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Smart payment processing for your business

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The GoCardless content team comprises a group of subject-matter experts in multiple fields from across GoCardless. The authors and reviewers work in the sales, marketing, legal, and finance departments. All have in-depth knowledge and experience in various aspects of payment scheme technology and the operating rules applicable to each. The team holds expertise in the well-established payment schemes such as UK Direct Debit, the European SEPA scheme, and the US ACH scheme, as well as in schemes operating in Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand. See full bio

Last editedFeb 20232 min read

To grow your business and foster a relationship of mutual trust, it’s important to provide your customers with a secure, efficient payments process. Today’s best smart payment systems put technology at the core of the checkout experience. Here’s a closer look at smart payment processing and how it works.

What does smart payment processing mean?

Smart processing describes tech-driven payment solutions designed to optimise the experience for both merchant and consumer. This is a wide umbrella term used to describe a variety of different features. Typical elements of smart payment systems include:

Currency conversion
Anti-fraud tools
Smart payment routing
Cascading

These systems are designed to integrate with a variety of apps to streamline your checkout process. Many solutions also use automation to save time and money while securely processing customer payments.

How do smart payment systems work?

To better understand how smart payment processing works, here’s a breakdown of each of the four elements mentioned above.

Smart currency conversion involves solutions designed to save you money on fees. Systems automatically display prices in the currencies of your choice, allowing your business to accept payments in your own currency. For example, GoCardless allows businesses to accept international payments from over 30 countries. Customers pay in their home country’s currency, and by routing the payment through local banks, the merchant saves on costly fees.
Anti-fraud tools like Protect+ keep transactions safe according to custom parameters that the business sets. You can automatically cut off suspicious shoppers or ward away unusual traffic to your website.
Smart payment routing applies to businesses that use several payment processors. This process routes payments through the channels where they’re most likely to be approved. Dynamic routing rules use data to analyse each transaction and automatically send them through to the best possible provider according to factors like currency, location, card issuer, fees, and authorisation.
Cascading describes the process of rerouting failed payments to a different channel for approval. It goes hand in hand with smart routing to rank multiple destinations and find the best alternative for customer approval. This prevents payment declines for a better customer experience.

The benefits of smart payment systems

There are plenty of advantages associated with smart payment tools like those mentioned above.

To begin with, you’ll be able to increase conversion rates. A reduction in failed payments means the customer is likely to come back for more.
Smart payments also lower your fees by automatically searching for the lowest processing method for each transaction. For international payments, you can save a bundle on currency conversion fees.
The focus on security means that you can help mitigate risk while preventing fraud, reducing losses.
Customer satisfaction is the result of using smart payment processing. Customers want a convenient, speedy, and cost-effective way to complete their transactions – all part of the frictionless shopping experience.

Should you integrate smart payment processing?

Today’s savvy consumers expect a frictionless checkout experience. If you’re not using technology to facilitate effortless transactions, your business could suffer with lower conversion rates and increased website abandonment. Smart payment processing enables your business to offer a range of secure payment methods to cater to customer preferences.

By increasing customer satisfaction at the point of payment, you’re more likely to convert them into loyal customers while reducing acquisition costs over time. You’ll also cut down on costly payment declines.

GoCardless offers Success+, a solution that uses payment intelligence to reduce payment failures by an average of 70%. It automatically retries payments on the best day for your customers, ensuring a smoother experience and improve cash flow. Prevent unintentional churn and bad debt due to failed payments with the use of our smart payments tool.

A new era of payments

GoCardless sets people and businesses free from the frustrations and cost of outdated payment methods. Find out how we can help you with both one-off and recurring payments.