SaaS Payment Processing: 10 Questions to Ask when comparing solutions -
What factors make a company select one SaaS payment processor in preference to the other?
When I've had conversations with technical founders over the years I've learned how difficult these tech stack choices are to consider.
However, we would like to speak directly with technical leaders and software developers on what you should need to consider when choosing the SaaS payments processing system.
What is the issue? Options for optimizing conversion? Integrations? API documentation? API documentation?
We asked a small group comprised of SaaS founders and software engineers about what they are looking for when they are looking for an array of responses which included:
- Management of subscriptions
- Payment options
- Prevention and detection of fraud
- PCI compliance
- Conversion of currency
- Localization
- Sales tax and VAT
Here are ten questions that came up over and over again in our conversations
Evaluation Checklist: 10 Questions for SaaS Payment Processing
1. Does it meet the requirements of PCI Compliant?
Based on the 2020 Verizon Payment Security Report just 28% of the companies surveyed were fully compliant to requirements of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) -- a figure that is decreasing every year.
How do you know whether your processor for credit cards is PCI certified? Lee Grant, CEO of Wrangu is a good source to inquire about their encryption methods.
"Tokenization is one of these standard that totally erases card data, offering additional security. Furthermore, more secure gateways lower risks and, consequently, lower processing costs."
2. What is the best way to safeguard against fraud in the payment industry?
"What security measures do they have in place in order to protect itself from frauds, scams as well as other cyber-attacks which could scare potential clients off?" David Levi, founder of Cryptoner advises you to ask. Also, he suggests asking a company what kinds of tools it uses to fix transaction problems. You might want to inquire about what the average response time in response to cybersecurity threats.
"These are just some of the things you'll need to consider when evaluating the payment solution you are considering as those are queries your customers are likely to have to ask," Levi says.
3. Does it accept a wide array of payment options?
Do not forget to include things like coupons and promotions, custom invoices, refunds and other forms of payment -all the items you'll require to ensure optimal customer relationships and to maximize conversions.
If you're looking at billing solutions, you'll want to see the complete listing of the payment methods they can accept, including the currencies they accept.
"It's essential that you are able to access a a wide range of payment options that will let you facilitate international financial transactions and also accept transactions in many currencies in addition," advises Eden Cheng who is co-founder of PeopleFinderFree.
4. Are you clear on the cost?
Make sure you know exactly the amount you'll have to pay for an SaaS payment processing solution. Processing payments is inherently complicated. There are specific fees associated to different kinds of transactions. In particular, it's more expensive to handle credit cards than an ACH transaction. It's also important to be aware of hidden fees, like fees for setting up a gateway or merchant account charges.
"Many processors will have a fixed fee per transaction along with some percentage of the actual transaction" Rahul Mohanachandran, co-founder of Kasera, describes. "Also be sure to examine these fees when you are shopping for larger volumes as they will be less expensive in terms of transaction."
5. Can it be made highly adaptable?
As well as the options for payment and billing localization, make sure that the service is configured to manage all your current offerings. Are they able to offer recurring bill as well as one-time payments? Are you able to offer usage-based plans or any other membership plans that are more advanced?
"When there are multiple payment methods, you'll require a payment solutions provider 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 procedure is essential for your business efficiency."
6. Does it provide dunning management?
"It's annoying to do this," Dussud admits, so find a company who can do this for you.
7. Are they user-friendly to both employees and clients?
Technical founders talked a lot about ease-of-use, speaking about both the front-end and back-end components.
"Your employees should be able to use the system to search for problematic charges, transactions or refunds. In terms of clients, it's essential that the system be user-friendly to avoid abandoned carts and sudden exits out of the funnel for business," says Lawmatics President and Founder Matt Spiegel.
It's difficult to know just how user-friendly an application will be unless you're able to try out all the functions and connect the system to your existing data and technology stack. In this regard, search for solutions that offer trial periods that are free.
8. How robust are the API?
"Given the amount of development time needed for setting up the payment method, choosing an online service that has an extensive as well-documented APIs is essential," explains the co-founder of Fox-Listed, an online marketplace for car components in Australia.
9. Will it easily integrate into your site?
In addition to having a strong API, the payment system needs to easily integrate with your existing website. Eric McGee Senior Network Engineer, TRGDatacenters. The company reiterates the importance of this:
"You should select an online payment system which is easy to integrate into your commerce website. If not, the process gets slower, which can affect the level of quality your site's user experience. Choose a payment platform that's integration instructions are clear, easy to follow as well as whose support can be reached quickly in case you require assistance with the payment process."
10. Will it scale with you?
"Measure your business's capacity for growth against that of the payment processing network that you're considering," advises Austin Dowse, CEO of Aimvein.
As Dowse states, "It is important that your payment processor can adapt and grow in the same way that the company you work for."
Offers SaaS Payment Processing forAnd A Lot More
We're here when you need an answer that incorporates:
- Global payment processing with check-out localization and cross-border tax management.
- Flexible subscription management, including trial periods, free trials, annual plans with paid subscriptions Proration, discount management.
- SaaS B2B sales management , such as electronic invoicing, interactive quotes and integration with CRM.
