Customers rely on digital technologies more than ever to interact, shop and pay for goods and services, so simply accepting credit and debit card payments is no longer enough.

This year brought new challenges for businesses and their customers alike. The pandemic has put additional focus on safeguarding the cardholder payment experience and accelerating digital business strategies. Now more than ever, it’s crucial to prepare your business, your employees and your community for a new market reality.

Payment acceptance can play an essential role in adapting your business for today’s market. See how payments can help pivot your operations and overall strategy to meet new customer demands.

1. Optimize payments and reduce expenses

New technologies and new payment networks are changing the way money moves. Prioritize your cash flow management to ensure you have the funds you need to sustain your business and mitigate risk when margins are tight. You can expedite your funds to have money readily available when you need to invest in upgrading technologies, improving customer engagement or covering the costs of the unexpected.

Reduce the impact of variable costs like interchange and assessment rates by adopting solutions that will optimize your payment acceptance. Working with your payment processor, your business can collect the right transaction data needed to qualify for lower interchange rates on commercial card payments. In addition, they can help you implement a credit card surcharge program to offset acceptance costs and more predictably manage expenses.

Read more: Unexpected cost savings may be hiding in your payments strategy.

>> Learn more: Contact us to discuss enhancing your payments optimization strategy.

2. Reduce the risk of fraud with improved security

Providing a secure payment experience is top-of-mind for you and your customers. Contactless payments utilize EMV/chip card technology, which inherently makes contactless transactions safer. Businesses that adopt EMV enabled devices see an 80% drop in counterfeit card fraud. But, the increase in online transactions you’ll see when you adopt a holistic touchless strategy also means taking a closer look at card-not-present (CNP) fraud.

As more customers turn to digital transactions, it’s important you have the security tools in place to validate card-not-present transactions and prevent malicious account takeover. Today’s advanced security solutions can provide a frictionless cardholder experience while offering stronger protection and authentication protocols.

3. Provide a touchless experience

Customers are relying on digital technologies more than ever to interact, shop and pay for goods and services. In fact, there was a reported 74% rise in online transaction volumes within most retail sectors in March 2020 compared to the same period last year. When you adopt the right touchless strategy, you can provide your customers multiple payment options that offer a clean, seamless and safe payment experience.

For in-store purchases, businesses can support contactless cards, mobile wallets and smartwatches by leveraging EMV/NFC-enabled POS devices. Cloud-based solutions can help you enhance and expand eCommerce capabilities that support mobile, in-app and online purchasing and payments. No matter how your customers choose to engage with your business, you’ll be prepared to deliver a distinctive shopping experience and drive more revenue.

We’re here to help!

It’s important to work with a payment processor that understands your business and has the capability to analyze card payment data across all your environments. Download our e-book to learn how our payment professionals can leverage their industry knowledge and analyze data to make actionable recommendations that will help you better manage card payments.