Category: Industry

5 Payment Trends To Watch For In 2021—And Beyond

Posted on

If we’ve learned anything in the last year, it’s that human beings have a remarkable capacity to adapt to rapidly changing and challenging circumstances. Some of the changes introduced in the last year will likely go by the wayside (sorry, elbow bump). But other changes, like digital payments, will become part of the post-COVID normal.

While the adoption of digital payments was on the rise before the pandemic, COVID-19 has acted as a major accelerator. Accenture estimates that approximately 420 billion transactions worth $7 trillion are expected to shift to digital by 2023.

 

Anticipating Payment Trends in 2021

  1. Old-School Habits Will Turn Into New Payment Preferences

We all have stories about someone we know changing a long-held habit during the pandemic—an uncle using online banking for the first time or a grandparent ordering groceries online. While digital payment options aren’t new, their adoption has surged over the past year—digital wallet adoption jumped from 38 to 55 percent during the pandemic. As consumers get used to the speed and convenience of digital payments, options like digital wallets and contactless payments will become the new normal.

  1. Tokenization Takes Off

Tokenization, or the use of non-decryptable data that acts as a substitute of a sensitive data element, plays a major role in ensuring that payments are secure. It helps reduce risk from data breaches and provides customers with a sense of confidence in the safety of their financial information and property. As more payments are made online, the use of tokenization will become more of a focal point for merchants and processers. The future of tokenization is bright—one forecast believes that the worldwide tokenization industry will reach $4.8 billion by 2025.

  1. No Contact, No Problem

Many individuals, merchants and government agencies used contactless payments for the first time during the pandemic and found them to be efficient and intuitive. In fact, the usage of tap payments in the United States rose by approximately 150 percent in March relative to the prior year. Today, more than half of Americans are using at least one form of contactless payments. Not only are contactless compliant with social distancing guidelines, but they are also secure and flexible. Even as restrictions associated with the pandemic subside, consumers will continue to expect contactless payment options.

  1. More Governments Modernize the Citizen Experience

The pandemic upended workflows for not only the private sector, but for government agencies as well. When the pandemic hit, state and local governments rushed to keep government business progressing and revenue coming in. Governments have accelerated their adoption of new, flexible ways of operating, including accepting online and ACH payments for the first time and supporting bill payment through interactive voice response (IVR). Now that these stop-gap measures have been widely implemented, governments will need to keep moving forward with more digital offerings.

  1. Fraud Prevention Measures Will Be Tested

An unfortunate byproduct of the pandemic has been an increase in fraudulent activity. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), 79 percent of respondents had observed an increase in fraud since the start of the pandemic. As a full economic recovery is expected to take years, we are likely to see an increase in fraudulent payments in the short to medium term. E-commerce businesses are particularly vulnerable to fraud. Payment processors will be tested by bad actors looking for vulnerabilities and will need end-to-end encryption and a secure token data vault to reduce risk.

This past year’s disruption has conditioned us to expect the unexpected. If there is anything positive to be found when looking back at 2020, it’s individuals’ and companies’ ability to adapt amidst adversity. Absent having a crystal ball, it’s impossible to know exactly where the payments industry is headed moving forward. But we can expect that payments will be more flexible, modern and digital.

 

This post originally appeared on csgi.com.

Forte Tied for 2nd in The Strawhecker Group’s GEM API Integration Review

Posted on

Earlier this year, the Strawhecker Group (TSG), a recognized leader in payments analytics and consulting, released their API Integration Review. The firm’s Gateway Enterprise Metrics (GEM) platform reviewed four areas of API offerings: documentation, developer tools, implementation and certification process. GEM subscribers account for approximately two-thirds of all payment gateway volume in the United States.
Out of 21 reviewed gateways, Forte placed second, with a strong showing in each category. Let’s take a look at some of the key insights and feedback found in the TSG report.

 

THE RATING PROCESS

Each segment is rated on a 1-4 point scale, with 1 being the best. Forte’s overall average was an impressive 1.5 out of 4.

DOCUMENTATION
Score: 1
TSG believes Forte’s documentation distribution is well-designed, easy to use and presented clearly and logically. Additionally, Forte provides multiple documentation formats, detailed information, programming examples, clear instructions and helpful descriptions. According to the report, “Forte’s documentation appears to be structured with developers in mind and designed to make the integration process simple and painless.”

DEVELOPER TOOLS
Score: 1
TSG found that Forte provides a fully functioning test environment for testing and development. The report gave Forte high marks for offering a full test suite for formatting within the developer tool. In Postman, a popular API client, developers can insert credentials, run test transactions and receive instant feedback.

IMPLEMENTATION
Score: 3
Overall, the TSG test implementation with Forte went smoothly. The complete score was impacted by an issue with duplicate transactions, which the system attempted to reverse too quickly after authorization. However, Forte’s responsive staff was able to quickly work through the issue. TSG found Forte payment experts to be “helpful and friendly.”

CERTIFICATION PROCESS
Score: 1
As Forte does not require a certification process to move to production (Forte already has certifications with several test gateways), TSG awarded the highest possible score. Having the gateway certified saves both time and resources. Nearly half of the other gateways scored a 2 or lower in this category.

GEM is in the business of evaluating the best gateways in the industry. Forte offers intuitive documentation, advanced developer tools, smooth implementation and seamless certification. Forte is proud to receive this recognition and will continue to innovate and improve our payments gateway.

CSG Forte and Chargify: A New Partnership in Payments

Posted on

CSG Forte Payment Systems and Chargify recently announced a strategic partnership that will give their customers access to both CSG Forte’s payment processing solutions and Chargify’s recurring billing and subscription management system. By joining forces, both companies offer an all-in-one payment and billing solution available for approximately 31 million small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) in the United States.

 

CSG Forte

CSG Forte is an industry leader in offering innovative payment solutions that help more than 500 organizations of all sizes create, manage and perfect the process of accepting and processing payments. From integrating payments into large, complex revenue management implementations suited for Ascendon, CSG’s cloud-based SaaS platform, or smaller, less complex integrations for SMBs, CSG Forte has the expertise and solutions to deliver results, regardless of size and complexity.

 

Chargify

Chargify is a well-known provider of subscription-based revenue management for SMBs across the country. Chargify’s key capabilities include offer and subscription management, recurring billing, payment integrations, revenue retention, analytics, insights and more. The company has helped more than 1,200 customers grow their recurring revenue through elastic and events-based billing.

 

How This Partnership Will Help Your Business

As a result of the partnership, SMBs will have access to CSG Forte’s integrated product suite, which offers full stack APIs and dynamic payment processing services, including ACH, credit card, tokenization, payment gateway and more. Customers will also be able to administer their revenue management and recurring billing needs through Chargify while managing their payments operations with CSG Forte Dex, an innovative transaction management and reporting solution.

Together, CSG Forte and Chargify will enable a seamless experience for payment processing and a transaction solution that reduces stress and maximizes efficiencies for their customers. SMBs now have the ability to seamlessly onboard and create an ecosystem that simplifies automation, enhances data synchronization and maximizes operational efficiencies. The result of this preferred partnership is an increased emphasis on customer experience. Companies now have a payment management system that provides everything they need to process payments across any channel, while streamlining operations and growing recurring revenue.

When two industry leaders come together, good things happen. Through their respective expertise and cutting-edge solutions, CSG Forte and Chargify can help businesses of every size maximize cash flow, reduce business costs and enhance efficiency.

To learn more about how CSG Forte’s innovative payment solutions can help your business, click here.