Integrated Payments for SMB Platforms

Integrated payments are payment solutions that an SMB platform business integrates into its own product offering to provide payments to its customers. For most businesses, online payments means something like a credit card processor that puts the cardholder through an external verification process. That refers to non-integrated payments, the most common form of online payments. But SMB platform businesses are moving rapidly toward integrated payments, where the process of accepting payment is integrated into the user flow and doesn’t require stepping outside of the platform itself.

A typical case for integrated payments in an SMB platform is an area like fulfillment or invoicing where the SMB platform users are looking to make their workflow simpler and their efficiency greater by performing the payment and/or billing step in one place.

The value to integrating payments is clear - a company can gain additional revenue, an improved user experience (UX), an improved product offering and long term user growth.

Issues and Challenges for SMB Platform Payments

SMB payments platforms have a more complex setup than B2C or direct marketplace platforms.You are providing payments for other businesses that in turn have customers. That’s an extra layer of complexity. You need to consider support for your customers and their customers as well as how best to improve your customers’ businesses in addition to your own. Here are a few considerations:

• You may have additional payment methods and requirements stemming from B2B activities like a need to support ACH or to manage and arrange net payment terms and periods.
• You will have a need for more robust reporting and tracking than a B2C platform because of customer needs themselves to have good metrics. There are also more regulatory requirements like tax documentation and tracking.
• Finally, you also need to consider more than just KYC regulations and risk but also the risk stemming from working with merchants who may have their own specialized issues.

Benefits of Integrated Payments for SMBs

• Fully integrating payments, rather than using a bolt-on third party solution in an iframe, means an improved experience for your users to go along with the improved functionality. That in turn translates into greater user retention and uptake.
• Another benefit of fully integrated payments, compared to bolting a solution on, is that your core product improves with the added functionality. Users are typically looking for more integrated solutions so this also improves user satisfaction.
• Fully integrating payments also adds new directions for your core product and more robust user data that you can apply to find new directions for growth in your core business.
• Finally, the most obvious benefit is increased revenue. You not only get direct revenue but also increased revenue from future transaction growth.

Interested in learning more about payments for SMBs? Contact sales@wepay.com to consult an expert or build payments into your service offering.