Get paid faster by making it easier to pay

Getting paid faster is essential for any business because of the positive effect on cash flow – an  important ingredient for growth. When slow payments negatively impact cash flow, it becomes difficult for businesses to take on new projects, fill large orders and invest in new equipment. The additional time and resources spent chasing customers for payment also impacts growth. An effective way to get paid faster is to offer your customers simple, convenient payment options that encourage timely, in-full payments. Here are some strategies to consider:

Eliminate extra steps

• Offer customer service capabilities like IVR  (Interactive Voice Recognition) or enabling CSRs to provide single payment links that bring payers directly to the payment portal, bypassing account/pin entry.
• Give your customers the flexibility and control to choose how they’ll pay recurring or one-time invoices. With automatic payments, they can indicate the frequency, timing and dollar amount. Your bills will be paid promptly, and your customers will enjoy peace of mind knowing they won’t miss payments or receive late fees.

Offer more payment channels and methods

Customers have a variety of payment preferences based on their lifestyle and level of digital adoption. When you offer options that meet the needs of your customers, they’re more likely to pay on time. These payment options allow you to meet your customers where they are and encourage faster payments:

• It’s important to offer a wide range of intuitive payment solutions. In addition to payment sources such as credit card, debit card and ACH, consider alternative methods including ApplePay® and Amazon Alexa.
• Pay-by-text lets customers pay anytime/anywhere.  More and more consumers are interested in using this method, yet many businesses don’t offer it as an option. A recent industry survey found that 62% of buyers under age 35 would frequently or always pay-by-text if they could, while only 4% of small businesses offer it.
• IVR is a solution for those customers who prefer to resolve their issues with a phone call. IVR uses digital technology and automated prompts to lead callers through the payment process. Paying by phone allows customers to pay on-the-go, which results in faster, prompt payments.

Adopting a digital payments platform makes it easy to offer a variety of intuitive payment options that will help you get paid faster. By offering all or a combination of these options, you create a powerful win-win scenario—one in which making your customers’ lives easier also improves your company’s cash flow and efficiency.