Solving Merchant Payments Challenges with Technology
Posted on By Stephanie Fedro
Today’s merchants struggle to balance multiple demands. Not only are they concerned about operational efficiency and profitability, but they also need to provide great experience for customers -- especially when it comes to payments. Whether you’re an ISV looking for ways to serve merchants with next-generation technology or a merchant services agent building your book of business, you should work with a payments partner that can address those needs.
At Payroc, our payment app helps eliminate these merchant challenges.
Top Merchant Payments Challenges
Superior Customer Experience
Customer experience is the name of the game today. Merchants know this, and they are always on the lookout for ways to up their client experience game. When shoppers know they can get in and out of a store or restaurant with ease, that merchant can quickly become a favorite stop.
What does that mean for payments? Merchants need to offer as many bells and whistles as they can on their payment terminals without slowing down the process. Customers want the option to dip, tap, or pay in a completely contactless way.
The Payroc App is customer-centric
Payroc’s payment app was designed with customers in mind. The interface is easy-to-navigate with clear instructions to help customers complete their payments quickly. We also understand that customers don’t necessarily want the hassle of paper receipts. The Payroc App offers the option to print, text or email receipts – a definite perk for merchant and customers.
Omnichannel Payments
Another “must-have” for merchants: omnichannel. That means offering devices for in-store payments and an online virtual terminal or website for card-not-present payments.
Beyond credit and debit cards, customers are using alternative payment solutions. For example, digital wallets and biometric payment methods are wildly popular with younger consumers, who either don’t carry a credit card or just keep the data stored on their smartphones. Convenience stores and grocery stores also need the ability to accept EBT transactions.
The key is to give customers the option to choose what is most convenient in the moment.
The Payroc App is channel agnostic
The Payroc App leverages the Payroc gateway to enable virtually any type of payment, including traditional credit and debit cards, digital wallets, contactless payments, ACH payments and even EBT transactions. The Payroc gateway can be used for in-store payments and provides virtual terminals and even hosted payment functionality. This gives merchants and their customers the most options when it comes to payment acceptance.
Processing Costs
Merchants also struggle with the costs related to accepting credit and debit cards. They are looking for ways to reduce those costs without compromising customer experience. Solutions like surcharging give customers a choice of which card to use – credit or debit – with the cost of credit card processing shared between the merchant and the customer, ultimately saving merchants money.
Surcharging is particularly useful for merchants with higher-than-average transactions and limited profit margins.
The Payroc App enables surcharging
Because our payments app is integrated with the Payroc gateway, merchants can take advantage of our surcharging solution, RewardPay. For merchant services agents, this can be a gamechanger in building your business.
Real-Time Reporting
Merchants are recognizing the need to streamline and increase the efficiency of their operations. The more accurately they can see how their business is performing throughout the day, the better they can serve their customers and increase revenue.
The Payroc App offers real-time reporting from anywhere
Another advantage of being connected to the Payroc gateway is business owners have access to real-time reporting. Instead of pulling staff away from servicing customers, business owners can log into the Payroc gateway and view sales numbers at any time of the day.
Innovation Apps Need Modern Hardware
Addressing merchant needs involves more than just an innovative application. The hardware you offer merchants must be designed to run modern software. Traditional payment terminals have offered minimal functionality mostly because they run on a LINUX platform that is limited to taking payments using a rudimentary display. However, with the technology advancements from device manufacturing partners like Ingenico, we can offer state-of-the-art payment devices that can take advantage of our payment application.
Introducing the Ingenico Axium Line
The new Ingenico Axium hardware runs on an Android platform versus the old LINUX platforms. This makes it possible to run proprietary software, such as the Payroc app. Instead of a series of static screens, merchants and their customers interact with a sleek, dynamic, and modern display with many exciting improvements.
Wi-Fi Enabled Devices 4G and Wi-Fi Enabled Devices? Mobile device capability?
The Axium hardware is Wi-Fi enabled and offers 4G coverage, which means merchants don’t need to be tethered to an ethernet cord. Sales and wait staff can carry these devices with them for line busting or a pay at the table experience.
Adaptable to Innovation
Payment technology continues to change, and merchants should be able to adapt with it. These devices are suited for retail, restaurant and other verticals and easily expanded into new as they emerge. In addition, merchants can use the same hardware to take advantage of updates and improvements to the Payroc app.
Compatible with RewardPay
With the new Ingenico Axium hardware, merchants are able to utilize Payroc’s compliant surcharging platform, which can reduce their cost of card acceptance by about 50% to 70% compared to traditional flat rate or interchange plus pricing plans. Through the Payroc app, the Axium display gives customers the option to use their credit card for a fee or opt to use their debit card.
Not only does this result in a win-win for merchants and consumers, it delivers the type of communication and transparency that is critical in customer service.
By leveraging the Ingenico Axium hardware with the Payroc App, merchant services agents can deliver a better solution to merchants and build a stronger and more profitable book of business. ISV partners can leverage quick payment integration through Payroc Cloud and provide their merchants with a forward-leaning payment device to their merchants.
To learn more about selling merchant services with Payroc, contact us.