Much of the appeal of convenience-focused eCommerce and direct-to-consumer (D2C) business models comes from the seamlessness of their payments processes.
The ability to offer consumers seamless payments from device to device lets retailers, brands and marketplaces scale more efficiently, as fast payments and fewer false declines create better customer experiences and sustainable growth.
But creating those frictionless payment experiences requires strategy, and this strategy is unlikely to succeed if an organization lacks the technical infrastructure and human resources necessary to securely and efficiently roll out these features for all users.
For that strategy to succeed, eCommerce businesses want to make sure they have first marked certain payments management milestones.
To start with, there’s banking integration. Providing seamless payments requires an enterprise-grade solution that allows for frictionless payments processing for consumers worldwide. Incoming and outgoing payments and refunds must be quickly verified and settled while complying with reconciliation reporting rules.
The rise of eCommerce is relevant here. While Amazon may have reshaped online commerce, smaller eCommerce ecosystems like Etsy have created new models of entrepreneurship and branded storefronts. Any person or brand can sell on Etsy or an Etsy clone; banking integration is key to ensuring consumers have a frictionless user experience.
These eCommerce ecosystems rely on seamless payments, not just for consumer experience but also to keep earners and sellers engaged with the platform.
Digital payments acceptance is also key, although this feature is only truly universal if it allows customers to pay in local currencies or provides a single, scalable option for multicurrency operations as a company grows on a global scale.
Global digital payments acceptance also means employing a singular, effective transaction monitoring and reporting tool that comes with global visibility in order to remain compliant.
For some organizations, global digital payments acceptance may hinge on the use of a third party, such as a financial institution (FI) that offers digital payment acceptance capabilities. This way, the organization can ensure that user experiences and digital payment processing success remain consistent at scale
To learn more about the strategies organizations need to employ before they can offer a frictionless payments experience, download “The New eCommerce Ecosystem Mandate Playbook,” a PYMNTS and Citi collaboration.
