The Vital Role of Service and Support for Payment Processing

• Choosing between different merchant services providers is an important decision for businesses
• Selecting the right POS is critical, but the impact of service and support must not be underestimated
• The best payment processing partners will offer advanced POS tech and top-tier support and service

Advancements in payment processing technology have enabled businesses to provide customers with a faster, more secure, and more convenient checkout experience than ever before. However, the technology itself is only one part of the overall payment processing solution. To truly make the most of your business’ investment in point-of-sale technology, you need exceptional customer service and technical support.

Businesses don’t operate in isolation. You need supportive business partners that will help your company grow, operate efficiently, and deliver an optimized experience for customers to drive loyalty and strengthen competitive position in the marketplace. Whether it’s material suppliers, marketing agencies, logistics providers, or payment processing services, choosing the right partner has a major influence on the success of your business.

When selecting the best payment processing provider in Canada for your business, there are multiple areas of consideration to take into account before making a commitment. In addition to the payment processing technology itself and the rate you’re paying to process transactions, the two other critical aspects to evaluate are the level of customer service you will receive, and the quality of the technical support offered. The importance of support cannot be overstated, and lackluster customer service from your payment processing partner can have a far greater impact on profitability than you might expect.

The Costs of Poor Support

Difficult Setup and Implementation

If your business is investing in a new POS solution, a big part of the process is determining which combination of payment processing hardware and software is the best for your particular needs. Some payment processing providers don’t offer the necessary guidance and clarity you need to make the optimum choice. This could result in the implementation of a system that falls short of expectations and doesn’t provide the functionality your business needs. In addition, how much assistance is the merchant services provider willing to offer during the actual setup and configuration of the system? If they simply hand over the equipment and leave it to you to do all the configuration, this could cause delays and frustrations as you do all the extra work to get things up and running.

Uncertainty and Unpredictability

Businesses take great care to ensure that operations run as smoothly as possible, but there are always unforeseen circumstances that may arise. From unexpected service interruptions to accidents that result in damaged POS equipment, you can’t always predict what kind of help you’re going to need, or when you’re going to need it. Situations like these become even bigger problems when you pick up the phone to get support from your merchant services provider and they’re not available when you need them, potentially turning a minor disruption into a major one. Quick response time and fast service from your payment processing partner are critical to minimizing the impact of unforeseen disruptions like these.

Downtime = Lost Revenue

Every second that your payment processing systems are down results in lost revenues. Customers are not likely willing to wait around for your systems to reboot, and even less likely to come back another day when things are working again. This lost revenue is extremely difficult to regain, especially in the face of aggressive competition that will quickly jump on the opportunity to gain market share away from your business. If your merchant services provider is slow to act and unable to quickly resolve technical issues, the loss of revenue can become a serious problem in a very short period of time.

Unexpected Fees and Service Charges

Another downside to low-quality customer service is the higher likelihood that you’ll be hit with additional fees and unexpected charges when certain types of support and assistance are not covered as part of your agreement with your payment processing partner. It’s extremely frustrating to have a technical issue that needs to be resolved, only to have your merchant services provider tack on extra charges that you weren’t counting on. This simply makes the loss of revenue and decreased productivity associated with POS downtime all the more problematic to the profitability of your business.

While these examples may seem like worst-case scenarios, you’d be surprised at how often they occur to businesses just like yours. Of course, it doesn’t have to be like this. So, what kind of experience should you expect from your merchant services provider?

What Should You Expect from a Merchant Services Provider?

There are many different payment processing companies to choose from, but not all of them will provide the same level of support, the same range of POS products, or the same high-quality customer experience that you should be demanding from your business partners. In general, you should be evaluating the available merchant services providers along three core criteria before you commit to one.

Provide the Right Mix of Payment Processing Technologies

One thing that sets the best payment processing providers apart from the others is the variety of POS solutions that they provide. Payment technologies come in a wide range of formats, including in-store POS systems, unattended payment terminals, e-commerce integrations, and mobile POS devices. These days, businesses need flexible and functional POS systems that can handle a multitude of different business tasks, beyond just taking payments. Plus, you don’t want to have to source different POS solutions from different merchant services providers. Ideally, you’ll want to look for a payment processor that handles it all, including in-store, online, mobile, and unattended.

Having all your POS technology sourced from the same provider will make it far easier to get cross-platform support from a team of technical service personnel that knows each and every one of the systems you have in operation. It also makes it easier when you want to expand to include new payment solutions to handle different business applications. For example, if business growth depends on expanding to offer mobile payments to customers, your merchant services provider should be able to deliver an effective mobile POS system in order to achieve these goals. Choosing an all-in-one payment processing partner will help ensure you’ve got access to the diverse range of technology you need to meet any payment challenge.

Handle Payment Solution Configuration, Setup, and Integration

Customizing a POS system to meet the specific needs of your business is no easy task, but you shouldn’t have to do this all yourself. The best payment processing providers will work closely with your business right from the very beginning of the relationship in order to configure and customize your payment systems and create an optimized payment experience that will benefit your customers and your employees alike.

Furthermore, it’s important to consider what other existing technology your business has in place that will need to integrate with your POS system. This could include things like an online ecommerce store, inventory management system, scheduling platform, or other digital systems that are critical to your daily operations. Making data flow seamlessly between all your essential business systems takes a knowledgeable team of experts who can handle the integration process and get your entire POS solution configured for maximum results.

Deliver Ongoing Payment Processing Support, Guidance, and Service

Once your payment solution is set up and ready to go, the relationship shouldn’t end there. You need to be confident that, no matter what unexpected situations may occur in the future, that you’ve got the backup and support you need to overcome any challenge. The most renowned payment processors in the world have earned their reputation by delivering a level of ongoing customer service and technical support that is far superior to the others.

Moreover, you should be able to count on your merchant services provider to also be a strategic partner for your business. As new payment trends develop, the most innovative payment processors will ensure that their clients are kept up-to-date on cutting-edge technology, consumer purchasing behaviour, and competitive market conditions. This way, your business will be able to more rapidly adapt to these trends and anticipate future developments.

The MONEXgroup Advantage

As you can clearly see, the value your business gets from choosing the right merchant services partner extends far beyond the payment system itself. Here at MONEXgroup, we take this to heart, and are committed to providing our clients with the service and support that they need to meet and exceed their business objectives. From our comprehensive line of payment solutions for all business applications, to our expert customer service and tech support teams who are available 24/7/365, you can be confident that whenever you need us, we’ll be there.

Whether you’re upgrading your retail stores with an advanced new POS system, expanding into new markets with flexible unattended payment stations, traveling to customers directly using mobile POS terminals, or spanning the globe with a powerful e-commerce website, MONEXgroup is the merchant services provider you can count on to help your business succeed.

Discover the difference that exceptional customer service and world-class technical support can have on the success of your business. Contact MONEXgroup today to learn more!