Today people are so well adjusted to paying for things online that to stay relevant it's important for business to business software vendors to consider offering online payments as a part of their platform.
This is already common with invoice management software, restaurant booking platforms, grassroots sports memberships management and software to manage equipment rentals. But any platform where transactions take place can deliver greater value for having payments integrated.
The benefit for your customers is that with payments directly integrated into your software platform, they can report on who has paid without needing to compare data across multiple systems.
How it works
Obee is a software platform that helps restaurants streamline online customer reservations and gift voucher sales. Restaurants that want to accept payments and deposits connect their Obee account to their Pin Payments account. Customers then can secure reservations and purchase gift vouchers from the restaurant’s website using their credit or debit card.
Look for these benefits
When researching payment providers, ask about how they’ve been able to help other software vendors like yours with building payments into their platform.
1. Smooth onboarding for your customers
You’ll likely see a lacklustre adoption from customers if the steps to set up their online payment account are complicated and time consuming. Look for payment providers who can facilitate a fast and painless setup (e.g. online, same day activation) experience for you and your customers.
2. First class payment experience
An online payment page hosted by your payment provider is an acceptable way to start offering payment features on your software platform. Make sure they also offer a modern payment API so you can place the payment form in your own interface when you’re ready (this will help improve checkout conversions).
3. Minimise scope for PCI DSS compliance
Every business that accepts card payments online must be PCI DSS compliant. Ask the payment provider if they can provide a solution to ensure sensitive card data never touches your environment or your customer’s environment. This qualifies you for the simple PCI DSS Self Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ A), rather than the more complex SAQ A-EP.
4. Opportunity to grow your revenue
Payment providers generate their revenue primarily through fees charged on each transaction processed. By bringing a stream of new customers to your payment provider, see if they offer flexibility around how transactions are priced, with an option for your business to receive some transactional revenue.
Want to know more?
Contact us if you would like to have a conversation about the best approach for integrating payments into your software.
