How To Select A Payment Service Provider That Works Best For Your Business!
We’ve all heard the saying, “you can’t have your cake and eat it too,” but that doesn’t mean you should settle for mediocre solutions.
In fact, some industries such as healthcare, legal, and financial have become high-risk industries. These organizations need to be extra careful when selecting their payment service provider because they handle sensitive data daily.
With so many options available today, it can be difficult to narrow down which is right for your company out of the hundreds or even thousands of providers that exist. Today we’ll explore some of the popular solutions available and then examine what might work best for your company so that you can choose the right payment service provider!
Before we can get into the details of each payment provider, you need to know what features are most important for your business.
The following six categories are some of the key features that may be vital to consider when selecting a payment service provider:
1. Payment Processing Fees
First and foremost, you need to understand how much it is going to cost you. Depending on the type of business that you have, processing fees can vary greatly. But what’s important to remember is that many different factors determine these costs, such as your monthly sales volume, average ticket price, transaction frequency, and setup costs.
2. Payment Processing Speed
Many businesses don’t like to wait around for their payments, which is why speed is so important. The faster you get your money, the sooner you can use it to make more! In fact, some online businesses require instant payment processing to stay competitive with other players in their industry and provide excellent customer service.
3. Payment Security and Control
To ensure that your customers’ sensitive information is safe, you need to choose a payment processing option that offers superior security and fraud protection.
There are three main types of payment security:
a) Encryption: This is the most popular form of data protection for credit card information. It ensures that no one can hack into your systems or illegally access payment data.
b) Tokenization: This is a new form of security that helps you avoid PCI Compliance (more on this later).
c) Tokenless: This is a newer technology that has the added benefit of increasing transaction speed, so if your business is highly time-sensitive, tokenless may be your best option.
4. PCI Compliance or EMVCo Compliance (aka Tokenization)
Due to the high-risk nature of some organizations today, they are required by law to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). These standards outline a set of rules that must be followed to reduce the risk of credit card fraud.
If your business meets these criteria, payment security should be one of your top priorities when choosing a provider. However, not all providers are PCI compliant or EMVCo compliant (aka tokenization), so it’s important to research this feature before signing up with them.
5. Ease of Use and Customer Support
Your payment processing solution has to be easy and convenient for you to use. Otherwise, your business will suffer because it’ll take too much time out of your day.
For example, if you choose a provider that charges exorbitant fees for setting up an account or transactions take longer than they should, this isn’t the best solution for your business.
Having great customer support is also important, especially if you have questions or need help troubleshooting. A good support team should be able to quickly and efficiently address any issues that pop up during the processing of a transaction.
6. International Sales Opportunities
If your business has customers around the globe, then this is a feature that you should definitely consider. Otherwise, you may be missing out on a lot of opportunities to make more money!
The four most popular payment service providers are Braintree (owned by PayPal), Stripe, Authorize.net, and Mercury Direct. Let’s take a look at each one individually to give you a better idea of what they offer:
1. Braintree:
Who they are: Braintree provides payment solutions for entrepreneurs and companies who accept online payments. They also offer a point-of-sale solution that can be used in physical stores. Their top customers include Uber, Airbnb, Dropbox, Github, Warby Parker, LivingSocial, TaskRabbit, and many more.
Braintree’s Payment Processing Services: Braintree provides credit card processing, direct debit payments, manual invoice, and check payments. They also offer a gateway solution to support recurring billing solutions. Braintree makes it easy for businesses around the globe to accept online payments in more than 130 currencies. If your business hopes to enter the international payment processing market, this is a feature that you should consider.
2. Stripe:
Who they are: Stripe provides a gateway solution for businesses that accept credit cards online. Their payment network is built on top of the same infrastructure that powers everyday e-commerce transactions worldwide. Some of their top clients include Lyft, Kickstarter, Shopify, Glossier, and Reddit.
Stripe’s Payment Processing Services: Stripe supports credit cards, debit payments, ACH payment processing, and support for more than 100 countries worldwide. They also offer an option called “verification,” which provides additional information about a customer such as their name, email address, phone number, etc. Stripe is easy to use, so if you have no previous experience in accepting online payments, this is a good option.
3. Authorize.net:
Who they are: Authorize.Net provides payment solutions to both businesses that accept and businesses that request credit card payments. They offer different solutions depending on your business needs, so there’s a solution for you whether you’re a merchant or processor. Some of their top clients include Symantec, Lending Club, and Capital One Auto Finance.
Authorize.net’s Payment Processing Services: Authorize.Net offers credit card processing services, EFT/direct debit payments, check processing (including mobile check capture), support for over 150 countries worldwide, SOAP/REST API, and MS Dynamics support for businesses that need it. Authorize.Net provides merchants with the ability to log in to their dashboard and see an overview of all transactions that took place over the course of a specified time period, as well as any refunds or charges.
4. Mercury Direct:
Who they are: Mercury Direct offers an extensive range of payment solutions that fall into three different categories: credit card processing, merchant services, and e-commerce. They support more than 150 countries worldwide, with payment solutions available in over 20 currencies. Their top clients include Holiday Inn Express, BAE Systems Hägglunds AS, and the University of Ohio.
Mercury Direct’s Payment Processing Services: Mercury Direct offers credit card processing services, EFT/direct debit payments, check processing (including mobile check capture), support for over 150 countries worldwide, SOAP/REST API, and MS Dynamics support for businesses that need it. They also offer a gateway solution to support recurring billing solutions. Mercury Direct’s payment processing solutions are available in more than 20 currencies, so you can accept payments no matter where your business is based.
Conclusion:
Whether you’re looking to accept payments online, in a physical store, or both, many different payment service providers can help your company solve any issues it may be experiencing. You need to know which provider features will work for your business and how much it would cost to use them. We reviewed the four most popular payment service providers today: Braintree (owned by PayPal), Stripe, Authorize.net, and Mercury Direct. We highlighted some of their best features as well as what they offer, so make sure you don’t miss out on anything!
