Has this ever happened to you? A customer’s payment card purchase is declined because they have been issued a new payment card, only you haven’t been informed of this? Or a payment doesn’t go through because the card expiration date has changed, but you have the old date on file?
Such transaction interruptions are, of course, highly unfortunate and a major hassle—for both you and your customer. But there is a simple way to prevent this from happening. It’s called Account Updater Service.
An Account Updater Service is typically offered by your Payment Processing Provider and will automatically provide an update to saved payment card information. Either on a selected schedule or in real-time, the payment data is harvested and sent to the Card Brands. The Card Brands only respond when changes apply. In turn, the stored payment card information is then refreshed with either the new credit card number or expiration date. Meaning you always have your customers’ most up-to-date card data available when a transaction is being made. The result is fewer rejected payments due to incorrect or outdated card information.
Account Updater is very helpful with recurring payments or stored payment information.
The Account Updater Service is beneficial for customers who have scheduled recurring payments or may have chosen to store payment information with a merchant. Customers who use automatic payment options tend to engage in what is called “set it and forget it.” That is to say; they neglect to update their card information when something changes with their card account.
Advantages for your customers.
No customer likes finding out their payment card has been rejected and declined. Customers want the ease of service, and anything that gets in the way of their shopping convenience will make them less likely to do business with you.
Account Updater minimizes the hassle that comes from correcting outdated card information and helps keep your customers free of unnecessary cancellations.
In fact, by utilizing an Account Updater Service, you end up freeing your customers from having to update their information when it changes manually. You are helping them avoid late or missed payments by updating their data for them. And what’s good for your customers is always good for you.
Advantages for merchants.
Customers don’t like it when their card is declined. And neither do merchants—and for a very good reason: it costs money. Operational processes are needed to support declined transactions to update the payment details with your customers. During this process, you will also face the opportunity cost of customers changing their minds about your service or product. Merchants will still pay authorization fees even when a payment transaction is unsuccessful. Be careful of retrying failed payments, as the Card Brands are introducing new fees. All adding up to issues with cash flow and additional costs.
An Account Updater Service will help you achieve higher authorization rates and fewer payment failures by keeping card data current, which boosts your bottom line. It also allows your staff to focus on other tasks rather than the time-consuming exercise of supporting operational processes to physically change card data information all the time.
Questions? You know who to call.
Email Jon@Qualpay.com
Phone: 207-321-1150
About Qualpay
Qualpay is a technology-first, flexible payments platform. We simplify and improve the payments process for merchants across a range of industries, and we help ISVs create value for their customers with elegantly embedded payment and banking services. Qualpay leverages the most up-to-date technology to reduce costs and streamline back-office operations.
Learn more about our affinity partnership with the NPGA