Due to changes in consumer habits and user behaviour, as well as technological innovations, payment methods have evolved at a rapid pace and merchants must be prepared to progress along with them to offer a variety of methods to enable users to pay with their preferred payment method.
The industry continues to expand with digital payments and transaction volumes growing worldwide. Merchants are placing increasing importance on the checkout process, both online and in-store. This is where payment service providers come into their own, with the payment gateway market expected to reach USD 42.9 billion by 2026.
The payment service provider (PSP) is the intermediary between banks and merchants. Its main function is to provide the technology necessary for the merchant to digitally charge the end user. During the checkout process, the payment gateway processes the payment information securely and informs both the customer and the merchant of the result of the transaction.
A PSP brings advantages to both retailers and end users. To the retailers, because in addition to offering them the possibility of managing in a unified way the total of their sales made in the different sales channels, it allows them to have a checkout adapted to the latest payment trends of the users. For the users, because it makes them easier to choose the payment method, they feel most comfortable with when paying for their purchases from a wide range of methods.
The solutions with which a unified payment services platform improves the efficiency and management of merchants are:
- Payment solutions for all sales channels: Ensuring omnichannel and a good shopping experience that integrates different channels is essential to meet the demands and expectations of customers. In this way, Sipay offers its customers face-to-face payment solutions for physical stores, online payment solutions, payment via an email or SMS link and solutions for voice telephone environments (IVR).
- Multiple alternative payment methods in a single integration: Sipay merchants allow their users to pay with cards, PayPal, Bizum, Google Pay, Apple Pay, WeChatPay, Alipay, Amazon Pay, PSD2 Bank Transfer and financing or deferred payment methods. In addition, due to the growth and constant appearance of new payment methods, the company is committed to introduce those that end consumers demand, incorporating more and more payment methods to its checkout page.
- The payment services platform also offers value-added functionalities to the collection and processing solutions. Among the most remarkable are tokenization, which allows card information to be stored securely and streamlines the process for future purchases, the Tax-Free service, which enables VAT refunds for non-European tourists, or even the possibility for foreign buyers to pay with their currency of origin through the DCC.
- Finally, to offer centralized management to merchants, PSPs provide merchants with a control and management platform with information from all sales channels. Merchants can access information on all transactions they are performing in real time, regardless of the channel or payment method. With all this information about their business and their customers’ buying habits, they can make strategic decisions.
Among the advantages that an integration with a global payment services platform offers to merchants are:
- Improved, faster and easier management of sales networks, as well as increased efficiency thanks to the grouping of all channels, payment methods and data collection on a single platform.
- Cost savings due to process integration the retailer will need to allocate less resources for the integration of its sales channels, software, and technology charging solution.
- Improved user experience: The checkout process is a decisive moment when it comes to buy or not an item. Making the process simple, fast, and secure and having multiple payment methods available will improve the shopping experience.
- Thanks to the information provided by the gateway on customer habits, the retailer can focus its strategy on adapting to the tastes of its consumers, which will lead to an increase in sales and a subsequent increase in profits.
From Sipay, a global payment platform, we offer digital solutions and local and international payment methods with the aim of giving added value and helping our customers to increase the conversion rate of their business and ensure the best user experience.
