When it comes to payments processing providers, banks don’t always know they have options outside their core processor. There are many innovative payments fintech providers that can offer more capabilities than a core processor – which means banks could be missing out on available features and benefits that could give them an edge with their cardholders.

By partnering with providers who can offer a full suite of robust features – not just core processing services – the cardholder experience could improve significantly, driving further retention of your customers seeking these capabilities with their payments experience. This will also help to ensure you’re getting the most value for your investment.

When considering the best payments processor for your bank, it’s important to look for top-of-the-line payments
processing – as well as these seven capabilities that can help drive an optimal experience for your customers.

1. Integration enhances the user experience.
An innovative partner will be able to collaborate with your IT team to ensure a seamless cardholder experience. Partners should look to build a relationship with core system providers to eliminate inefficiencies and streamline support services. Additionally, coordinating with technology partners, digital platform development teams and APIs will help provide the driving force for innovative changes, ultimately lowering operational costs and enhancing customer experiences.

2. Digital capabilities with user-centric framework.
When it comes to mobile and online banking platforms, users want and expect personalization, flexibility and comprehensive card management tools. Features like alerts and controls, digital issuance, card credentials access and mobile wallet support can make a payments provider stand out. Users expect to be able to access their information through their channel of choice, so cross-platform integration, parity between experiences and a robust administrative tool are imperative to provide users the seamless experience they now demand.

3. Increased automation to improve efficiency.
Accessing customer debit and credit card account data doesn’t have to be a headache for your front-line staff. Look for a partner who can offer single-point, real-time access to your cardholder data, minimizing the need for staff to reference multiple systems and data repositories. This lowers service costs, increases back-office efficiency and raises cardholder satisfaction. 

4. Essential fraud and risk mitigation capabilities.
Balancing fraud management and a positive customer experience can be challenging for financial institutions,
especially when the tactics being used by hackers are growing increasingly more sophisticated every day. As fraud attempts become more refined, so must risk mitigation tactics. Partnering with a payments processor that can offer enhanced fraud services and provide customized risk management strategies can help ensure your customers and your bank stay safe and protected. Innovative payments providers have found ways to integrate data from every transaction, interaction and event to predict and prevent customer fraud while expertly recovering any losses.

5. Data and analytics offer actionable insights.
Data management requires more than just collecting information on cardholders. A robust data and analytics program requires analysis and interpretation of your data to better understand customer behavior and identify actionable insights, delivering highly personalized experiences and comprehensive data protection. Detailed reporting can help provide a deeper understanding of customer behavior and identify growth opportunities, while predictive analytics can provide best-in-class scoring models that uncover key insights to guide precise and informed decisions.

6. Contact center with a multi-channel approach.
Your bank’s contact center is often the hub of your communications, support services and fraud protection services. Having a partner to help you deliver the highest level of service through your contact center can improve customer experiences, prevent fraud losses and increase your revenue. Fintech payments partners can integrate with your core processor to create a seamless extension of your bank’s unique brand for both card support and account services across multiple channels and platforms.

7. Ability to elevate your business growth potential.
The hallmark of a great partner is not just in its ability to provide exceptional products and services, but also to be a trusted advisor, ready to help you elevate your business growth potential. This can be done by leveraging resources such as data scientists to help you understand and use cardholder data, marketing experts to help execute growth marketing campaigns and strategic consultants to help with product optimization and to identify areas of high growth potential, such as commercial card portfolios.

With banks now realizing that it’s no longer enough to only provide the bare minimum in payments processing, finding
a partner who can offer a comprehensive suite of products and solutions has never been more important. Ensuring
that you’re giving your customers the best possible user experience – while driving full-service solutions – will
ultimately help you retain your existing customer base while paving the way for future growth.

Brian Scott partners with industry leaders in payments and community financial institutions to create competitive payments programs, helping financial institutions position themselves competitively in their own communities and maintain profitability throughout their payments programs. Brian spent 23 years in the highly competitive consumer payments marketplace and is a recognized leader in payments solutions and innovative technologies. He is a frequent speaker on the future of payments, new payments trends, mobile banking, alternative payments, and how new payments technologies will transform the current banking space.