website after checking out, make the payment, and then return to your website after the transaction. The integration should be as seamless as feasible.

Support Multiple Currencies

Are you considering going global with your online eCommerce store? Then, having support for numerous currencies in your payment gateway is essential. Whether or not they permit multi-currency transactions, and if there are any regional restrictions, Customers from other countries play a big part in the success of any business or brand.

Support for Recurring Billing

If you are thinking of developing a subscription-based eCommerce website or offering some type of membership to your clients, you should ensure that the payment gateway plugin you are considering accepts automated payments for recurring plans. If your website cannot provide recurring billing support, your clients may feel inconvenienced by having to renew each month manually.

Top-notch Customer Support

Customers are unquestionably the lifeblood of any eCommerce company. Therefore, when addressing their concerns, see if the payment gateway and the payment gateway plugin provide live technical assistance and chat rather than email. In this manner, consumer issues can be resolved swiftly.

Seamless Checkout Across Devices

As per a report, 79% of consumers made online purchases this year using their mobile devices. Consider the possibility of losing the bulk of clients since not all devices are supported by your payment method. Therefore, you must determine whether the payment gateway offers a checkout process that is appropriate for all mobile devices. You need to get a payment gateway plugin that can make your e-commerce website friendly for handheld devices.

Immaculate Website Navigation

Customers won’t be redirected to another page while processing their purchases if your payment gateway plugin provides a feature that lets businesses construct pages for consumer checkouts. So, your gateway should make it easy for your customers to browse through your site seamlessly.

Easy Cost Structure

Know the pricing structure of the service provider before signing up for it. They have associated costs, which will boost your future earnings. There are certain payment gateway plugins that charge a cost for each transaction. However, you can also find others that charge a monthly subscription fee for a specified number of transactions. In either case, the fee structure has to be reasonable for your purposes.

Bulk Payment Option

This is non-negotiable. If you want to deploy a feature-rich plugin like WP EasyPay to turn your eCommerce website into an online marketplace, this is especially helpful. You seek to understand which payment gateway is ideal for an online marketplace. Make sure the payment gateway has a mass payment option after that. Because doing so will enable you to pay many sellers at once.

WP EasyPay – The Ultimate Payment Gateway Plugin You Need

If you want to integrate the most powerful and feature-rich payment gateway into your e-commerce site, then you can’t miss out on WP EasyPay.

Why WP EasyPay as Your Payment Gateway Plugin

Form Builder

Apart from the above considerations, WP EasyPay offers you loads of other features that can set your eCommerce apart from your competitors. How? Continue reading:

Enhanced Form Builder

The form builder in the most recent version of WP EasyPay has undergone significant improvements. With the click of a button, you may now alter the form’s complete appearance.

You can enjoy the stunning new user interface that is there to showcase efficiency in the plugin’s appearance and operation. It includes features like support for a number of layouts, drag-and-drop capabilities, a successful URL redirector, and more.

Subscription Reports

WP EasyPay makes subscription tracking a breeze. The complexity is cut down by category, which lets you make parent subscription reports and several child subscription transaction reports inside them.

Pause and Run – Subscription Functionality

You can always cancel a subscription and start a new one, but now you can also pause and run it whenever you like. All you need to do is to suspend the subscription from the backend without terminating or eradicating it, and then start it once more as necessary.

This feature will help you manage your customers better by making it easy to set up scheduled payments.

Multi Step Form

The Multi-Step Form style is a sequential tab interface that works well for payments and signups. With the help of our recently added multi-step structure, visitors can now enter information in an organized manner without having to deal with several perplexing controls.

The user can go to the next step only when the previous step has been completed incorrectly. In the pop-up window, you also have the option of using the multi-step form layout.

Layout for Multiple Amounts

You can get layouts for this payment gateway plugin for multiple amounts using the form builder to enable users the feature-rich luxury of selecting payments in three unique styles:

· Payment layout in the dropdown – Show the amount with labels under a dropdown menu.

· Payment layout in radio listing – Show the amount with labels via radio buttons.

· Payment custom layout – showcase a customizable field and enable users to enter their desired amount.

Tabular Products

It is possible with WP EasyPay to feature products you have to sell on the payment form. Each tab has a number of choices, including Product Picture, Product Price, Set Label, and Set Quantity with and without images.
The front-end settings for the layout will be displayed by WP EasyPay (Square for WordPress), which also gives the user the option to choose an option and pay for the things they’ve chosen. The quantity field will dynamically update the products.

How to Install WP EasyPay – An Easy-to-Install Payment Gateway Plugin

Go to Plugins> Add New > Upload Plugin.

Select file > Select WP EasyPay > Upload.

Install Now.

Type your License Key.

Click the “Agree & Activate License” button.

Final Words

So, you need to pull up your socks if you want your e-commerce site to sit at the top. Your payment process has to be spot on. Make sure you have all the considerations present in the payment gateway plugin to suit your business needs. Start eradicating customer issues today by onboarding the best payment gateway plugin.

Selecting the appropriate payment methods for your business involves a number of considerations. With so many alternatives, it can be challenging to decide which is best and making the incorrect decision can be expensive. It is crucial to provide a variety of options because even different clients can have differing opinions.

Unfortunately, companies take a few wrong steps when deciding on payment options. You can choose the best course of action for your company and clients by avoiding these blunders.

Here, we explain seven frequent errors you must avoid in your corporation regarding payment methods.

Top Payment Methods Mistakes That Frequently Occur

1. Restricted Payment Options

Keeping customer support and security issues aside, a major mistake corporations commit is that they offer fewer online payment methods.

Digital wallets were used to be the widely used payment method, followed by credit and debit cards and bank transfers. But what about customers from other countries?

You should pick a platform that accepts the most payment options and currencies if you offer international goods or services.

For example, bank transfers are more common in different European nations than credit cards. Thus, if you only take card payments, some of your European consumers might hesitate to buy from your business.

2. No Consideration Towards Local Payment Processing

Companies who want to sell their goods or solutions on the global market must consider various factors. Identifying a reliable partner who will handle delivery is one example of this. It is important to figure out how to translate your website into another language to avoid payment mistakes.

Many people overlook the significance of providing local payment options. Certain African nations use mobile payments more frequently than various European nations.

The above example highlights the significance of researching the intended industry and avoiding payment mistakes.

3. Asking for Excessive Information

Time is one of our most valuable resources, and we know how quickly it goes. So, we should try to do our everyday tasks quickly and easily. We often see that businesses ask for too much information from customers at checkout. The amount of information asked for seems long, which makes many customers give up on their purchases while they are still in the checkout process.

They suggest that companies use the tokenization method, which only requires clients to give their bank information. They send it in for the first time when they make a purchase from the website. To avoid this, tell businesses to only look for data that is very important.

4. Lack of Customer Support

Customer assistance shouldn’t be saved for problems that arise after purchase. Consumers may have to contact you with payment concerns in the same way that they want to be able to call your customer support if they have a problem with or a concern about your product.

They may be unsure if the payment was made, or their credit card may not have been processed. They may have to update their mailing address or go towards order cancellation.

You’ll likely have an international clientele if you sell online goods and services. Also, those clients can buy products from your site in all time zones.

For maximum client satisfaction, you always have a support system that quickly and effectively responds to the user. Moreover, responding to customer support concerns for payment methods only during a specific time is not sufficient.

5. Unprofessional or Unappealing Design

Since aesthetics are crucial in the online world, most businesses spend money on an appealing website design. Payment professionals emphasize that some businesses tend to ignore the aesthetics of the payment window. When a person views a well-designed page with a blue color scheme, for instance, yet the payment window is red, this can make them suspicious.

Moreover, the design of all payment methods must be responsive to display properly on every type of device. We should not minimize the significance of the payment window because the apex of marketing is when the transaction is completed.

6. Not Focusing on Data Security

Businesses frequently overlook the chance to secure client data when accepting online payments, which is another typical error. Using a credit card to make an online payment can be far more convenient than using a check or cash, but hazards are involved.

The majority of clients will submit their payment details from an untrusted network at work or on a smartphone. Hence, if a customer visits your website and believes it to be as unprotected, they may decide to go elsewhere.

Consumers place a high value on data protection in their preferred payment methods. They expect proactive security measures from you.

As per data breach studies, 64% of customers would hold the business responsible rather than the hacker if their personal details were compromised.

You must utilize SSL/TLS for your online transactions if you want to maintain PCI compliance and give customers confidence in data security. The goal of SSL/TLS protection is to make sure that the designated receiver can only access the information you disseminate.

7. Unattractive UI/UX

Don’t overlook the overall experience of payment checkout in your payment methods.

Customers’ perception of your brand will be in danger if your checkout page’s design is awkward or challenging to use. The last part of their initial engagement with you is the checkout process. Thus, they will remember most about your company.

Do you want it to be a good one? Of course, you do. Because of this, you ought to pay attention to the payment process’ UI/UX design.

So, avoid the below-mentioned UI/UX mistakes:

– Restricted Device Compatibility:

The unresponsive checkout process on mobile.

– Unreachable Fields:

Make sure you don’t leave fields that are inaccessible or not functional.

– Guest Checkout:

Make sure the guest checkout option is easy to find out.

– Important Information Missing out on Checkout Page:

Make sure you don’t hide the final price (inclusive of charges and taxes) alongside delivery options and anticipated delivery date

– Don’t Keep the Design Cluttered:

Keep the form precise, and ensure you have a single-column page to help customers avoid skipping fields mistakenly. Erase distractions such as graphic elements, buttons for social sharing, and inappropriate links.

Wrap Up

We live in a fast-paced world where we seek out quick and easy-to-grab solutions. Also, customers need solutions that are in line with their interests. So, to put the right foot forward in favor of your customers, there is no better option than WP EasyPay.

Some pain points are non-negotiable for customers regarding digital payment methods. These include an easy-to-use layout, multi-step forms, drag-and-drop functionality, and Quantity-to-Price Adjustment. All these features are neatly embedded in WP Easy Pay. You can find more exciting features here. So, any business can avoid digital payment mistakes with a robust payment method and laser-focused attitude.

FAQs

Q: What is the reason for online payment failure?

A customer experiences payment failure because of an unstable internet connection, putting wrong payment details. The reason can be insufficient money in the account.

Q: Do failed transactions get refunded?

A majority of failed transactions get automatically refunded within some days. If the transaction does not get refunded, you can contact customer service.

Q: How do I complain about an online transaction failure?

You must lodge a complaint about a transaction with the customer service team. You’ll need to provide us with the payment details, including the transaction ID and the payment amount, and they will do their best to resolve your issue.

Q: What is a payment validation error?

This error suggests the inability to verify the credit card.

A report states that, by the end of 2022’s fourth quarter, 48% to 50% of the companies will, on average, have SaaS contracts with one-year terms. The length and duration of sales contracts vary amongst different organizations. However, 13% of the businesses have annual or monthly contracts. Moreover, 11% have 3–5-year SaaS contracts. These numbers indicate that there are numerous recurrent billings taking place globally.

According to a forecast by investment bank UBS, the subscription market will reach roughly $1.5 trillion by 2025. The ongoing payments market is growing tremendously. It doesn’t seem to stop soon for the expansion of SaaS payment trends (considering the average corporate organization running over 400+ software applications).

It’s a dream come true to have a crystallization when forecasting the diversification of SaaS payment trends and customer behavior. All SaaS CEOs know this will change, especially in light of the pandemic’s dramatic change in consumer personalization.

Here, we have created a thorough list of online payments trends and advancements that will inevitably affect the SaaS payment trends, industry, and enterprises in 2022. So, let’s discuss the global SaaS payment trends in 2022.

1- Upward Graph of Subscription Model

According to estimates, more than 38% of businesses use SaaS platforms for practically all of their operations. By 2025, about 80% of firms expect to use every SaaS payment trend and pertinent product. It’s undeniable that subscription models are gaining popularity all over the world. Through SaaS, virtually any organization may use a paid subscription business model.

Owners of businesses rapidly discover that recurring income streams and subscription models tend to deliver predictability, while users of SaaS products are aware of their adaptability, accessibility, and simplicity. For instance, Square also provides a variety of subscription-based payment acceptance options. This enables Square to process subscription-based payments online by integrating add-ons like WP EasyPay. Moreover, you can anticipate the rise in popularity of the subscription model and the introduction of several SaaS payment trends in 2022.

2- SaaS for Work From Home

SaaS products have been crucial in creating support systems for workers who do their work at home.   Thanks to cloud markets and technologies, workers may seamlessly collaborate from anywhere globally. Additionally, SaaS companies are anticipated to give continuous infrastructure support for remote workers. With the SaaS industrial development more workers will work remotely.

3- Customers Require Flexible Payment Options

Convenience is today’s only priority. It is 100% true in the payment sector too. Users will need a payment method and usually know the options that best suit their needs. American Express and MasterCard are top-tier payment options, even though these preferences have historically varied among nations and areas. For instance, AliPay is highly popular in China, whereas Giropay and PayPal are used in Germany.  

Additionally, the possibilities continue to expand and now include direct debits, bitcoin, card payments, and online wallets. Digital or mobile wallets were used to pay for 49% of all eCommerce expenses in 2021, making them the most widely used form of online payment worldwide.

ACH debit payments are also expanding quickly because they are thought to be more cost effective for businesses than credit card payments and require minimal push or effort from their customers. Companies must make their payment approach adaptable to go hand in hand with the recent and updated developments and the shifting needs of customers.

4- Friction-less Payment – Every Consumer’s Demand

Customers frequently select digital goods depending on how simple it is to pay for and receive them. Reports indicate that 50% of users would switch transit service companies for a simple and seamless payment journey. Thus, companies must remove as many barriers as possible for these clients. SaaS organizations must constantly update and improve payment systems because performance and effectiveness go hand in hand.

Frictionless payments are characterized by a rapid and efficient checkout process, minimal effort and a lower cognitive level. Customers also want to experience the diversification of payments, including single-tap payments, digital wallets and automatic renewal. SaaS payment trends should eventually be supported seamlessly across the entire client journey.

Security is one of the key priorities for subscription firms, SaaS, and market regulators. SCA/3DS and PSD2 need to enhance consumer permission to lower risks. Even though these procedures are quite helpful, the SaaS creators have noted a lower conversion rate. You must, however, put up with the difficulties and follow through. Since there are no selectable tasks, SaaS-based solution providers must strike a balance between compliance and consumer vulnerability. 

5- Customers Like Niche-Based USPs

With 15,000+ active users, the United States reportedly boasts the greatest number of SaaS enterprises internationally. There are participants from around the world in the competition, which is fierce. Let’s say you wish to be noticed in the fiercely competitive global markets. In that situation, you must strengthen your USP and concentrate on ensuring the success and pleasure of your clients.

Through it, the major means of enhancing client retention and sustaining revenue development. The best course of action would be to identify what makes you unique from the competition, constantly highlight your strengths through effective marketing strategies, identify the needs of your users so that you can analyze their data, and then use that data to attract your ideal customers.

Wrap Up

As a result, the research above emphasizes how SaaS product trends will gradually become more competent and successful in 2022. These SaaS payment trends demonstrate the necessity for a full-service, reputable provider of payment solutions with advanced security metrics, secure and intelligent market-driven data analysis, automated solutions, frictionless payment options, and cutting-edge infrastructure.  

Every company aspires to long-term success, and every part of the firm must perform its essential duties as efficiently as possible. You can provide the most significant goods and services in your field while maintaining a solid sales and marketing strategy. But until your back-end company procedures are in order, they are valued along with your payment procedures.

Suppose you are unsure of how a seemingly unrelated company functions, such as required payment processing, which might significantly affect your performance. In that case, all of your efforts will struggle to reach your intended levels of success.

To be precise, your business may struggle without a good strategy to survive, even if you have the best products in the market. Your organization may face many challenges during that period. In order to save your business from getting into such complications, you need to develop a flawless and safe payment processing strategy, as not all companies have all the money in the world.

What Is a Payment Strategy?

A payment strategy is a plan for how you’re going to get paid for the work that you do.

There are a lot of different ways to go about this, and the ideal payment strategy will vary depending on your business and your clients. But there are a few things that are always a part of a good payment strategy:

•       You need to ensure you’re charging enough to cover your costs and make a profit.
•       It would be best if you invoiced your clients in a timely manner so you can get paid on time.
•       You need to have a system for tracking payments and ensuring they’re all accounted for.

Developing a solid payment strategy is crucial for any business, and it’s something you should start thinking about right from the beginning. It will help you stay organized, keep track of your finances, and make sure you’re getting paid what you’re owed.

Why Is a Payment Strategy Important?

Considering your business, you need to have a payment strategy in place. Why? Because if you don’t, you’ll end up losing money.

Think about it this way: if a customer doesn’t pay you right away, you will have to spend time and money trying to track them down. And if they do pay, but it’s months after the fact, you’ll lose out on the interest you could have earned if that money was in your bank account.

A payment strategy is crucial because it helps you get paid on time, every time. It enables you to streamline your billing process and saves you time and money in the long run. So, what are you waiting for? Start developing a payment strategy today!

Let’s discuss the critical steps to defining a successful payment processing strategy:

Be Aware of Various Credit Card Frauds

Understanding your company’s security requirements and privileges is crucial if you want to select a payment processor that will work well for your enterprise. Discover the top widespread credit card fraud tactics and their impact on your organization.

• Refund Fraud – In this fraud, scammers use stolen credit cards to make purchases from businesses similar to yours. Then, pretending to be them, they would phone the victim’s bank to block the payment. They often withdraw the money from the victim’s account, leaving your shop to pay any fines or costs.
• Credit Card Tumbling – You may rapidly spot hackers who generate credit card numbers randomly and try them out using various online transaction forms by using credit card tumbling. If uninvited people convince you to try dozens or hundreds of little transactions, your firm may be in grave danger.

• Identify Theft – This type of payment fraud is the most common. Your payment gateway should have safeguards to deter identity theft and guard against it happening to potential customers’ identities.

If you want prospects to consider your business trustworthy, you need to consider and understand these typical credit card fraud schemes. You can develop long-term relationships with your customers with the proper security patterns.

Choose The Best Payment Processor

If you’re looking to strengthen your payment process, looking at security concerns isn’t the only important factor here. You’ll need to consider a few key attributes to find a suitable payment processor to serve your needs. Likewise, your business payment processor should be constituted as follows:

• Portable – Choose a payment system that allows the customers to pay from where ever they feel comfortable. 
• Customizable – Pick a service that lets you customize how to process payments and connect with your potential customers.
• Intuitive – Precisely, your payment gateway should be user-friendly for your staff and doesn’t require any extensive training.

Learn How to Counter Fraudulent Payment Activities

Since you are familiar with common payment fraud tactics, you must dig deep and evaluate various ways top payment gateways deal with such issues with customers. The ideal decision you should take here is to go for a payment system that doesn’t charge additional money for additional protection and fraud prevention measures.

Here are a few ways to counter online payment frauds you should consider while choosing the best payment gateway service.

• Minimum transaction limits – Credit card tumbling can be prevented by setting a minimum transaction limit.
• EMV chips – EMV chips are crucial in assuring online customers that their payment details are safe.
• Card verification codes – a CVV (Card Verification Value) required will ensure that only those who can make payments have the card physically in hand.
• IP Address/BIN Verification – With this tactic, the service provider will cross-check the IP address to confirm if it matches the address set for the credit card with the bank.
• Two-Factor Authentication – This method enables your customers to verify their identities before completing a transaction by entering an OTP (One-time password) that is sent to the cardholder’s authorized email or phone number.

Support all the Top Payment Options

The method your company collects payments online has advanced significantly over the past several years.

In such a situation, you must pick a partner that currently prioritizes consumer preferences over other considerations when deciding on payment options. As a result, your employees will be able to see immediately that your payment gateway considers customers’ convenience seriously. Here are a few of the crucial payment options your payment gateway should provide:

• Contactless payment – The use of NFC (near-field communication) has become a standard payment method preferred by customers as they don’t have to swipe their cards anymore.
• Split checks – especially if you run a bar or eatery, the option to smartly split checks among clients can boost return patronage.
• EMV chips – MasterCard, EuroPay, and Visa; all new cards are required to have any of these EMV chips to work for online payments.
• Debit or Credit Cards – These are regarded as the primary payment methods that your system should offer regardless of the fact that transitions are being made online or on-site. 

What Are Some Common Payment Strategy Mistakes?

There are a few mistakes that are common among businesses. Let’s take a look at some of the most common ones:

• Not having a payment strategy at all

This is a big one. If you don’t have a plan for how you’re going to get paid, you’re going to find trouble. Not only will you end up losing money, but you’ll also risk damaging your relationship with your customers.

• Not having a transparent payment policy

Your payment policy should be easy to understand and straightforward. Remember, you want to make it as easy as possible for your customers to pay you. Anything that gets in the way of that will only frustrate them and make them less likely to do business with you.

• Asking for too much money upfront

This is another common mistake that businesses make. They ask for too much money at the beginning of the transaction, which can scare customers away. Try to spread out your payments as much as possible so that your customers feel more comfortable about doing business with you.

• Not following up on late payments

This is a huge mistake. Not following up on late payments can damage your relationship with your customers and ruin any chance of getting them to pay their bills on time in the future.

Conclusion

Apparently, a payment strategy can and should always be used as an integral aspect of your substantial small business growth plan. Businesses operate on tight margins, with little room for error. You need to streamline your payment process with a full-fledged system that ensures that you’re not slowing down on costs and human error but encourages growth. Hence, you need to track operational expenses carefully so that you’re able to make data-driven decisions.

New payment solutions in the realm of financial technology are becoming increasingly important for internet businesses as their use grows. They do not render the use of more conventional forms of exchange obsolete. Most companies still process customer payments via traditional methods like credit/debit cards, bank transfers, checks, cash, and physical point-of-sale (POS) terminals.

Rather than having to choose between traditional and digital payment methods, businesses should strike a happy medium where both may coexist to serve all their customers’ needs. Fintech, or “financial technology,” is a rapidly growing sector that combines traditional banking with digital tools to improve the way consumers and businesses handle their money. Will it last all the time?

This article will therefore go into detail on fintech, the differences between fintech and traditional banks, and the expanding potential of financial technologies.

What is FinTech?

The term “FinTech,” a combination of “financial” and “technology,” refers to innovative tools for the delivery of financial services and products via increased automation and leverage. Fintech is a term that refers to the use of information and communication technologies in the financial sector to help individuals, businesses, and governments manage financial transactions and related commercial activities.

PCs, cellphones, and tablets are common entry points for utilizing technology. The introduction of the Internet and the rise of e-commerce in the 2000s signaled the start of the modern era of financial technology. Banking solutions in the twenty-first century are becoming more digitalized as a result of the use of technology in financial institutions’ back-end systems.

Since then, fintech has shifted its focus to serving ordinary people. It is used in retail banking, investment management, fundraising, the nonprofit sector, academia, and providing individual financial aid. Bitcoin and other digital currencies are also essential components of the financial industry.

What are Traditional Banks?

Regular banks are permitted to accept deposits from a large number of customers and to lend money to both individuals and businesses.

Furthermore, some banks, such as corporate, investment, and retail banks, offer beneficial monetary services. Such regulations are typically imposed by a country’s national government or central bank.

Popular Traditional and FinTech Payments

The introduction of digital technology promises to cause dramatic changes in the banking system. How exactly do you intend to accomplish this? National banks and brick-and-mortar retailers are shifting their focus to the client in order to adapt to the ongoing digitization threat. In the banking industry, there is a lot of competition and new competitors, making it difficult for traditional banks to thrive.

In this piece, we wanted to emphasize that the financial ecosystem is not limited to a single industry. This means that the most widely used digital payment methods created by fintech are:

1.  Invisible Payment

Invisible payments are a type of payment that does not require the exchange of money or the use of a credit card. This type of payment acceptance is now possible thanks to advances in banking technology such as speech recognition, QR codes, and face biometrics. These methods were pioneered in Asia, specifically by AliPay and Tencent.

2.  Digital Wallet (eWallet)

These electronic replacements for conventional wallets store payment information like credit card details to facilitate purchases made with a user’s smartphone, tablet, or computer. This form of payment has recently become popular in a number of nations, such as Argentina and the UK.

3.  P2P (Peer to Peer) transfer

Electronic money transactions between individuals conducted online are considered peer-to-peer transfers for the purposes of this definition. Connecting a card or bank account to a mobile app is one way to accomplish these tasks. It’s a simple and quick way to reach potential new clients.

4.  Tokenized Card Payment

It is a digitalized, up-to-date form of card payments that facilitates PCI Data Security Standard (PSD2) compliance and offers security, simplicity, trust, and anti-theft metrics. It safeguards the PAN by encrypting it and issuing a token in its place, which is virtually indistinguishable from the original.

5.  Wearables

Wearable technologies are miniature gadgets that the user can always keep with them. Wristwatches, for instance, can be upgraded to smartwatches or activity bracelets that support contactless payments. They function similarly to a contactless card in that they can be used at any point of sale terminal.

6.  Mobile Payments

Money is transferred from one party to another via a mobile device. Payment-specific smartphone apps have proliferated over the years, speeding up processing and boosting safety indicators in the process. This kind of payment has found great success in Spain and other European countries, and Latin American countries like Colombia. FinTech is also being used in several WooCommerce add-ons and WordPress plugins, such as WP EasyPay, a Square Payment Plugin for WordPress that streamlines the payment process for customers.

In addition to a potentially larger customer base and faster credit decisions, FinTech is supposed to provide a broader range of payment options than traditional banks. Traditional forms of payment are nonetheless vital to the functioning of most cutting-edge enterprises. Below is a collection of some of them:

• Cheque Processing

It is considered a certified document because it contains an amount that can be paid to the bearer and exchanged for cash. It is thought to be the best method of payment for businesses that receive a high volume of checks, such as charities and mail-order companies.

• Cash  on Delivery

It is typically used for online purchases, with the person physically delivering the order to the customer’s location and receiving payment for the order’s cost.

• Credit – Debit Cards

The majority of global payments involve the use of cash that a user has in their bank account at the time of purchase. They allow you to make purchases in installments without physically handing over the money. When you use a debit card to pay, the money is immediately withdrawn from your account.

It should be noted that most businesses choose payment acceptance because it is a time-consuming process. Sometimes the choice isn’t between digital and physical payments but rather between a solution that meets the needs and features of your target audience. Long-standing financial institutions have a strategy for purchasing and investing in cutting-edge financial technologies.

Key Features

Today, financial technology solutions for businesses must have the following well-defined features:

• Digital Channel Sophistication – It capitalizes on creating end-to-end experiences through omnichannel strategies.
• Data Management – Data analysis leads to continuous improvements in the bottom line and customer experience.
• Virtual and Augmented Reality – VR and AR-based devices improve usability and user experience in unfamiliar environments.
• Virtual Assistants – Technological advancements enable the development of advanced systems that automatically understand and predict customer behavior.
• Business Intelligence (BI) – Dashboards are built on BI, which allows you to track activity peaks, analyze customer behavior across multiple channels, and make better decisions based on real-time data.
• Flexibility – Fintech enables money management to offer multiple payment methods to carry out multiple transactions, simplifying required documentation and allowing new metrics to be undertaken to analyze customer behavior.

Wrapping Up

Consumers now value digital innovation, social commerce, and financing flexibility above all else. Customer preference remains for contactless payments, but the rise of mobile payments appears to be here to stay. Although cash reigned supreme only a few years ago, it has since all but vanished from circulation. For instance, since the epidemic, debit and credit card use in Germany has surged dramatically, albeit it is not alone. As time passes, even the tiniest kiosk will need to have a payment terminal installed because of the increasing prevalence of digital transactions. Providing pleasant payment processes for clients is essential for maximizing revenue and decreasing expenses.

The rapid advancements in payment trends have transformed the conceptualization of digital payment solutions to the next level. Read this blog to explore more 

Today, the financial services sector is undergoing an immense transformation, and most of the credit goes to digital payment solutions that have changed our lives as we know them.

The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be a catalyst in the rapid transformation of the digital payment industry. The real-time nature of payments has been a boom for businesses and individuals. Countries like Australia and USA changed their means and norms of accepting payments during the pandemic resulting in contactless payment methods and other digital payment solutions.  

Customers can choose from various alternative digital payment solutions that signify industry-oriented trends, including digital banking, e-wallets, mobile payments, prepaid cards, and distributed ledgers.

Here are the top 10 payment trends that will alter the financial services sector and digital payment solutions in the next five years.

Payments Trends Altering the Future of Digital Payment Solutions

Biometric Authentication

Biometric Authentication is a trend that has made the most progress in the financial sector in the previous couple of years. This is a verification method that constitutes a person’s biological and structural characteristics. These verification methods include fingerprint scanners, facial recognition, IRIS recognition, heartbeat analysis, and vein mapping.

With the rise in the problems of identity theft and fraud, biometric authentication can become a reliable and secure option for all online payments in the year 2022. Eventually, the stats suggest the same aspect. According to biometric update, 2.5 million payment cards will be issued in 2021. Biometric authentication is a unique and essential payment method that incorporates and provides accuracy, efficiency, and security within a single package.

Biometric authentication is highly-secured as it involves an individual’s unique characteristics. This factor can also help you to build customer loyalty and trust pleasantly and efficiently for your digital payment solution.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Today, the latest technologies such as AI and Machine Learning make the overall data the most valuable resource of every company. So far, financial services companies have been using such technologies to their most exclusive benefit for fraud detection and process automation. But now, they’re ready to take the next phase to apply them to digital payment solutions.

The tools that can be embedded with AI are going to define the future of payments. They will be able to effectively analyze the history of customers’ operations, including their spending habits, to predict their future activity. Then they will suggest alternative digital payment solutions such as a card with reduced fees or a preferred form of payment. An AI-enabled system will be assisting in payment activities as well. AI and ML bring much value to customer services regarding data to personalize user experience and impact the bottom line. Several companies are now using AI principles and tactics to streamline internal processes, so it’s most likely that we will soon see a similar implementation in the payment section.

Today, voice-activated transactions require biometric security and intelligent assistant verifications. It’s an area for growth since technological implications allow for a smoother customer experience. Also, RegTech is constantly changing, so an AI solution can read and disseminate the changes to help the companies function within the law and achieve significant compliance.

Seamless and Secure Payments

Most companies still require customers to file paperwork and complete the loan form before purchasing something. This barrier of entry doesn’t work in their favor as consumers get used to more streamlined processes to proceed with their digital payment solutions. Take a look at the card abandonment statistics to see how many buyers fail to check out due to payment issues.

Simplifying the wiring channels to increase customer retention is a top priority for the merchant. Companies will make the most of available technologies to streamline it. Uber is an efficient and seamless payment system because of its frictionless customer experience that eliminates the checkout process. The leading digital bank in the US, Chime, also broke free from the complex structure of traditional banks.

Open APIs for Improved Collaboration

Banks are inclined to collaborate with Fintech and mobile payments players globally. The market has forced its hand to build open APIs for third-party partnerships and more comprehensive customer exposure. US banks have launched Zelle, one API-based service that associates several banks and millions of customers.

Furthermore, MasterCard and VISA have taken identical steps. IBM has also jumped the bandwagon and added its API management platform for use in the API economy. IBM’s API connect tackles the complexities of managing APIs. It simplifies API creation, integration, consumption, and management, reducing development cycles from weeks to days or, eventually, hours. It enables developers to focus on innovative development metrics and build the next generation mobile or web application.

Merging Banks and Fintech

The adoption rate of Fintech is on the rise globally, especially in countries with large unbanked populations. However, the fintech firms lack the infrastructure and the technical expertise to leverage their operations. PayPal has succeeded, but few always remember the failures of Beenz and Flooz; the companies managed to survive for only 2 to 3 years. 

The collaborative fintech investment has seen a rapid rise in North America (37% of total investment) which remains instinct on the steadfast increase across the globe, estimated at 18%. The banks stand to benefit from the easiness of registration with similar services as compared to the opening of a bank account.

Use of Contactless Payments & QR Codes

The research provided by MasterCard shows that an entire quarter of Europeans (175 million) don’t object to paying for wearables that include NFC rings, smartphones, smartwatches, Fitbits, etc. The leading financial institutions and banks, i.e., ABN AMRO bank and various others, are collaborating with MasterCard to deliver such payment options across multiple venues.

Australia leads the world in contactless payments, accountable for one-third of retail transactions. QR codes have taken off in China. Almost 400 million people use AliPay and WeChat Pay for multiple daily transactions. VISA has also launched a QR code service in Kenya, Rwanda, and India.

Use of Blockchain for Cross Border Payments

The most talked about payment trend is the use of blockchain for cross-border payments. The gradual interest in Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain technology has caused big tech companies such as IBM and central banks such as Banco Santander in Spain to adopt it for cross-border payments. 

This is accessible for payments across Europe and North America. Standard Chartered, Rakbank, and Axis Bank have jointly adopted the Ripple blockchain for instant cross-border payments. The relevant companies such as SWIFT and Wyre are developing standalone blockchains to do the same procedure. The allure of almost no fees on international transfers ensures the adoption rate of blockchain across the globe.

D2C and Relevant Novel Proposition

Demand for digitalization from the SMB sector combined with emerging technologies, a wide variety of alternative data sources, and new credit models pave the way for non-traditional players to serve this underserved customer segment. It has been estimated that 40% of formal, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in developing countries haven’t met the financial needs that cover up to USD 5.2 trillion every year, which equals 1.4 times the current global time of MSME lending.

SMBs often don’t receive adequate and timely financing, and the current lending products cannot meet their needs. It is time-consuming and costly due to diligence, underwriting, and loan procedures, making it unattractive for conventional lenders to serve SMBs. FinTechs and challenger banks tend to battle for the revival of SMB lending and changing the lending paradigm via embedding payments in their business models. After the pandemic consolidation and digitalization, digital players jumped into the growing SMB market segment. 

Nowadays, the rapid transformation in digital payment solutions is expanding with the Direct to Consumer (D2C) approach. The rise of custom and integrated WordPress payment plugins such as WP EasyPay offer instant payment solutions for the targeted consumers to increase their ability to pay online seamlessly. Furthermore, the buy now pays later method has been adopted by WP EasyPay, as the latest version is compatible and fully supported with AfterPay, a digital payment platform offered by online shoppers that enables them to delay payments on multiple purchases.

Tokenization & Encryption 

Digital transactions have emphasized the encryption and tokenization of individual transactions, and each transaction can be represented by a different code online so that the theft of that code is useless to carry out any other. 

Blockchain technology enables dynamic identities for transactions, and services such as Android Pay perform the same process in the context of digital payment solutions.

Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC)

Central bank digital currency is the virtual money issued and backed by the central bank. It is the form of digital currency of the country’s flat currency. 

Instead of printing the money, the central bank administers the accountability or coins that are backed with complete faith and credit publicly. Hence, as the popularity of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins increases, central banks across the globe have come up with specific terms such as the fact that they need to participate in digital currencies or risk getting left behind. 

Final Words

Indeed, digital payments are revolutionizing the concept of payment systems. You’ll see payment methods moving from physical cash to digital payment solutions in the forthcoming years. Before transitioning completes, several new trends will appear and disappear. These trends will play a vital role in reshaping our future payment methods and associated techniques. Hence, most of the trends mentioned earlier will play a crucial role in fulfilling the overall process, but time will tell how it will be fulfilled.

Today, the concept of the payments landscape has changed over a gradual amount of time because the customers are much more influenced by the newer, more efficient, and more seamless and robust payment methods than ever. It is one of the reasons why businesses have to walk this ever-changing industry to enable their customers to experience the best and most efficient services from their end.

For all business owners, who have established to recognize an online shop or an eCommerce website online, a payment gateway is one of the essential elements to cope with because it allows all the currency-based transactions that occur on your online site. In this advent of the COVID’19 pandemic, to sustain delivery apps, payment gateways are vital.

According to research, 82% of consumers use smartphones for online shopping as they consider it an easy way to do online shopping. It has also been mentioned that social media influences over 80% of the generation for online shopping metrics.

Hence, you would have understood why choosing the right payment gateway provider for your business is essential. Choosing an inadequate payment method can result in losing potential customers, and you are not ready for that particular instance. It is necessary to track your eCommerce store’s payment bottom line so that you can aim for long-term business, profitability, and success.

If you want to find an accurate and suitable payment gateway provider will be time-consuming as it has a vast list of features and things to consider for a long-term business, profitability, and success. But before selecting your payment method, ask yourself the questions for better clarity and efficiency.

Does the Payment Gateway Provider Support your Online Store’s Region?

Your questions should revolve around these questions:

• What will be the cost of your service?
• What features would you have given?
• Is a payment gateway suitable for your online store?

Hence, you need to narrow down your overall process and some essential things to consider to select a suitable payment gateway provider for your online business.

Pick up a Suitable Payment Gateway

If you’re planning to start an online store, adding a payment method is essential. Every website must adhere because it enables us to buy the service or product using a conventional payment platform such as debit card, UPI, digital wallets such as PayTM, or vice versa. 

Multiple businesses sell instantly to the customers; on the other hand, some enterprises constitute a third party involved in the payment distribution strategies. Hence, if you want to choose a payment gateway provider that must be adopted by specific changes and embed them easily into any type of business model, this is the reason why it is essential to consider that your payment gateway is available for all the relevant payment platforms.

Focus on the Processing Speed

The question arises about selling your products or services online. There are essential matters such as processing time. The speed of money transfers from your online customer’s bank account to your account is important. It is classified as an end-to-end solution.

For the business owners handling the eCommerce websites, customer exposure and satisfaction are a must-have process. Hence, always ensure that your customers are not facing low payment to the process via choosing the suitable type of payment gateway. If you want to attain an enhanced processing speed, cloud transfer can be considered your helping hand as it improves the efficiency of operations with seamless workflow for business owners.

Be Aware of the Fees & Service Agreements

As multiple payment gateway providers are available across the globe, there are various fees and services-related agreements to be followed by the business owners. 

The pricing parameters of payment gateways are usually based on multiple types of business transaction, consistency of revenue, business sales, transactional frequencies, etc.

Hence, the service provider decides on fees or contracts upon the transaction volume proceeded by the business owners. 

Merchant Analytics & Dashboard

What will you do if you aren’t liable to access or know how your customers make purchases? With the help of payment gateway providers that offer business owners deep insights into how their customers purchase from their website, businesses can identify the demerits and scope of improvement when required.

Hence, in this way, the business owners will have a clear concept of RFM analysis of potential customers, geographies, and payment methods.

Simple & Easy Integration Process

Online stores are always connected with a financial proposition consisting of various payment methods. Hence, it is also essential to integrate payment processing on your business website. 

In such circumstances, a payment provider that sends your customers to the third-party site to add their credit card information is an ideal solution. Once the transaction is completed, the service provider moves your customer back to your online store. For Instance, WP EasyPay is an integrated payment solution that connects Square Payment Gateway to your WordPress site safely and securely to make your transaction seamlessly.

Final Words

To choose the best payment gateway provider for your online store, you must ensure that your business needs, customer requirements, and essential security metrics are in your mind. Suppose you want to choose an accurate payment method for your website. In that case, it will increase the long-tenured aptitude, seamless customer satisfaction, customer trust, online recognition, and durability of your business. Hence, In this way, you can make your eCommerce business proceed a long way ahead.

When it comes to online payment processing, safety and security should be your top priorities. After all, you don’t want your customers’ information falling into the wrong hands. That’s why following the best practices for safe and secure online payment processing is essential.

But what are the best practices? And how can you implement them? In this article, we’ll answer those questions and provide tips for keeping your customers’ information safe and secure.

The Risks of Online Payments

When processing payments online, it’s essential to be aware of the risks involved. After all, you don’t want your customers’ information falling into the wrong hands.

That’s why it’s essential to use a secure payment gateway. This is a system that encrypts your customers’ information so that unauthorized individuals can’t read it. In addition, a secure payment gateway will keep track of all the transactions on your site, so you can rest assured that your data is safe and sound.

Another thing to remember is never to store your customers’ credit card information on your own servers. This is a significant security risk and can leave you open to attacks from hackers. Instead, use a third-party provider to store this information for you.

By following these best practices, you can ensure that your customers feel safe and secure when they’re making payments on your site.

Best Practices for Online Payment Processing

The following are some of the best practices for safe and secure online payment processing:

1.     Link the Billing & IP Address Details

If you take the time to verify the details during the checkout, you may get hold of all the fraudulent transactions and manage to save your business from losing money. AVS (Address Verification Service) is a process in which the IP of the buyer is compared with the billing address of the credit card utilized. This will verify if the cardholder is using his personal card to make the payment.

2.     Data Encryption

Transport Layer Security and Secure Socket Layers are security protocols that encrypt and authorize data online. If you want all the information on your website to stay secure, you should encrypt it and make it accessible to the concerned person only.

3.     Set Up the SSL Certificate

Ensure that the website where your customers make purchases is SSL-secured. The first clue is the padlock icon in the address bar of your browser window when you are accessing your website. To let the client know you are who you claim you are and that your certificate is valid and current, you should be able to click on the icon that will reveal that your company is, in fact, the website’s owner. The second is the “HTTPS://” in your website’s address.

The SSL certificate must be installed on your website or, at the very least, on the payment page where you accept and send credit card information, per payment providers’ requirements.

4.     Utilize Strong and Tricky Passwords

Cyber goons are always on the hunt to get access to user accounts that use easy passwords like data or birth, names, familiar words, and personal phone numbers. You can make their lives a whole lot more complex by adding another layer of defense by simply requesting a solid password. Make it necessary for all users to use a password with a combination of numbers, upper-case and lower-case letters, and characters.

Do you know that a 12-character password takes 62 trillion times longer to crack than a 6-character one? Well, now you do!

5.     Request the CVV or Card Expiry

A CVV (Card Verification Value) is the number printed on the back of a credit card. These digits are used to verify if the customer making the payment physically has the card or not. By chance, if the card is stolen, such information that is only written on the card can help you check criminals.

You can also request the card’s expiry as this information is also available on the card. This will add an additional layer of security to protect your store from dealing with thieves.

6.     Use Strong Customer Authentication (SCA)

SCA is a regulatory requirement that applies to companies that process payments online. It’s designed to help reduce fraud and protect customers by requiring them to authenticate their identities with two or more factors.

This could be something as simple as entering a password and a security code or using a fingerprint or facial recognition scan. The idea is that by using more than one verification method, customers are less likely to be the victims of fraud. So, if you’re a business owner who processes payments online, you must familiarize yourself with SCA and ensure your system is compliant.

7.     Streamlined Monitoring

In order to instantly catch a cybercriminal, you need to introduce the concept of streamlined monitoring in your store. All store owners need to go for a payment gateway that instantly flags and deals with fraudulent actions. The built-in monitoring facility allows store owners to have the power to set specific rules and benchmarks as per their business requirements. This will help in rejecting any transaction that seems harmful or suspicious.

8.     PCI Compliance Management

A merchant must be PCI compliant in order to process, store, or transfer credit card data. For a non-compliant organization, a data breach can have serious repercussions, including expensive fines and penalties and severe reputational harm.

However, businesses should take a proactive approach to understanding their obligations and compliance standards. Payment processors play a significant role in helping merchants manage and maintain compliance.

9.     Do Not Store Customer Information

Storing customer data for your next newsletter or huge sale could sound like a good idea, but it isn’t.

Particularly with regards to credit card information. According to PCI Compliance standards, retailers are not permitted to hold all card information. Unless the customer chooses to set up a secure account to access later, you should securely discard all payment information. Even in that case, this information should not be kept on your premises but rather saved on a PCI-DSS-compliant gateway operated by a regulated gateway provider through tokenization.

Establish a structure for what is kept and what is thrown out. Your clients should be informed of this information, so they know that payment details aren’t being saved. This will also encourage them to buy from your site as they’ll feel safe.

10.  Offer Training to Your Employees About Cyber Threats

By holding training sessions for your employees in which you offer knowledge about various cyber threats and skills to counter them, they’ll be able to deal confidently with such matters. In addition, the ability to respond, recognize and identify suspicious activity is crucial to keep online payment processing secure in your store.

Final Words

When looking for a payment processing service, it’s essential to ensure that they offer the best practices for safe and secure online payment processing. That way, you can feel confident that your information is safe and your transactions are protected.

Look for a payment processor with a good reputation and robust security features. Make sure that they use industry-standard encryption methods to protect your data and that their fraud prevention measures are up to par.