How to Choose the Right Payment Method for Your Organisation

Our Top 4 Steps to Choosing the Right Payment Method

Understanding how to choose the right payment methods for your business can be challenging, especially in the ever-changing world of technology and the growing demand for convenience. You need to ensure your customers trust your organisation and feel like a top priority every time.

We’ve spent over 10 years providing a range of payment options that can be tailored to fit every business structure and style. There are many factors, but here are the top 4 steps you need to consider when choosing the right payment method for your organisation.

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Our Top 4 Steps to Choosing the Right Payment Method:

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Step 1: Understanding Who Your Customers Are

It is essential for your business to get an overview of the previous and current customers that are purchasing goods or services from your business. Doing this allows you to meet expectations and target the correct audience, in order to implement a payment method for your business that is structured around what your clients are most comfortable using.

Remember that Age, Gender, Income, and location are all important things to consider when understanding your audience.

For example: Businesses that deal with older generations may be more inclined to use over-the-phone payment types, as studies have shown this generation prefer to talk to another human, not an automated machine when giving out important information such as sensitive payment details.

Compare that to online ordering and checkout options with newer payment technologies, such as Open Banking, ApplePay or Cryptocurrency. These may suit a younger generation with higher adoption rates for these wallet types and they don’t consider human interaction to be a necessity, more of an inconvenience.

Key IVR offers a bespoke solution comprising one or many channels to suit each business. From Agent Assisted solutions where a member of the team is at hand for assistance throughout, to digital payments using Open Banking or online cryptocurrency wallets for those faster transactions. Find out more about our solutions here: PCI Compliant Omnichannel Payment Services – Key IVR

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Step 2: Identifying the Right Payment Channel for Your Organisation Size and Sector

All organisations rely on a healthy cash flow. However, the payment needs of a small e-commerce business will differ from those of a large, international company.

A business operating with high transaction volume, 24/7, at a global level, may benefit from using CNP (card not present) methods such as online web payments, automated phone payments, or other remote methods. These can be available during their time zone, available in multiple languages and currencies. The customer doesn’t need to be physically present with their card, and they don’t need to wait to speak to a member of staff to complete a simple payment.

Not-for-profit and fundraising organisations, that may have a mix of incoming funds from regular donation schemes or specific fundraising campaigns, would benefit from tokenisation (securely saving cards) or being able to set up Direct Debits. By removing steps that involve entering payment information, such as card details, they can increase donations and make it easier to receive regular and ongoing support.

Smaller businesses, or those with a physical store, may benefit more from card-present transactions using a card machine, thanks to the reduced risk and relatively low-cost setup.

Overall, it is important to understand the structure and any unique market traits that you need to consider. Key IVR has experience in many different sectors, from retail, debt collection, housing, public sector and financial services. We can give you the insight into what’s worked great for others, and provide you with some options you might not have even considered.

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Step 3: What Will Work for You Now and in the Near Future?

Following nicely on from Step 2 which looks at the present, let’s look into the future for your organisation and operations.

The technology and services powering how you receive payments and generate business revenue should be an important investment within your organisation.

They must work for you now, but also be adaptable for any growth or seasonal changes you may experience over time, for:

  • Changes in volume of payments and customers
  • How many staff or agents you have working for you (including where they work: office or home-based)
  • Changes in other technology within the business, such as invoicing software, customer relationship management (CRM) services, telecom systems or website updates.

Investing in a large enterprise system when you’re a small business isn’t a realistic solution, but reducing the impact of business growth or operational changes on your payment channels will allow you to be more flexible and save time further down the road.

That’s why we encourage organisations to consider automation and take an omnichannel approach to payment services. Removing tedious manual reconciliation steps or the need for a customer to use different, disconnected payment channels will help you stay efficient and more flexible to whatever the future brings.

All our services on our payment platform can talk to each other, and with API integration options, it can connect to thousands of back-office systems. This gives you a smooth customer payment flow and live updates for your staff in any team.

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Step 4: Last but Certainly Not Least – Security

Time for some serious due diligence. Are your current or potential solutions and service providers:

  • Compliant to any industry specific regulation you operate under (E.g. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA))?
  • Protecting the flow of sensitive payment information from point A to Z?
  • Meet the standards of widely recognised industry standards for the payment industry or data security, such as Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) or ISO27001?

This essential step will help you reduce the risk of any internal or external threats that may compromise your organisation and steal sensitive payment information.

In an ever-changing landscape of malicious cyber and physical attempts, that could result in serious outcomes, such as fines, loss of customer trust and loss of revenue, we cannot overstate how important this step is.

By working with compliance specialists, QSAs and asking your payment service providers to prove how your data will be protected, you’ll be putting the safety of your customers and their sensitive payment details first.

This step may sound daunting, but our approach is to help guide organisations through the journey of compliance. As we’ve invested heavily into our payment platform and achieved the most secure level of data security available, we know what to look out for and what risks you should be looking out for.

Whether you are just getting started or have existing payment systems in place, Key IVR recognises it can be hard for any organisation to be fully aware of all the options available.

Speak to one of our Payment Specialists and we’ll help you through the steps that your specific organisation should go through.

Contact our team by emailing sales@keyivr.com or calling +44 (0) 1302 513 000.

Request a Payment Process Audit

Alternatively, request a Payment Audit and we’ll setup a meeting to learn more about you

Submit your details and a payment specialist will be in touch.

SophieKelly2021

Sophie Chan

Head of Account Management

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    Key IVR are a privately owned business offering global automated PCI-DSS compliant payment services. We are a customer-service focused organisation and take care to manage and meet our clients' expectations.

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