(2/4)
This short blog is number two out of a series of four, addressing steps a merchant organization should take to choose & use their payment service provider. 

Preparation is paramount
Choosing and using the right PSP is a  collaborative exercise within a merchant organization involving E-commerce, F&A and IT. Include the whole group and all stakeholders involved in the payment process. There will be different opinions on what is happening at any step along the way and this information will highlight issues and opportunities which should be considered and incorporated in the requirement analysis. In general this exercise should contribute to create the internal awareness that the quality of the payment process and a high conversion rate is the responsibility of everyone who is involved with the creation of it. Regardless of the reasons you are undertaking an initiative to assess or choose a new PSP, there is certain information you need before you can start, steps you need to execute, and information and considerations you will encounter along the way.
Current environment
The first step in executing a PSP assessment & improvement initiative is to understand your current environment. One of the prerequisites  for you to choose & use the right PSP is to fully understand your own industry and the characteristics of your products and services that you are selling in a card-not-present environment. These characteristics are the bases for a first requirement analysis  which will help you to assess a set of payment parameters such as scenarios (One Off, Recurring, Offline) and channels (E-commerce, M-commerce, MOTO, POS).  Reconciliation and reporting requirements, additional services needed  as well as describing your IT platform will add to the picture.