If your software or platform is a one-stop shop for businesses, providing them with all the functions they need for operations, you probably already know you need a way for them to accept payments.
Payments may not be the most crucial piece of your software, but they can certainly be one of the more complex pieces, especially when it comes to the payment gateway. Software providers often have multiple integrations to different processors to ensure their customers' bank (merchant) accounts can plugin with their software and payment gateway.
When you partner with a payment processor for your customers to accept payments, simplicity can certainly make your life easier. Knowing what to look for when assessing the field can help you make the right decisions for your business.
One of the easiest ways to ensure your customers can accept payments with your software, no matter who they have a merchant account with, is through a merchant acquirer agnostic or bank neutral payment gateway. That term may be a bit of a tongue twister, so let's break it down into what it means for your business.
What is a payment gateway
Let's start with the fundamentals: the payment gateway, the essential part of payment processing for businesses. It's the piece of technology that links a consumer's credit card to a business's merchant account. When a transaction is initiated, the payment gateway ensures the movement of funds from one account to another with the utmost security.
When you integrate with a payment processor, you never have to worry about the movement of money or the security of transactions for your customers. A payment processor provides the technology, authorizes the transactions, and receives and settles money into the merchant's bank account.
That may sound simple enough, but here is where it gets tricky. Say you have integrated with a payment processor that supports the financial institution of your choice. That integration will work for any customers you onboard that have a merchant account with that financial institution. That may be fine when you're starting with a small customer base, but as your business grows, you don't want to have to be picky with the customers who wish to sign up with your software.
If a prospective customer already has an existing merchant account with another financial institution, telling them they need to update their account provider can be the loss of a sale. Creating a new one takes time and money that they won't want to go through. Or, if one of your existing customers decides to change providers for whatever reason, they may be looking elsewhere for a solution that works with their bank. Don't let the payment gateway be a restriction for your business.
Integrate a merchant acquirer agnostic payment gateway
The term merchant acquirer agnostic also goes by bank neutral, or bank agnostic payment gateway. No matter how you refer to it, the function is the same: it integrates with virtually any bank.
That means your prospects and even current customers never have to worry about using your software because of who they bank with. A bank-neutral gateway significantly reduces the amount of friction when onboarding new customers, making your software an even more attractive option.
When you work with a payment processor that offers bank neutrality, just one integration automatically connects you to the leading financial institutions across North America. You won't have to complicate things by integrating multiple processors to ensure you cover all the bases.
Worldline's merchant acquirer agnostic payment gateway boasts the largest network of banks and acquirers in Canada and the United States. Plus, we also offer merchant accounts if your customers need to sign up for one. With our payments onboarding solutions, you can quickly become a one-stop-shop for all your customers and earn extra revenue while doing it. Just ask our experts how.