WHY A MULTI-ACQUIRER STRATEGY IS KEY TO GLOBAL GROWTH

As online business grows exponentially, finally fulfilling the internet’s promise of a ‘global village’ in which anyone can buy and sell anything from anywhere, CellPoint Digital is providing merchants with the ability to increase conversions, reduce operational costs, and boost profits.

Typically, merchants retain long-term partnerships with a single acquirer that processes credit or debit payments on their behalf. However, leading merchants and payment services providers are increasingly finding that working with multiple acquirers can deliver compelling commercial benefits.

As a payment orchestration platform provider, CellPoint Digital connects merchants through a single API to the acquirers they want, that will support them on their growth journey. This ensures they can offer customers anywhere in the world the seamless payments experience that is so desired.

While many merchants still opt for traditional payment services, others are learning that this one-size-fits-all approach is becoming incompatible with a more complex and international eCommerce landscape.

Here Mark Patrick, Head of Global Payments at CellPoint Digital explores the concept of multi-acquirer strategies and touches upon the benefits to customers of CellPoint Digital’s solutions.

 

What is a multi-acquirer strategy?

A multi-acquirer strategy is one in which a merchant holds accounts with more than one acquirer which processes credit or debit card payments. Though introducing multiple players might at first appear to be a needless complication of a merchant’s payment ecosystem, the advantages of a multi-acquirer strategy are significant.

Factors such as the sector they operate in, their size, and the regions they cover all contribute to a merchant’s decision to diversify the number of acquirers they work with, but others are more universal.

Increased conversion rates – Increasing the completed number of sales is essential for achieving growth objectives, yet is impeded by the likes of declined transactions, abandoned carts and unsatisfactory customer experiences.

With increased payments acceptance – facilitated by more intelligent routing –  coupled with an ability to accept a wider range of payment methods, merchants are able to provide their customers with a greater mix of both domestic and international payment options.

Omnichannel support – Today’s merchants need to be able to take various forms of payments to maximise sales. As a result, omnichannel support and the flexibility it affords is a key benefit of deploying a multi-acquirer strategy.

With the migration towards digital channels gathering pace every day and the growth in alternative payments reaching record highs, consumer expectations are more sophisticated than they have ever been. They demand secure and seamless payment experiences across a range of channels and the ability to use their preferred payment methods.

Accommodating these diverse and changing consumer preferences while preserving growth requires merchants to modify their payment strategies through multiple acquirer relationships.

International growth – The transaction speeds and success rates of payment gateways can vary considerably depending on payment methods used and consumer location.

Smart routing offers a solution through the use of advanced data analytics and technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). By analysing large datasets according to payment method and location, it can be determined which payment gateways will generate optimum returns per transaction. It means merchants can more effectively process payments, enhance revenues, and save on cross border transaction fees.

Merchants across the globe are now implementing these dynamic routing techniques on a much broader scale and boosting their transaction success rates both domestically and across borders.

Compliance support – With a greater online presence, more and more merchants are offering their services globally. However, meeting regulatory mandates as part of a global operation is complex.

With a Payment Orchestration Platform forming the bedrock of a multi-acquirer strategy, merchants access bespoke middleware designed to not only manage multiple PSPs but also achieve jurisdiction-based compliance.

The Platform provides the merchant with PCI compliance using flexible tokenisation of personal data and streamlines KYC and PSD2 management, helping the merchant ensure compliance while reducing compliance costs.

 

Less is not always more

The deeper we get into the digital age, the more it’s communicated to us that benefits are had by having less. Accessing operations through just one interface. Managing accounts through just one app. Completing digital transformation through just one provider.

For the most part, this is true. But it is not true when it comes to working with acquirers. By developing a multi-acquirer strategy, merchants can plug into different acquirers across the globe, helping them to expand cross border and avoid the need to navigate relationships with individual acquirers. And, with intelligent routing, each payment is processed in a way that works best for both merchants and customers alike.

 

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