Multiple Payment Processors For Online Merchants

A staggering 1.8 billion people purchased online goods in 2018, and experts predict this number will skyrocket as more consumers choose online shopping over brick-and-mortar stores. Now, e-commerce retailers have no choice but to offer their customers a wide range of payment options. But, as you probably know, things become complicated when you add additional processors to your payment stack. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of using multiple payment providers in your online retail business.

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The Advantages

More Choice

Long gone are the days when consumers could only pay for goods online with their credit cards. Today, there is a wide range of payment gateways that facilitate digital transactions. On paper, this is a good thing — consumers have more ways to pay, and retailers receive funds in a quicker time frame.

The more payment processors you add to your stack, the more sales you should generate. This is because you can attract consumers who prefer particular payment methods. This isn't just the case fore-commerce, either. Research shows that 90 percent of households use more than one payment method for paying bills.

More Flexibility

As a retailer, using multiple payment providers gives you more flexibility when it comes to accepting and managing payments from consumers. Some providers place limits on the number of transactions you can accept in your online business, for example. In this instance, using multiple payment gateways provides you with a solution.  

You can also streamline your payment flows by choosing providers that work best for your business or charge you the lowest processing fees. This could save you thousands of dollars a year.

The Disadvantages

Integration

This is a big problem for many online retailers. Different payment providers have different integration processes, and some can take much longer than others. Waiting to integrate a payment gateway into your stack could disrupt your payment workflows, and this is something that you just don't need.

Plus, there are issues with training. It can be difficult for your team to remember how to manage different payment providers when it comes to processes like refunds, for example. You might need to spend time training your team to use a particular payment gateway, which will cost you time and money.

Difficult to Compare Metrics

Most payment gateways provide you with in-depth insights into your payment processes, and you can use this information for cash flow, cost-saving, and even tax filing. However, it can be difficult to compare analytics when you use multiple payment gateways. Some providers will generate particular insights that you can't find on another platform, for example.

Different Security Protocols

Different payment gateways have different security procedures to reduce fraud and expedite transactions. Again, it can be difficult to keep track of this information when you use multiple payment processors.

Customer service teams also need to be aware of different security protocols used by payment providers in case customers approach you after a rejected payment or another issue.

As you can see, using multiple payment providers offers both advantages and disadvantages. Although offering customers more choice is a good thing — 6 percent of customers abandon their shopping carts because of a lack of payment options — it can be difficult to compare metrics and keep track of security procedures when using various providers. Plus, you will need to deal with the problems associated with integration.

It might be time to start thinking about managing all of your payment processors from a single platform.