6 digital payments types your clients need the ability to accept now

Innovation in fintech is constant and sophisticated. Keeping up with payments trends alone can be challenging. Sifting through the hype to separate the must-have functionality your clients need from flashy, nice-to-have features can be even more daunting.

In this post, we’ll bring it all into focus for you. Read on to learn about what’s driving the relentless evolution of payments technology and which payment types your merchants can’t succeed without.

The pandemic changed digital payments forever

So what ultimately drove payments innovation? In a word: COVID.

In 2020, traditional brick-and-mortar (B&M) businesses that relied primarily on in-person traffic and card-present transactions were forced to embrace ecommerce practically overnight. Digital payments technology — and the convenience that comes with it  — created an army of online shoppers that helped businesses survive. But it also set an expectation: that all businesses operate online, with the ability to digitally serve their customers and take payments with perfect ease.

Two years later, that expectation hasn’t changed. In fact, it’s grown. With the partial re-opening of physical locations, customers now demand omnichannel capabilities that blend online and in-person service perfectly.

“People want to have a frictionless commerce experience at the point when they want to transact. And that’s not just at the point of sale; it’s across the entire experience,” said Bob Cortopassi, president at Global Payments Integrated.

Business owners are eagerly embracing digital payment methods

While meeting that demand may have felt overwhelming at first, businesses are beginning to embrace progress as eagerly as their customers have. And it’s no wonder. Ensuring they’re visible online gives them access to a virtually limitless marketplace and plenty of cash. According to Transaction Trends, the value of worldwide payments will likely reach $250 trillion within the next five years.

They’ve also realized that the payments space is the best place to start making inroads. Global Payments’ 2022 Commerce and Trends Report reveals that by the end of this year, 53% of merchants plan to expand payments methods. Sixty percent will add digital wallets, while 51% will adopt digital invoicing.

That means it’s time for businesses — and the ISVs who serve them — to establish core payments functionality. So what is that exactly? We define it as must-have digital payments technology that equips your clients to:

• accept all of the ways their customers want to pay
• deliver a flawless, omnichannel customer experience
• get paid faster by streamlining processes
• rely on a robust tech stack that positions them well for the future 

Digital payments your clients need — and want — the ability to accept now

Get your clients up and running with solutions that make it easy for them to accept and use:

• All major credit and debit cards: That includes Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover cards. Clients with physical locations need hardware that allows customers to tap their cards and pay via contactless payments, like NFC, or insert EMV chip cards into a card reader. And because physical locations aren’t always necessarily B&M shops, this type of capability can look like a slimmed down version of a robust point of sale (POS) or a mobile card reader. Just because your clients’ businesses may be on the literal move — like a food truck or pop-up shop — doesn’t mean they have to forego the ability to easily accept credit cards.

  Not only is this tech convenient for customers; it also helps your clients comply with PCI standards. Noncompliant businesses risk breaching their merchant agreement, losing the ability to accept credit cards and becoming a victim of a billion-dollar grift.

  According to CardRates.com and CNBC, businesses worldwide are projected to lose $34 billion to credit card fraud over the next year. If trends hold steady, US businesses alone will shoulder roughly a third of that burden ($11.3 billion), making America the most credit card fraud-prone country in the world.

• Digital and mobile wallets: Apple Wallet.® Apple Pay.® Samsung Pay.® You know the big-name examples of digital and mobile wallets. And although they function a little differently, we’re grouping them together here because they are equally important — and popular among consumers.

  According to NerdWallet, four out of five people make purchases using digital wallets or mobile payments apps. And in its 2022 Commerce and Trends Report, Global Payments reveals that roughly 4.4 billion consumers worldwide will pay with a digital wallet within the next year.

  That means that over half (52%) of global ecommerce purchases will be made using a digital wallet. And while the trend isn’t as prolific in physical locations, it’s significant. Global reports that 30% of payments made at the POS over the next year will come from a digital wallet.

  So whether consumers want to tap their mobile device in-store, or use their digital wallet to make purchases online, it’s important your clients can accommodate anyone who wants to pay with a mobile device.

• Phone and online payments: We’ve covered how businesses need — and want — to offer convenient ways for their customers to pay. We’ve also talked a lot about digitizing transactions and processes. But what happens when those two things don’t connect? What about payment options for those customers who still want to pick up the phone?

  Virtual terminal capabilities could be the answer. This technology allows businesses to securely accept and process credit and debit card payments without the card being present. Interactive voice response technology also makes it easy for customers to pay by phone without requiring someone to physically take the payment. An automated menu walks callers through what essentially becomes a digital transaction.

  Virtual terminals may also be ideal for clients who don’t need a complete POS system, but still want the ability to accept, enter, and process payments through a digital device, like a computer or tablet.

• Links and digital invoicing: Invoicing may be the last thing you or your clients think of when it comes to digitizing payments. But it deserves high priority. Relying on manual, paper-based processes drives increased, unnecessary expenses, in terms of both lost time and hard costs.

  According to Paystand, it takes 35 days for the average B2B payment cycle to run its course, and almost half of invoices are paid late anyway. Between reviewing, correcting, printing, mailing, and reconciling invoices, various industry resources estimate it costs businesses between $12 - $30 to process a single invoice.

  Automation can reduce those costs and help your clients get paid faster, improving their cash flow. Pay links allow your clients to create and share custom links through almost any channel — text, email, you name it. Digital invoices allow your clients to send an invoice and request payment with the click of a button, while also creating a documented trail that reduces the ability for payers to say they never received a bill.

• Checks and ACH: While shoppers writing checks to pay for a retail or grocery haul may sound like ancient history, plenty of businesses still use checks. Whether they’re accepting payments from vendors or paying their own employees, this payment method remains a linchpin of everyday business.

  However, if your clients use tedious processes to manage paper checks, it’s time for a change. Encourage them to embrace electronic checks and use ACH transactions to manage transfers between themselves and their vendors, customers, and employees. Not only is this a faster, cheaper, more reliable way to move money, it makes back-end accounting easier by eliminating the need for manual reconciliation.

• Short-term financing: Installment loans — not to be confused with traditional business loans — allow consumers to make purchases over a series of payments. A certain percentage is always due at checkout, and the payment installments will be in equal amounts.

  After a quick glance, you may be thinking short-term financing sounds pretty much the same as making a purchase with a credit card. While both involve delayed payment for an item, there are pretty stark differences in the details.

  For instance, buyers can carry a credit card balance indefinitely as long as they don’t mind incurring interest. On the other hand, Global Payments Integrated’s DelayPay product — powered by Tua — gives end-consumers several payment installment options. All they have to do is enter a few details, and then Tua’s financing solution automatically gives customers several loan options for which they’ve already qualified.

  Originally an online-only payment method, short-term financing is moving into B&M stores. As a result of its growing popularity across different channels, it’s certainly worth considering as a must-have layer for any client’s tech stack.

Choose your provider wisely

When it comes to selecting the right partner, it’s important they equip your clients to accept the fundamental, online payments types we covered earlier. But that’s not all.

Make sure their customer service model meets you and your customers’ needs. At Global Payments Integrated, we make it easy for anyone to get the help they need quickly. Visit our website to find customer service phone numbers, categorized for different types of users and issues.

Our clients also receive a dedicated specialist — someone who knows your business and your needs. That way, you don’t have to explain who you are and what you need every time you call.

Lastly, Global Payments Integrated’s unique, expanded role within the payments ecosystem can make a difference for you and your clients. Because we act as the payment gateway, payment processor, and acquirer, there are no third-party gateway fees.

It also makes it easier to understand and troubleshoot any potential issues. That means lower costs and greater visibility into the payments process, which isn’t something you’ll get with just any provider.

When it comes to equipping your clients with the payment solutions they need, separating the hype from the must-haves is crucial. Working with the right partner to accomplish it is just as important. We’ll help you do both. Contact us today. 

Apple Pay® and Apple Wallet® are trademarks of Apple, Inc. All trademarks contained herein are the sole and exclusive property of their respective owners.

Samsung Pay® is a registered trademark of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.