SaaS Payment Processing 10 questions to ask when comparing solutions -
What is the reason why a business chooses one SaaS payment processing provider instead of another?
Through my interactions with developers of software and tech founders over the years I've seen how complex this tech stack choice is to take.
But we wanted to hear directly from technical leaders and software developers on what you need to consider when choosing an SaaS Payment processing services.
Is it the interface? Conversion optimization options? Integrations? API documentation? API documentation?
We asked a group comprised of SaaS creators as well as software engineers what they are looking for, and we heard many different answers, including:
- Management of subscriptions
- Methods of payment
- Prevention and detection of fraud
- PCI Compliance
- Currency conversion
- Localization
- Sales tax and VAT
Below are ten of the questions that were asked over and over in our conversations
Evaluation Checklist: Ten Questions to be asked by SaaS Payment Processing
1. Is it PCI Compliant?
In the 2020 Verizon Payment Security Report just 28% of businesses that were surveyed had a complete compliance to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) -- a figure that continues to drop every year.
Do you know if your credit card processor has been certified as PCI-compliant? Lee Grant, CEO of Wrangu is a good source to inquire regarding their encryption practices.
"Tokenization is one of the standard that totally erases cards' data and provides an extra layer of protection. Furthermore, more secure gateways reduce risk and, in turn, achieve cheaper processing costs."
2. What can the service provider do to protect against fraud in the payment industry?
"What security measures do they have in place to assure it's safe from frauds, scams, and other digital hacks that could turn clients off?" David Levi, the founder of Cryptoner recommends asking. He also recommends asking the company about what resources it has in place to address issues with transactions. Consider asking what their average reaction time is for a cyber-security threat.
"These are just a handful of the issues you have be thinking about when looking at a payment service solution as these are the same questions your customers will surely have to ask," Levi says.
3. Accepts a broad array of payment options?
Do not forget to include things like coupons and promotions, custom invoices, and offering refundsall the items you'll require to ensure optimal customer relationships and to optimize conversions.
If you're looking at billing solutions it is important to check the full list of payment options they can accept, including a list of currencies.
"It's imperative to have access an array of payment choices that allow you to facilitate international financial transactions and also accept transactions in many currencies in addition," advises Eden Cheng, co-founder PeopleFinderFree. PeopleFinderFree.
4. Are you aware of what costs are involved?
Be sure to know the amount you'll have to pay when you use a SaaS payment processing service. Processing payments is inherently complicated. There are specific fees associated with various types of transactions. For example, it's more expensive to process the credit card rather than the ACH transaction. However, it's crucial to be aware of hidden fees, like fees for setting up a gateway or merchant account fees.
"Many processors will have fixed fees for each transaction and an amount of the actual transaction" Rahul Mohanachandran, co-founder of Kasera describes. "Also, make sure you check for these fees for greater volume, as it will reduce the cost for each transaction."
5. Are they highly customizable?
Alongside the payment options and billing localization, be sure your provider has been set up to take care of all your current offerings. Do they offer recurring billing and one-time payment? Do you offer usage-based or additional advanced membership plans?
"When you have different payment systems, you'll need an expert in payment solutions that can cover all of them," says Alina Clark who is the co-founder and marketing director of CocoDoc. "Being capable of customizing payments systems for your specific business processes is vital to the efficiency of your business."
6. Does it provide dunning management?
"It's annoying to do this," Dussud admits, so find a company which can handle it for you.
7. Does it make sense for the employees as well as customers?
Technical founders talked a lot about user-friendliness, referring to both the front-end and back-end components.
"Your employees must be able to access the system and check for problematic transactions, chargebacks, refunds, etc. As for the customers, it's important to make the system easy to navigate to avoid abandoning carts or abrupt exits from the sales funnel" Explains Lawmatics Founder and CEO Matt Spiegel.
It's hard to determine how user-friendly a system will be until you're able to try out all the functions and integrate the system with your current data as well as your technology stack. In this regard, search for products that provide trial periods that are free.
8. How reliable is the API?
"Given the development time needed for setting up your payment system, choosing an online service that has a very robust, well-documented API will be crucial," explains the co-founder of Fox-Listed the online marketplace for auto parts and accessories in Australia.
9. Does it integrate easily with your website?
Apart from having a solid API, the payment system needs to easily integrate with your existing site. Eric McGee Senior Network Engineer, TRGDatacenters. The company reiterates the importance of this:
"You should select the payment gateway that is easily integrated into your commerce website. In the absence of this, payment processing gets slower, which can affect the level of quality your site's user experience. Go for a platform whose integrated instructions are clear simpleand easy as well as one whose customer support can be reached quickly for assistance when it comes to the payment system."
10. Does it grow with you?
"Measure your own company's potential to grow against the expansion of the payment processing company which you're evaluating," advises Austin Dowse Aimvein's CEO. Aimvein.
As Dowse explains, "It is important that your payment processor is able to change and expand in the same way that your company does."
Offers SaaS Payment Processing forAnd Much More
We're here when you need a solution that includes:
- Global payment processing , including the localization of check-outs and cross-border tax management.
- Flexible management of subscriptions, such as free trials, monthly, annual paid plans, proration, and discount management, and more.
- SaaS B2B sales management , such as electronic invoicing, interactive quotes and integration with CRM.
