Online merchants, especially those who are new to the eCommerce space, are on a difficult mission nowadays.
The industry at a glance
The market currently witnesses a transition from cash to digital payments. There is an increasing customer demand for a smooth, personalized shopping journey and, implicitly an optimized checkout experience. On top of all these, fraud continues to migrate from the physical real to the fast-growing card-not-present world.
Add to the above picture the following: the global payments space is growing but also changing quickly, in order to address the increasingly sophisticated online fraud and security attacks. At the same time, pressure to keep pace with regulatory changes and updates is omnipresent for all players involved.
The importance of digital onboarding
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how much traffic an eCommerce business gets. Online sales make the business world profitable. No sales = no business.
In such a context, it`s not difficult to imagine that the payments process for merchants has been anything but easy. And yet, regardless of all the challenges and uncertainties, we believe that one constant has remained the same: the merchant onboarding process sits at the core of the payments segment. Its efficiency is the contributing factor to the success or failure of an entire business. This is why merchant onboarding is a key feature to be considered during the payment gateway selection.
Merchants expect ease of completion and access to digitized security and documentation capabilities. They want to work with payment service providers that support a fast and easy, hassle-free onboarding to accept payments immediately.
In order to meet these merchant expectations, here are 3 ingredients each successful digital onboarding experience should provide:
• Friction-free onboarding: the user experience is particularly critical when it comes to onboarding clients. Just like their customers, merchants will always appreciate the most transparent, flexible and friction-free experience.
A completely digital and automated process can help achieve just that.
• Rapid integration: speedy onboarding has become a strategic element. Merchants now expect less time-consuming response, claiming approval for payments acceptance in just a matter of minutes.
If you do not have the ability to onboard merchants in a matter of minutes, your competitors will.
• KYC (Know Your Customer) compliance. KYC is the process of a business identifying and verifying the identity of its clients. This can be done by following three steps: establishing the customer`s identity; understanding the nature of the customer’s activities and assessing money laundering risks associated with that customer.
It is important to remember that merchant onboarding needs to create a balance between the aspects above and the regulatory compliance and risk management. Failing in the attempt can result in severe penalties and damaged reputation.
So acknowledge the importance of data integrity and accuracy!
We`ve all been there
How many times have you been browsing a website, found the perfect product or service, and looked down to see it promoted in a currency that’s not yours? This happens far more often than it should. Despite payment technologies moving at a more rapid rate than ever, eCommerce stores are still behind on showing local currencies to potential buyers. This leaves buyers wondering whether the item is even aimed at them, whether the company will ship to them, and how much it really costs when translated into their own currency. It might seem like a tiny, insignificant detail, but it can make all the difference.
Many merchants are still struggling to provide the best possible eCommerce experience for their shoppers. According to recent research by Barclaycard over 7 in 10 merchants have not added any new payment technology to their stores within the past 2 years. Upgrading to a modern payment gateway that aims to meet such needs will lead to more sales, higher conversion rates and a seamless checkout experience.
In the business world, a simple, frictionless but reliable onboarding experience is invaluable. This is what industry players should always have in mind: to simplify the integration process of the new merchants by limiting the number of steps they must go through to accept payments and manage their online store.
Author:
Maik Bodden, Marketing Manager
About G2A PAY:
G2A PAY (https://pay.g2a.com) is an online payment gateway accepting 200+ global and local payment methods – assisting businesses on their growth path. We provide the tools needed for businesses of all sizes to offer a seamless and localized checkout experience to end users.
