What are the benefits of working with a payment processor?

Evaluating the products and services a business needs to operate smoothly is a critical business skill. Sometimes those assessments are straightforward, while others take more time to assess. Quantifying costs of payment processing is as easy as opening your account statement. Yet the benefits payment processors are less well understood, especially when third parties are involved.

So, let’s look at five key benefits that payment processors offer business like yours:

1. Accept credit card and debit cards

The first and most important benefit payment processors deliver is the ability to process credit cards and debit cards payments. This insight may seem obvious but consider for a moment how your business might operate without the ability to accept card payments.

Reliable payment processing is on the short list of essentials for most businesses to function properly. Worldpay’s 2018 Global Payments Report found that together credit cards and debit cards accounted for over half (42%) of eCommerce and three quarters (74%) of in-store consumer payments in the US in 2017. That makes accepting credit and debit cards as important as electricity for daily operations.

This essential benefit is available whether you contract for payment processing directly, via a value-added reseller (VAR), or however you may access your payment processor.

2. Offer your customers alternative payment options

Your customers want choice—especially when it comes to how they pay. Credit and debit cards are essential but they’re far from the only important payment option. Today’s consumers want to use an emerging set of alternatives, like paying via their smartphones with mobile wallets.

Payment processors help businesses determine the best mix of payment alternatives to serve your customers. From direct bank transfers to pre-paid cards, gift cards to buy-now, pay-later options, payment processors help you maintain happy customers by letting them pay the way they want.

How you connect to your payment processor can determine whether you can offer all the payment alternatives your customers want. Whether your business is working directly with a payment processor or through a third-party, take the time to understand what alternatives are available before you make a commitment.

3. Integrate payments with your own systems

The business world is full of specialized systems. Integrations that allow separate business systems to talk to one another are essential to develop business efficiency—and to maintain business sanity.

Payments don’t take place in a vacuum. Leading payment processors seamlessly integrate payments with other business workflows like accounting, billing, customer relationship management (CRM), and more.

4. Direct pricing, direct relationships

Value-added resellers (VARs) bundle payment processing with other business services. Independent sales organizations (ISOs), merchant service providers (MSPs) and eCommerce providers also offer payment processing, though one step removed from the source. These and other third parties often resell the services of a payment processor as part of their business services package as part of the wealth of value-added services they provide.

Yet many businesses prefer direct payment processor relationships. Direct relationships offer can offer more extensive payments expertise, superior customer service, 24/7 troubleshooting, data security assistance, fraud protection and more. Direct relationships with payment processors can also mean direct pricing models that can result in significant savings.

5. Flexibility to grow with your business

Payment options are evolving fast—just like your business. Leading payment processors help businesses like yours stay ahead rapid changes in the payment marketplace. Full-service payment processors that operate at scale partner with businesses at every stage of growth.

Many third-party services that resell or bundle payment processing are designed for early-stage small businesses. From sole entrepreneur start-ups to enterprise businesses on a global scale, leading payment processors can not only grow with your business, but the best can also help you achieve that growth.

Worldpay is a leading payment processor that helps businesses like yours accelerate revenue through optimized processing while reducing costs. Start a conversation with one of our payments experts today to learn more about how we simply and flexibly connect businesses like yours to the future of commerce.