With the economy in a precarious and unprecedented situation due to the pandemic, many companies are reassessing their business strategies to adapt to the rapidly changing environment. For some merchants, this may entail bolstering their digital capabilities. For others, this may result in changes to the physical layout of the business.

No matter the case, one area where companies should focus on is payments. Despite being an integral part of any company that buys or sells goods and services, payment systems often go overlooked. Payments may seem simple enough, but the underlying systems enabling them are rather complex and can involve a myriad of different vendors, processes, and rules.

The lack of attention on such a complex subject leads many companies to rely on ineffective payment processes. This can cause a variety of problems, including poor checkout experiences for consumers, unfavorable terms and fee structures for merchants, and inadequate security procedures.

To help companies better understand why payment optimization is important and what services exist to help improve their payment systems, PaymentsJournal sat down with Raymond Pucci, Director of Merchant Services at Mercator Advisory Group. During the conversation, Pucci explained how Mercator offers a payments systems optimization assessment that can benefit merchants in numerous ways. 

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Why is there a need for a payments optimization assessment?

From the perspective of the customer, payments are simple. Whether it’s an in-store purchase on a card or a card-not-present e-commerce transaction, the customer usually just produces their card (or card information) and the purchase is made. However, what’s actually going on to support the payment is far more complex than it seems.

“When you pull the curtain back, an electronic payment transaction turns out to be a pretty complex process,” noted Pucci. “You have a maze of vendors, technologies, regulations, and standards.” This is especially true for many nonprofits, namely institutions of higher education, private schools, and healthcare facilities.

These organizations typically operate an array of venues across campus environments, including retail stores, sports and entertainment events, cultural attractions, medical departments, and online programs; each of these venues comes with its own unique payment needs. Complicating things further is that many of these institutions have payment systems that were assembled piecemeal throughout the years as that institution evolved and expanded.