ISV Best Practices for Payment Integrations

ISVs developing software for a wide range of industries can add value to their applications by integrating payments. Integrated payments provide businesses with the ability to quickly and easily accept electronic payments in-store and enable e-commerce and mobile commerce. Integrated payments also streamline processes, increase field or delivery worker security, save time, and allow your clients to provide better service to their customers.

Follow these best practices for payment integration to ensure your customers have the right features and you have a payment processing partner you can depend on.

1. Find the payment solution that meets all of your customers’ needs.

Not all payment processing solutions have the same features, so topping the list of best practices for payment integration is to make sure the solution is right for your customer before you integrate it with your application. Take time to understand exactly how your client will use payment processing capabilities and find a solution that addresses those needs:

• Does your customer focus primarily on card-present transactions or do they also need the ability to accept mobile payments and conduct e-commerce?
• Do they need to upgrade their current capabilities to become compliant with EMV or process contactless payments?
• Do their clients primarily want to wave or tap a card or do they use mobile wallets like Apple Pay, Android Pay, or Samsung Pay?
• Are you working with a service provider who needs recurring billing capabilities?

And don’t make a move without ensuring the solution is Payment Card Industry (PCI) certified. In addition to keeping your clients compliant with PCI, companies that align with PCI standards are much more likely to result in secure transactions and a reduced risk of data breach.

2. Evaluate the payment processor as a potential partner

Once you have determined the payment solution is a good choice for your customer, make sure the payment processing company is a good potential business partner for you.

• Research whether they have sufficient resources to support you through the integration process. This information should be available through their ISV partner program or through your account rep.
• Determine the role the payment processing company will take in the integration process and estimate the time you will have to devote to the project.
• Research the payment processing company’s resources available for testing. Will the payment processor provide a test environment so you can test and troubleshoot the integration?
• Ensure you will have ongoing quality control capabilities, both when you’re getting ready to deploy and when you make updates in the future.

It’s also important to do your due diligence to understand what you can expect from the partnership. Talk to other ISVs about the payment processor’s track record of providing service and support to end users. Also look at their record of updates and innovations to see if they are committed to keeping up with industry trends and features your customers need.

3. Work with the payment processor to evaluate your application.

Prior to integration, your payment processing partner should evaluate your solution for any issues with compatibility or with variances in user experience.

Also estimate fees your customer will pay to process transactions through the payment processing company and make sure they’ll stay within their budget. Your payment processing partner should be transparent about all costs so there aren’t any surprises.

And if you’re on a deadline, make sure the payment processing company can work with the timeline you need.

Keeps the Lines of Communication Open

A good payment processing partner wants you to succeed, so ask questions and seek help when you need it. If possible, establish a single point of contact that you can turn to when you need information and know how to contact you. It can make the difference between working efficiently and processes that are delayed or that don’t allow you to deliver the solution your customer wants.

Creating a solid working relationship, as well as following these other best practices for payment integrations, will help you deliver the payment features your customer wants and result in a successful business partnership for your ISV.

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