How Banks Should Choose Their Next Payment Partner

Choosing the right payments partner is a critical decision for banks aiming to enhance their service offerings and customer satisfaction. A well-chosen partner can not only streamline banking operations but also significantly improve the customer experience. 

Here are key factors that banks should consider when selecting a payments partner:

1.) Expertise in Product Development: A payments partner with strong product experts ensures that the bank is always at the forefront of innovation. These experts should have a deep understanding of current market trends, regulatory compliance, and the evolving needs of both the bank and its customers.

2.) Sales Enablement and Support: The partner should provide robust sales enablement to ensure the bank's staff are well-equipped to promote and support the new services. This includes training, marketing materials, and ongoing support to help the bank maximize the adoption and utilization of new payment solutions.

3.) Exceptional Customer Service: Outstanding customer service from the partner is crucial. This means having a responsive, knowledgeable, and accessible support team that can quickly address any issues or questions that arise, both from the bank and its end customers.

4.) Diverse and Innovative Product Selection: A wide array of products allows the bank to cater to various customer needs. This range should include the latest in payment technologies, ensuring that the bank remains competitive and can offer cutting-edge solutions.

Banks looking to enhance their payment offerings should carefully consider these factors. With its strong product expertise, sales support, exceptional customer service, and diverse product offerings. Source

Why Local Businesses Are Choosing Vivid over Square and Clover

In the competitive world of payment processing and point-of-sale (POS) systems, local businesses are increasingly choosing Vivid over industry giants like Square and Clover. This shift can be attributed to Vivid's versatile payment options, tailored software solutions, comprehensive support, and advanced billing features. 

Let's delve into why Vivid is becoming the preferred choice for merchants of all sizes. 

Versatile Payment Options Catering to Diverse Merchant Needs

Vivid stands out with its array of payment options designed to suit businesses of varying scales. One of its most notable offerings is the cash discount option, which effectively eliminates credit card processing fees for merchants. This feature is particularly appealing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are often burdened by high transaction costs. By providing a more cost-effective solution, Vivid helps these businesses maximize their profits.

Tailored Software Solutions: A Step Above Square and Clover 

While Square and Clover are popular among micro merchants, Vivid offers a more diversified range of software solutions. VividPOS, the company's flagship software, caters to not just Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) but also Full-Service establishments, positioning it as a competitor to renowned systems like Toast and Lightspeed. What sets Vivid apart is its consultative approach, where each business is assessed individually, and the most suitable software is recommended based on the specific needs of that vertical or business type.

Unparalleled Support and Implementation Services

Vivid's commitment to customer support and service implementation is unrivaled in the industry. Unlike Square, which offers decent support but lacks in-store technology assistance, or Clover, which relies on Fiserv for support, Vivid boasts a nationwide implementation team. This team is responsible for hardware setup, training, and ongoing support, ensuring a seamless integration of Vivid systems into the businesses. Furthermore, Vivid provides 24/7 remote support and a dedicated relationship management team to aid in business growth, setting a high standard for customer service. 

Advanced Billing Software and Payment Flexibility

Vivid's edge becomes even more pronounced when it comes to billing software and payment options. While Square offers online and in-store payment options, Vivid enhances these with advanced billing software capable of handling ACH transactions, recurring billing, invoicing, and integrating seamlessly with online shopping carts. In contrast, Clover requires the use of multiple apps for different functions, and Square limits integrations with its software, thus restricting flexibility. Vivid's comprehensive and integrated solutions provide a more efficient and streamlined experience for businesses. 

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How To Get Faster Funding And Improve Cash Flow

Everyday Funding is a new funding platform designed to fit the way you do business. This recent innovation provides the fastest free/no-cost funding in the payment industry by making funds available within hours, seven days a week.

As a business owner, it can be difficult to financially plan when the time between receiving payments from customers and that cash being made available in your account is uncertain. And you’re not alone. Nearly two thirds of small business owners report that this lag has the largest impact on their company’s cash flow.

The reality is that small business owners need to move faster, be more agile and demonstrate the flexibility needed to thrive in the current environment. Unfortunately, the payments industry has, until recently, struggled to adapt to meet this need. On average, small businesses in the U.S. have $53,399 in outstanding receivables.

COVID-19’s impact on the economy and small businesses has made this need for faster funding even more urgent. This challenging climate makes it crucial for small business owners to be able to access their cash quickly, conveniently and on a schedule that fits their immediate needs.

A more efficient funding timeframe will enable small business owners to:

• Pay invoices more quickly
• Track expenses faster 
• Increase cash flow efficiency 
• Access real, hard-post funding during their hours of operation

Funding that keeps pace with business

This platform allows small businesses to have access to their cash within hours, not days. The quick turnaround can happen within a few hours from when you submit a batch for funding. Most importantly, funding happens on your schedule: nights, holidays and weekends. Whether you need to pay an invoice on a Saturday or submit payroll on the Fourth of July, this flexible funding time frame allows small business owners to work when they need to.

While some products may limit funding amounts or settled batch maximums, Everyday Funding removed those limitations to fit the needs of busy businesses. 

Preparing for the future

Cash flow is crucial to the success of any small business, and small businesses are crucial to the success of the economy and our local communities. Everyday Funding is an innovative cash payment service designed to support these businesses by adapting to the realities of their needs.

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What Are Chargebacks And How To Reduce Them?

Purchase disputes, which occur when a customer objects to paying for some or all of a purchase charged to their account, can be expensive. The process of investigating them can be time intensive and costly for merchants. Plus, if the dispute is successful, the payment network (e.g., Visa® or Mastercard®) charges a fee for the administrative expenses incurred when investigating and processing the customer’s refund, a process known as a chargeback. If you have a significant number of chargebacks in a short time, your payment processor may charge you additional fees and penalties.

Why chargebacks happen

Purchase disputes can result from a number of situations, including simple mistakes, misunderstandings or outright fraud. If there is difficulty reaching a resolution, the dispute may also be reviewed by the payment networks to determine whether the merchant or the customer ultimately receives the funds.

Here is a closer look at some common scenarios that result in chargebacks:

Fraudulent or unauthorized charges

This is the most common reason for a chargeback. “Now that chip cards have started to replace the old less-secure magnetic-stripe cards, fraud-related chargebacks are usually from online or other card-not-present (CNP) transactions,” says Joe Lamar, Merchant Services product executive at Bank of America.

However, in addition to regular fraud, there is also “friendly fraud,” in which a consumer disputes the purchase despite authorizing and perhaps even receiving it. For example, Jay lent his brother his credit card to purchase a $20 pair of socks. His brother bought the socks along with a $50 hooded sweatshirt. When Jay looked at his credit card statement, he didn’t recognize the charge for the sweatshirt, so he called his bank and disputed the purchase.

Unrecognized charges

This typically happens when a store has a different name from the company brand name. A store called ABC Pastry Shop that sells pastries, for example, uses the name Bakery Express on its receipts. When Daniel sees a charge from Bakery Express, a company he has never heard of, he suspects fraud and files a dispute.

Duplicate or incorrect charges

This could occur when a cashier rings up a purchase twice, for example. Kiran went to his local department store and purchased a pair of work boots using his debit card. A few days later, when Kiran was reviewing his bank account, he noticed there were two charges for the exact amount he paid for the work boots. That error resulted in a chargeback.

Issues with the purchased goods

In this scenario, the purchased goods or services were damaged, defective, not as originally described or not delivered at all. For example, Anna ordered a brand-name video game controller from an online retailer, described as red, transparent and wireless. When she received the controller, it was a standard gray wired controller. Anna tried to contact the seller but was unable to reach them, so she filed a dispute.

How to resolve customer disputes — and reduce chargebacks

Though payment disputes can be frustrating, you should respond to them promptly, says Lamar. “Start with the customer,” he suggests. “Many friendly fraud issues are related to customers who have an issue with their purchase but think it may be easier to dispute rather than working directly with the merchant.” It’s also important to collect proof that transactions were authorized by the cardholder, especially for e-commerce purchases. The more evidence a merchant can provide to support the legitimacy of a transaction, the better their chance of overturning a chargeback. Should you fail to respond — or the dispute is found in the customer’s favor — the funds will be returned to the customer.

The following tips can help reduce the frequency of chargebacks:

• Obtain proper authorizations for all card transactions, such as customer signatures, PINs, address verification or CVV codes (three to four digits found on the front or back of the card).
• Ensure all transactions are approved (not declined) by the issuing bank.
• For online purchases, verify that the cardholder was advised of the purchase details and given the option to confirm or cancel at the time of the transaction. 
• Wait to process transactions until the merchandise is shipped or delivered.
• Ensure all transactions are processed accurately with the proper transaction code and in a timely manner.
• Make sure your registered business name on the payment system matches or is at least similar to the one on the cardholder’s statement.
• Obtain the customer or other designated person’s signature for proof of delivery when merchandise is delivered. 
• For subscription-based transactions, obtain customer acknowledgment and agreement to your recurring transaction agreement, and provide notice to the cardholder prior to each recurring transaction.

When you’re running a business, chargebacks are inevitable. But if you’re prepared, you can reduce their frequency.

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Should I Use a Credit Card Processor?

Should I Use a Credit Card Processor?

For solopreneurs and small businesses, you may start by only accepting cash payments. However, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that 82% of U.S. adults “have at least one credit card in their wallets.” So, at some point, clients will want to pay via Zelle, PayPal, or Venmo.

For occasional transactions, this is fine. But once your volume increases, it’s time to consider a credit card processor. For a local service professional, you can take payments from your smartphone while booking clients for their next appointment from the same platform. Likewise, a small business owner who wants to reach the next income goal could expand online to increase sales by accepting credit cards.

Deciding to use a payment processor could also solve problems. Suppose your invoices need to be paid on time. Select a processor that integrates with your invoicing tools or offers an invoicing application. Then, you can reduce your DSO (days sales outstanding) by letting customers pay instantly via credit card or an ACH payment.

Still, if you only have an occasional request for credit card payment options, like less than weekly, you can get away with PayPal, Zelle, or Venmo.

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Advantages of Credit Card Processing

Expanding the number of payment methods you accept helps your business get paid faster, can open the door to more revenue streams, and increase customer satisfaction. A few benefits of credit card processing services include:

• Improve shopper experiences. Accepting credit and debit cards results in faster transaction times and more customer payment flexibility, making it a win-win for in-store shoppers. 
• Boost sales. In-store customers paying with credit or debit may have more purchasing power than those paying with cash, increasing your revenue. Plus, you can accept online payments.
• Expand your brand. Explore new revenue streams, marketplaces, and customer segments when you can request and accept payment through multiple channels.

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Challenges of Credit Card Processing

Although there are several pros of processing electronic payments, some drawbacks exist. These affect your pricing strategy and checkout process. Before deploying new payment methods, consider ways to address these challenges:

• Cash flow management. Unlike cash payments, there's a delay when waiting for payouts from credit card processing. It can take time for an all-cash business to adjust to the cadence.
• Difficulties with software and integrations. Ideally, your payment processing, accounting, POS, and other business-critical tools sync. But getting to this point may require professional assistance, especially if you're strapped for time.
• High processing fees. Processing rates skim a portion of every credit card sale before it hits your account. This can impact your bottom line until you develop a successful pricing and sales strategy.

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Electronic Payment Industry to Grow

In a recent PR Newswire article, the growth of credit card processing, online payment processing, ETF, and ACH industries are reported to grow immensely in the next decade, reaching an estimated $70.3 billion by 2022.

This number isn’t surprising, as the growth of electronic payments and e-commerce has increased significantly in the past couple of years.

Things to keep in mind: along with the increase in revenue, and the increase in ecommerce traffic, fraud will also increase. Luckily, the EMV initiative will drastically decrease point-of-sale fraud, but there are still many small merchants who are unsure about EMV chip card technology. Many are uneducated about the EMV shift; if they don’t know about the technology that can help them, they most likely don’t know about the technology that can hurt them (think: card skimmers, online hackers, and data breaches).

The future of payment processing is bright, because the revenue from credit cards and the consumers’ usage of cards is increasing drastically. However, there also exists the community of merchants who still have not drifted away from running a cash-only business. Consumers still believe cash is the most convenient payment method, Why? Less fraud. Data breaches don’t affect their funds. It’s simple and easy to use.Will the millennial generation move away from the consumer-cash preference? The fact that industry pundits forecast a large increase in credit card processing and online payment processing supports that notion. Source

Credit card processing in 8 simple steps

New to the world of credit card processing? It may seem complex, but once you understand how credit card processing works, you’ll see that the ability to accept card payments is simple and beneficial for your business. Credit card merchants can reach more customers, see an increase in sales, and benefit from advanced security technology.

1. Making the purchase

The customer finds a product that he or she likes and decides to make the purchase. The customer can use a credit card to pay for the item in the store, through an online payment gateway, by phone, or by mail.

2. Entering the transaction

The credit card is swiped or dipped using a secure credit card reader, or the card and transaction information is manually entered using a virtual terminal. For eCommerce transactions, the cardholder keys in the payment details on a hosted payment form on the website.

3. Transmitting the data

The credit card data is encrypted and transmitted for approval as the terminal, POS system, or secure payment gateway is connected to the processing network. Point-to-point encryption (P2PE) can help protect the sensitive payment information from the moment the card is swiped or dipped all the way through to authorization and approval. This security method can help maintain compliance with PCI security standards.

4. Authorizing the transaction

Once the data is transmitted, the credit card issuer can approve or decline the transaction. This is based on the validity of the card, the amount of the transaction, as well as the cardholder’s available funds.

5. Responding to processor and merchant

If the transaction is approved, the processor and the merchant receive an authorization response.

6. Completing the transaction

The merchant completes the transaction by issuing a receipt to the customer. For eCommerce orders, the merchant then prepares to ship the items to the customer.

7. Submitting a batch closure

The merchant completes the credit card payment process with a batch closure. This closes out the transactions that have been processed on that day. The processor’s acquiring bank then collects the funds from the credit card issuers.

8. Depositing the funds

The processor’s acquiring bank then deposits the funds into the merchant’s business account. This typically takes up to 48 hours.

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Seeing a Decline in Revenue? Here Are 4 Creative Ways to Reverse It

Earlier this year, Meta (the company that owns Facebook) announced its first-ever yearly decline in revenue. Company leaders attributed the drop to a slowing economy, efforts to restructure the business, and to Apple’s new policy allowing iPhone users to opt out of ad tracking.

When your small business faces a drop in revenue, the problem is also likely to be multifaceted. A new competitor may have entered your market, or consumers are responding to news reports of an impending economic recession. Whatever the cause of your revenue decline, here are some steps you can take to ensure your business rises to the challenge and comes through this period stronger than ever.

Make small adjustments quickly

One bad month does not mean your business is in dire straits, but it could be a sign you should make small adjustments to address the problem. Look for ways you can slightly modify your business in a way that won’t impact your employees. Perhaps you can renegotiate a vendor agreement with better terms, or revamp your menu with more in-season ingredients.

A drop in revenue might also be the result of larger, macroeconomic changes that are outside your control, such as delays in the global supply chain. If this seems to be the case, act fast to communicate to your customers as transparently as possible how these events impact your service.

Offer complementary products or services

If your drop in revenue seems to be a long-term issue, the next option is to look for ways to generate revenue without spending more money. In short: how can you do more with what you already have?

Consider ways you can diversify your revenue streams by adding ancillary products or services. “Think about related services or products your customers would appreciate. If you own a gourmet food store, for example, you might stock specialized kitchen equipment or add an online ordering and delivery service. If you're a landscaper, you might add snow removal during winter,” wrote American Express.

It may be the case that what you choose to sell isn’t directly related to your primary product or service. For instance, you may consider renting a desk office space to freelancers or providing coaching sessions to up-and-coming business owners.

Keep an eye on consumer trends

Consumer tastes change rapidly. A recent study by McKinsey found that consumers are switching brands at unprecedented rates, incentivized to change their shopping behaviors due to economic pressures, store closings, and changing priorities. What has worked for your business for many years may no longer continue serving your customers well moving forward.

When you face a drop in revenue, it might be worth checking in with your customers via feedback surveys and focus groups to see what has changed. It could be that your business needs to make a simple change, like offering more convenient curbside pickup or a better returns policy. Or, you may learn that it’s time to update your product offering to reflect what consumers need.

Focus on great customer service

Research shows that great customer service is the biggest driver of customer retention—even more than product or price. Quality, attentive, and responsive customer service builds loyalty, and trust with your brand.

“Customers who receive great customer service are more likely to do repeat business with your brand, even when other companies have similar offerings at lower prices. But on the flip side, bad service experiences can stop the relationship in its tracks,” wrote The Future of Commerce.

As you make different adjustments to address consumer needs, keep your customer service levels high. Train all your employees to be able to answer questions, respond to complaints, and help customers navigate your policies, services, and products. This consistency will encourage customers to stay with your brand until you’re able to refine your offering and come out of this revenue slump stronger.

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