Payment Hub

Key factors that frustrate merchants and lead to abandonment include:

• Complex application forms
• Application processes with excessive steps and back-and-forth requests
• Lengthy approval times
• A lack of guidance and support

Simplify your application process with a user-friendly interface and dynamic form that only asks for relevant information. Introduce automation to eliminate unnecessary manual steps and human errors that cause delays. This is made possible by technology that:

• Retrieves live data from official sources
• Offers accurate AI-enabled translation as necessary
• Automates merchant identification and verification
• Uses autofill capabilities to accelerate the entire process, reducing the risk of keying errors and ensuring accuracy
• Provides clear guidance and robust customer support throughout the process

Harness AI for fraud detection, machine learning for risk assessment, and automated Know Your Customer (KYC)/Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance solutions. It’s important to ensure that any solutions chosen can be seamlessly integrated with existing business systems to facilitate the flow of data, reduce the need for manual workarounds and minimise friction for the merchants themselves.

In addition to introducing automated merchant identification and verification technology, payment service providers can streamline merchant onboarding by adopting a risk-based approach. This involves designing a modular process that scales up or down depending on the merchant’s risk level.

The first step is determining the merchant’s risk profile, which could be based on factors such as:

• The industry and jurisdictions in which they operate
• The type, volume and value of transactions they engage in
• Who owns and operates their organisation
  The types of third parties they deal with
• Etc.

From there, low-risk merchants are fast-tracked for approval while medium- and high-risk merchants are required to undergo additional verification and risk screening steps.

When onboarding international merchants, take care not to underestimate the regulatory, linguistic and cultural challenges.

Consider partnering with merchant verification solution providers who have a deep understanding of the local – or at least regional – landscape. These providers should be well-versed in local regulations, payment preferences and cultural nuances, so the process is fully compliant, and the onboarding experience aligns with merchants’ expectations.

Additionally, working with a provider that offers efficient, accurate multilingual support helps to overcome language barriers, streamline communication and ensure no critical details are lost in translation.

One effective approach is to establish a direct line of communication with your merchant verification partners and providers. By doing so, you can promptly tap into their expertise, troubleshoot issues and offer a seamless onboarding experience for your merchants.

Consider implementing onboarding experiences that are customised in relation to merchants’ requirements and risk levels. Depending on their category, merchants will only be requested to provide specific sets of data and information. This way, they do not need to go through any unnecessary, time-consuming steps.

To ensure success, work with a merchant verification technology provider that can implement and support this type of modular, personalised approach.