Customer Service

How Payment Processing Can Enhance the Customer Experience

Customer experience reigns supreme in today's hyper-competitive business landscape. It is not a mere perception. A PWC report titled Experience is everything. Get it right., says, globally, 32 per cent of customers will easily walk away from a brand after a single bad experience. The report quotes 73 per cent of customers mentioning experience as the third most important factor influencing their purchasing decisions, the first two being price and product quality. It is time for businesses to analyse what elements drive these customer experiences. Convenience, personalisation and efficiency are right up there. But another often-overlooked element of the customer experience, that has immense improvement potential, is payment processing.

Many of us can relate to the frustration of being unable to complete a purchase after reaching the payment stage. Abandoned carts indicate bad experiences that can also lead to significant loss of revenue and loyalty. Payment processing is one of the top reasons for this. The solution lies in businesses rethinking payment processing and  considering it as more than a mere transaction. It is time to take the hassle out of payments. Advanced payment technologies are helping businesses reshape their interaction with customers. These new-age payment technologies have the power to elevate customer experiences and drive loyalty and growth.

Let us look at a few factors that can help elevate the customer service experience through payment processing.

Convenience and accessibility

Keeping it simple should be the policy for payment processing. People should be able to pay with quick, easy steps. The payment processing systems should have a thoughtful and intuitive UI that people can access from anywhere on any device. Having clear instructions that do not confuse people also adds to the experience. For international customers, businesses need to consider enabling automatic currency conversion.

Another crucial aspect is allowing customers the flexibility to pay whichever way they want through omnichannel integration. The multiple options can be CRM with payment processing, in-app payments, cards (credit, debit, contactless), wallets, online bank transfers, financing options, etc. These aspects represent convenience and accessibility to customers when they pay.

Speed and efficiency

Time is of the essence for most people, and they do not want any lags while completing transactions. When they lose patience, they may abandon the transaction. Hence, it is imperative to smoothen the process by removing all lags. Incorporating advanced payment systems increases the efficiency of the whole process by leaps and bounds.

Also, responsiveness in solving issues like disputed payments, billing errors, etc., with 24x7 support adds to the customer service experience. The PWC report findings corroborate this. Almost 80 per cent of American consumers said speed, knowledgeable help, convenience and friendly service represented essential elements of a positive customer experience.

Personalisation and loyalty

What is personalisation in payment processing? Here are a few ways to offer it.

• Integrate personalised reward and loyalty programs into payment solutions.
• Leverage customer data to offer discounts or exclusive offers at the point of sale.
• Offer one-tap payments by remembering preferences and payment details.

Personalised recommendations and integrating instant rewards into payment systems create a wow factor, driving customer loyalty. However, keep the human angle going even while incorporating advanced payment systems. In the PWC report, 82 per cent of U.S. and 74 per cent of non-U.S. consumers said they wanted more human interaction in the future.

Security and trust

Trust plays a significant role in payment systems. It takes time to build it. Once lost, recovering it may be highly challenging. If the payment systems drive confidence through transparency of costs involved, data security practices in place, compliances adhered to, etc., the trust factor will be high. Some ways to ensure security are access control, encryption, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance, etc.

Another priority in payment processing experience nowadays is fraud prevention, considering the rampant prevalence of payment scams. A recent McKinsey article titled The future of the payments industry: How managing risk can drive growth, says customers expect payment providers to protect them against fraud and reimburse them if any such instance occurs. Assurance of fraud protection through sophisticated payment gateways with anti-fraud controls adds to the customer experience significantly.

Depending on the industrial sector, further customisation is possible for payment processing to enhance the customer experience. For example, instant receipts and multiple options drive the experience in retail. But in hospitality, it could be integration with the booking systems or EMI-based finance options. The Buy Now, Pay Later facility is a big hit in the e-commerce industry. The key is to adopt the latest payment processing trends to drive experiences while balancing security.

How can Infosys BPM help?

Infosys BPM’s customer care outsourcing helps you manage customer service touch points across the entire lifecycle in a cost-effective way while driving in-depth experiences. Through skilled 24x7 support technicians, our customer service practice helps you understand and sustain customer expectations comprehensively.