Since the dawn of the digital age, our lives have been transformed in every sense. For many, daily activities are now often accompanied by apps we can’t live without. As the attachment to these apps grows, there’s an expectation that they’ll consistently deliver convenience and flexibility. That expectation has driven software companies to build and grow their platforms rooted in customer centricity.
As the demand for seamless platform experiences intensifies, there’s only one way for software companies to effectively deliver on customer-centric strategies: with a digital-first approach. Software-led payments are a critical element of the user experience that can be curated with a digital-approach to add value, deepen user engagement, and accelerate the growth of platforms.
The benefits of taking a digital-first approach for software-led payments
Payments permeate every aspect of our lives — there isn’t an industry out there where payments aren’t made and accepted. It’s the very thing platforms need to get right if they want to be competitive in their market today and in the future. By prioritizing digital centricity, the payments experience for your customers can offer the following benefits:
- Seamless onboarding and underwriting
- A user-friendly interface
- Flexible payment options
- Streamlined operations
- Tailored solutions
- Data-driven insights
- Control of the user experience
It’s these benefits and more that give users greater reason to not only stick with their business management platform of choice but rely on it more extensively in their day to day operations.
So, how can platforms successfully take a digital-first approach to payments?
How to implement a digital-first payments strategy and become irreplaceable
As a software provider, you understand the advantages of plugging into the partnership ecosystem. Those that have leveraged partnerships with payment providers, for example, have uncovered the growth opportunities that come with activating software-led payments within their environment.
A software payments partner is an ideal resource for filling feature and functionality gaps of your platform. They can also help you create digitally driven experiences that will elevate the value of your offering and extend the lifetime of your customers. As you evaluate your partnership opportunities, ensure you’re identifying potential payment providers that understand the importance of taking a digital-first approach. You can get a sense of just how much they prioritize this by assessing their support of these three key areas:
1. The development and delivery of a future-proof roadmap
The right software payments partner will help you create a roadmap that anticipates and meets your customers’ payment acceptance needs — both now and in the future. By offering a range of digital payment methods including digital wallets, “buy now, pay later” options, and cross-border payments, you give your users the control to create ideal experiences for their customers and the flexibility to evolve.
2. A pain-free, digital implementation process
You’ll know you’ve found a great match in a payments partner if they prioritize the seamless integration and digital implementation of software-led payments and other Embedded Finance solutions. They’ll ensure every part of the process — from merchant underwriting and onboarding to ongoing support — is thoughtfully designed to deliver frictionless and flexible experiences to your customers. With the right digital tools and processes, they’ll offer you an implementation that’s transparent, tailored, and accessible. These are a few benefits you can expect from a digitally based implementation process:
- A streamlined onboarding experience supported by an intuitive, all-in-one, digital platform that’s easy to use
- White-glove service and support that eliminates guesswork and confusion often associated with traditional onboarding and implementation
- Real-time tracking from a user-friendly interface that enables transparency of the full implementation process and its progress
- Expedited time to launch and faster return on your payments investment
Learn more about a digital payments implementation for platforms.
3. Tools and resources that enable self-service
One expectation that the digital transformation has created among software users is that they should be able to use platforms without the need for any interaction with sales or customer service representatives. It’s the momentum of this “digital self-service economy” that has created a need for software providers to enable their users with intuitive self-service tools and resources that give them control over their payments experience, including PCI compliance and fraud prevention.
By finding a software payments partner that prioritizes a digital-first approach and enables the seamless implementation and management of payments with intuitive, digital solutions and strategies, you can outsprint the competition and get closer to becoming the everything platform.
As we move ahead in the calendar year, it is our prediction that the platforms that take a digital-first approach to payments will give their users the control they want over their payments experience.