While integrating payments into software apps will create a more seamless, unified experience for customers, software developers often make the same mistakes that don’t even pertain to the actual integration process. ISVs need to consider more than just the technical aspects of integration – they need to think about their ability to support emerging payment technology.
Nick Starai is chief strategy officer and co-founder of NMI, having worked in the payments and fintech industry for more than 20 years. NMI enables payments across e-commerce, mobile, retail and self-service channels, working with ISVs, ISOs and banks to provide them with the right tools to safely and securely process payments for their merchant customers and end-consumers.
Here he shares his thoughts on the most common mistakes made by developers when integrating payments.
Most of the mistakes we see software developers make when integrating payments often have nothing to do with software integration at all. In fact, most ISVs forget that the simplest solution is usually best.
For instance, ISVs often work with payments companies that specialise in a specific set of customers like SMBs, enterprises or businesses in particular verticals. While an effective tactic for attracting a niche audience, it limits ISVs from expanding to new markets and serving all types of customers – essentially inhibiting their business growth.
Additionally, software developers oftentimes still rely on legacy tech stacks and payment options to serve their merchant customers. Instead, ISVs should keep the big picture in mind by looking for new technologies and services that they can easily integrate into their existing tech stack. Keeping up with the latest payments technology is just as important as the most up-to-date software capabilities in order to serve merchants best and meet their evolving needs. Through this, developers can also ensure their solution is agile, adaptable and scalable for their merchant customers’ growing business and easily enable transactions at any stage in a business’ growth.
ISVs can help make the payments integration experience transparent and easy to understand for merchants by leaning on their software expertise. In the past, technology was the main driver of innovation in the payments space. However, since the pandemic, consumers have been the ones driving demand for new payment features and services, like contactless and mobile wallets.
That said, ISVs often find the most success in addressing these mistakes by partnering with one omnichannel payments platform that can easily plug into their existing software and provide the payments expertise that complements ISVs’ software expertise. This, as opposed to relying on multiple payment platforms, creates a more streamlined experience for merchants and their own customers.
As the payments space continues to grow and evolve, software developers need to make sure they are able to support the many new payment technologies available to better serve their customers. Today, merchants are looking for payments to be integrated with their current systems to support more seamless business functions. Because of their software expertise, ISVs know how to build out really great platforms to serve a multitude of their customers’ needs. However, because they’re not as familiar with the payments space, that’s where they usually face challenges, and they’ll look to payments experts to fill the gaps. That is why we are seeing a convergence of ISOs and ISVs driven by acquisitions and targeted hiring to try and combat this weakness. This helps ensure the merchant is getting a complete solution that is adaptable to both new payments technology and new and improved software.
The ideal ISV partner for merchants
For merchants, the ideal ISV partner is able to support a variety of transactions and payment types across channels. Customers today want the most convenient payment option and therefore, convenience is king for ISVs as well. Merchants are looking for ISVs that can support many different industries, from restaurants to retail. The ideal ISV partner can also integrate payments into its already existing tech stack, making the process more streamlined for merchants.
Additionally, payments-integrated ISVs are better able to monetise their payments volume, making them an even more complete solution for merchants. Merchants are seeking out ISVs who can provide a simple yet well-rounded solution, and payments are a big part of this. ISVs’ software expertise combined with the power of integrated payments helps them offer an easier to integrate solution creating a more seamless, unified experience for merchants and their customers. ᐧ
