Consumer payments have changed dramatically over the last several years.
During the pandemic, consumers were forced to operate online. That led to relatively fast adoption of emerging payments technologies, such as mobile wallets. And although brick-and-mortar stores are once again open, consumers have come to expect that payments in the physical world should be as easy and frictionless as payments in the online world. This, however, is proving a challenge for ISVs to address.
Embedded payments may be the answer.
Embedded payments enable customers to seamlessly make payments in any digital setting – including software applications, digital wallets, wearable technology, connected appliances, and even cars. Consider the experience presented in the Uber and Lyft apps; consumers can easily pay with a single click – no shopping cart to check out, no scrambling to find a credit card … no hassle at all, in fact.
From a business perspective, the ability to curate frictionless payments directly in your consumer offering makes running your business easier and faster. And from a consumer perspective, being able to complete a transaction simply by clicking a button is perhaps the ultimate purchasing experience.
How else are merchants using embedded payments to make the customer experience better?
Think about the last time you went to a sporting event. There’s a good chance you interacted with a self-serve payment solution – such as alcohol and soda concessions that use QR code technology, a smartphone app for your ticket, or a mobile wallet payment solution that allows customers to purchase a souvenir quickly and easily.
Amazon Fresh has revolutionized the “just walk out” and scan-and-go technology that enables consumers to scan groceries as they shop and pay by using a QR code or digital wallet solution.
Mobile point-of-sale (POS) units on tables or kiosks make it easy for customers to order food and beverages at restaurants, stores, and even transportation hubs with little to no interaction with staff.
Consumers are actively embracing mobile wallets and cell phone technologies that enable them to “tap to phone” and pay. But that’s not even the most exciting innovation in payments.
Embedded payments are a perfect fit for augmented and virtual reality environments, where consumers can tour a “store” and make purchases that are automatically shipped to their address. They never have to leave their homes, and they don’t have to take their credit card out of their wallets.
For citizens living in areas with toll roads, they’re likely already familiar with toll payments generated by a transponder attached to their car windshield or dashboard. But what if the car itself generated the payment? There’d be no need for a transponder or even an app; the payment technology is embedded directly into the car’s electrical system, with user notifications generated via the dashboard.
The payment opportunities aren’t limited to tollways, either. Consumers could pull up to a gas station and be prompted on their car dashboard to authorize payment for gas. The same goes for electric vehicle charging, and even drive-thru orders.
These innovations from ISVs are incredibly exciting, and Payroc is thrilled to announce that we have updated our APIs to enable even better experiences.
Payroc is committed to giving ISVs the payments technology they need to continue to build innovative new payment experiences, with the flexibility to easily integrate with our SDKs and APIs.
To that end, we have launched four APIs that enable ISVs to board new merchants, take and settle payments, report, and even manage payroll easily and seamlessly.
Our merchant account boarding allows ISVs to collect all pertinent information about each merchant in a digital fashion, submit that information through our API, get a digital signature, and provision that account to have it up and ready for processing quickly.
Our platform covers credit, debit, and even ACH transactions, both in-person and online.
We can also offer dynamic funding capabilities that enable ISVs to create value within their software. For example, one of our partners develops payment solutions for race management — triathlons and marathons — where many of the registrations involve nonprofit donations. Their solutions need to settle funds to both the merchant and the third-party nonprofit. The process sends the majority of the registration to the race management company, a portion to the charity, and the rest to the ISV.
Our reporting API pushes that settlement information so ISVs can report within their own software, including the deposits. Merchants have all the functionality they need to reconcile and everything else for all their payments, without ever leaving the ISV’s software.
Looking ahead, we have even more solutions in development – including the ability to enable Apple Pay and Google Pay. As new functionalities are rolled out, we’ll keep everyone informed.
We know that ISVs need a platform that can accommodate virtually any type of merchant, payment type, funding instruction, and reporting need with minimal integration. This type of seamlessness is our specialty. We give clients everything they need in one spot to deliver all the capabilities they’ll need to take their business to the next level.
If you’ve been operating for a while, you may be excited by the idea of embedded payments – but less excited by the idea of migrating to a new provider. Fear not. Payroc offers seamless migration tools to help make the migration process smooth and efficient.
As the future of embedded payments continues to drive innovation, ISVs will need to adapt quickly without having to reinvent and retool their solutions. Payroc’s integrations team works directly with ISVs to understand their requirements — now and for the future — and identify the best way to leverage each API for their business model.
Learn more about Payroc’s Boarding, Transactions, Settlements, and Reporting APIs.