The global payments landscape is undergoing a dramatic evolution.  Everything from IoT-enabled payment technology to AI, machine learning, and APIs are changing the way people can — and want to — pay. This shift is accompanied by a parallel evolution happening in the universe of fraud, where bad actors are matching pace with new technologies and developing new ways to perpetrate fraud.

Compliance, security, transparency, and automation must be interwoven into any payments framework that merchants of all sizes utilize. As the technology and regulatory dynamics change, ISVs that offer integrated payments solutions must find a way to balance back-end infrastructure requirements with customer-facing tools and capabilities. Doing this ensures that ISVs can future-proof payments and keep management software both innovative and secure.

PCI Compliance

Software that allows for online payment processing requires a solution that provides the maximum PCI scope reduction while maintaining the proprietary site or web application look and feel.

Compliance and data security are about more than checking boxes. It’s about protecting the processing environment so that an ISV’s business (and its customers’ businesses) are safe from data breaches and the fallout. According to the 2018 Cost of a Data Breach Study, the average cost of a data breach in the US in 2018 was $7.91M. Whether due to a malicious attack, a glitch within the processing system or human error, few can afford the substantial damages caused by a data breach.

As payments technology grows more sophisticated and complex, compliance will remain an integral consideration for any software solution with integrated payments. Working with a payments partner that dedicates people, resources and client assistance programs to make sure PCI compliance doesn’t fall between the cracks is a winning (and money-saving) strategy.

Analytics & Insights

Integrating API-driven tools as part of the payments experience allows ISVs to give their customers access to critical, actionable marketing research that can improve the customer experience. Trackable metrics can be used to evaluate location-based performance as well as the performance of competitors. These insights can be leveraged to understand pain points and to unlock business opportunities in real-time to deliver bottom-line profits.

Giving customers the ability to understand the impetus behind purchase and payment behaviors enables those businesses to personalize offerings and better protect against fraud. Both outcomes help businesses secure their future.

Augmenting Payments With Relationship-Building Tools

Wrapping value around payments will be a key differentiator for ISVs that want to future-proof payments and stand apart from competitors. Offering a streamlined and secure payment experience that flows seamlessly from within management software is the minimum requirement. Adding on tools and services that help customers drive engagement, drive commerce, and improve the experience is what positions ISVs as knowledgeable organizations that help their customers modernize payments.

Dynamic communication tools can provide businesses with process improvements that deliver efficiency and value to enhance the customer experience. Improved communication increases retention and enables customers to pay at every interaction point. Just as consumers increasingly demand more convenient ways to pay, they also look for more convenient ways to communicate with their favorite businesses. This means it’s imperative to deliver diverse communication options, including text, phone, email, and social media. Enabling conversations — and commerce — through these channels can streamline processes and drive revenue while improving client satisfaction.

Keeping a finger on the pulse of a business’s social reputation is important in the digital era. Reviews and other user-generated content are where many customers do their research before engaging with a brand or business. An ISV that helps its customers obtain real-time feedback on their online reputation is a key differentiator. Not only does it provide business customers with the ability to see how their customers are rating them, but it enables them to respond directly from one interface to resolve any customer complaints and to seamlessly solicit positive reviews from happy customers.

Future-proofing payments will be about more than ISVs integrating the hottest new payments technology into software systems. It will require careful foresight into the future needs of customers, especially as those needs relate to compliance, communication, and actionable insights to help grow their business.