Expand the payment methods and business applications you offer your clients with just one integration
Growing your independent sales organization (ISO) takes not only acquiring new clients but also selling deeper into existing accounts. The challenge is finding ways to connect your clients with additional payment services and complementary apps that help them operate more competitively and efficiently. A Payments Platform as a Service (PPaaS) approach makes it possible.
What is PPaaS?
PPaaS is an API-driven platform that enables flexibility and expanded functionality at the payment terminal. The payment technology’s PPaaS platform is connected to a variety of third-party providers that offer services and apps that allow you to provide merchants with alternative payments like buy now, pay later (BNPL) or peer-to-peer (P2P) services. You can also offer business applications like loyalty program software or customer experience surveys and new capabilities like digital receipts. We simplify and consolidate complex third-party solutions into one, easy to manage, streamlined cloud ecosystem.
One integration connects ISOs to the platform and to all the capabilities associated with it.
How PPaaS Can Impact Your Business
In general, PPaaS has the potential to benefit your business in four ways:
1. Increased revenues
The first benefit is the potential for increased revenues without a big investment in integration, development, or even in building a partner network. Your payments technology company partner will build the platform and the network, and with a single integration with your payments platform or through your payment processing partner, you have access to apps and alternative payments available through it.
How you offer those solutions to your clients is up to you. If you provide payment solutions to a well-defined market or niche, you may know exactly which apps they need, such as buy now, pay later (BNPL) at the terminal or digital receipts. In that case, you may want to create a bundle that includes all the functionality your clients need. Or, if your clients want the freedom to select different apps, such as options for loyalty programs, you may present them with a selection of services and allow them to choose which is right for their businesses.
Moreover, every additional product or service your clients choose means more recurring revenue for your ISO.
2. Simplified cloud services management
If you provide your clients with alternative payments or point of sale (POS) add-on solutions and services now, you probably have your own payments solution and, for simplicity, may host those applications in your own cloud.
With PPaaS, it isn’t necessary. When your ISO platform integrates with your payment technology partner’s PPaaS platform, your partner hosts the services and applications in their cloud. This decreases the time and resources you invest in maintaining your IT ecosystem and simplifies your operations.
3. Device/estate management
In addition to simplifying application hosting and management, PPaaS makes device management easier. The PPaaS platform gives you centralized management capabilities, allowing you to customize client portals, making applications and payment methods available to them. You can also update and manage terminals with batch actions, saving time and ensuring consistency across all your clients’ devices.
4. Competitiveness
In addition to other benefits, PPaaS has the potential to enable ISOs to operate more competitively. Large financial institutions with vast resources can offer a range of third-party services, bringing the latest and greatest to their markets. With PPaaS, you can provide those same services – or more.
The Early Mover Advantage
The PPaaS concept is still nascent, with partner networks forming and applications continuing to integrate. Exploring the benefits PPaaS can provide to your business and your clients now can position your business for greater competitiveness, operational efficiency, and increased revenues ahead of your market.
To learn about Ingenico’s PPaaS solution, contact us.