From security to service: five things to consider when choosing a digital payments platform

A good payments system will ensure you receive your money quickly and without fuss – and without charging you fees that make you wince. Payments providers bill you for their services in a number of different ways: some take a percentage of sales, others charge annually or have periodical processing fees, while some might take fees per transaction on top.

When you’re working out how much you are prepared to pay, you need to assess exactly what you’re getting for your money and what difference it will make to the running of your business. You might not mind paying a little more for a system that comes with inbuilt customer service interaction or a wider card network, so you’re getting some extra bang for your buck.

A payments system is not much good if it doesn’t work with what you have. If you have an online shop or e-commerce platform, make sure your payment gateway is easy to integrate and simple to install. Even better if it has nifty features that make it extra compatible with what you already use.

A system such as the Elavon gateway Opayo is a great example. If your business takes in-person payments using a card machine or reader, the digital system complements the physical system for greater ease. It’s a good option for SMEs that would prefer not to run multiple accounts, and should make your accounting systems nice and streamlined.

Taking your business online can boost its expansion, bringing your goods and services to the attention of international customers. With Elavon, sellers can display their prices in the local currency where a browser is located, based on its IP address. With the option of more than 100 currencies, it opens up markets you might not have had access to before.

It’s also good to offer customers flexibility in the types of payment methods they can use. Gone are the days of typing out the 16 digits on the front of a card. Offering a multitude of methods, from credit and debit cards to digital wallets, gives customers the choice they want over how they settle up.

A payments system only works for you if it works for your customers too. Payment needs to be quick and simple in order to avoid shoppers abandoning carts midway through a transaction.

Elavon has a Stored Shopper option, making it easier for a buyer to become a regular shopper. This allows easy recurring payments and lets buyers customise how they want to pay. It also links cleverly to a communications system for sellers: it’s simple for you to offer exclusive promos, discounts and payment plans to those on your mailing or SMS lists.

Given the amount of information about you and your customers that’s stored on your transaction system, it has to be airtight. Unsafe systems can leave you victim to problems such as hacking or fraud, or potentially leave your customers at risk of data leaks and breaches of GDPR.

It sounds scary, but incidents aren’t too difficult to avoid if you look for a payments platform with robust security measures. It is crucial to go for something that is PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant. This will ensure your customers’ details are kept private and secure. Elavon systems are stocked with anti-fraud technologies, including fraud screening on transactions, encryption and tokenisation. A system such as this is designed to keep important data locked where it needs to be, to keep you and your customers safe online.