Who needs internet acquiring and why

2023 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-22 06:26

For online stores, this is not just a beautiful word, but a condition for survival in the era of cashless payments.

The term "acquiring" comes from the English verb to acquire. In the language of finance, this is the name given to the ability to accept payments from bank cards.

According to the data, the Russians are increasing the card payments of the Central Bank of Russia; now there are almost two payment cards for each resident of the country. And the number of electronic transactions in retail has reached 56%. In fact, we come across acquiring at every step: from buying bread to paying for air tickets.

What is internet acquiring

For classic merchant acquiring, you need a payment terminal (POS) that reads information from a magnetic tape on a plastic card. Mobile acquiring, or receiving payments using a smartphone, is carried out through a mini-terminal (mPOS).

Internet acquiring is the ability to accept payments directly in an online store, without any additional equipment. All you need is a stable network connection and a payment interface. The buyer doesn't have to go anywhere. And it is not even necessary to have a card with you: it is enough to know its details.

But convenience comes at a price. The commission for online payments can be 2-3 times higher than when paying through terminals. Merciless rates are driven by the need to maintain a web interface around the clock and ensure the security of online payments.

What are the advantages of Internet acquiring

Both the seller and the buyer are interested in online settlements.

Pros for the buyer

• You can make purchases at any time of the day or night without leaving your computer.
• The whole process takes place in a few clicks and takes a few minutes.
• The risk is excluded that the cashier will not have change or you will be cheated.

Pros for the seller

• The volume of sales is increasing, including due to round-the-clock service and spontaneous purchases. Almost 40% of the money customers of online stores spend The State of Impulse Buying Persona - Statistics and Trends impulsively.
• There is no need to pay for the services of the collector.
• The risk that counterfeit banknotes will be slipped to you is eliminated.

How internet acquiring works

Several parties are involved in the process:

• Card holder (buyer).
• Online store.
• International payment systems (Visa, MasterCard, American Express).
• The issuing bank that issued the customer's plastic card.
• Acquiring bank, where the merchant's current account is opened.
• Processing center - a system for processing bank card transactions. In fact, it is an intermediary between the rest of the participants.

Without going into technical details, the procedure looks something like this:

• Having decided on purchases, the client of the online store chooses the option of paying by card.
• There is a redirect to a secure page, where the buyer enters payment details.
• The issuing bank checks whether the card is active, whether there are enough funds in the account, whether the operation is allowed in a given country, and much more.
• If the check is successful, the online store places an order. And the buyer receives a notification that the goods have been paid for.
• The issuing bank blocks (but does not write off) the required amount on the client's account.
• The acquiring bank receives information about the transaction and generates clearing files - special electronic documents for non-cash payments.
• Only after receiving the clearing files, the issuing bank transfers the funds to the acquiring bank, which, in turn, transfers them to the merchant's account.

Although settlements between banks can take several days, for the buyer everything happens in a matter of seconds.

How to connect internet acquiring

In the Russian Federation, online settlement services are provided by commercial banks and payment services that are registered as non-bank credit organizations (NPOs) and bear the same responsibility to the client as banks.

1. Connection through a bank

To conduct online card payments, a bank must have a special license and a processing center (its own or a third-party one). Acquiring banks work directly with clients, therefore, the tariffs for services will be slightly lower. But, as a rule, reputable financial structures often refuse to cooperate with small clients: they value their reputation, prefer large organizations and try not to get involved with an Internet business, the legality of which there is even the slightest doubt.

2. Connection via payment service

The payment service, or aggregator, cooperates with several banks and e-wallets at the same time. Typically, these providers have slightly higher rates. But they are more loyal to small businesses, provide flexible conditions, round-the-clock technical support and a wide range of payment systems.

Things to consider when choosing a service provider

It doesn't matter who you prefer to do business with - a bank or an aggregator. The criteria for choosing a specific supplier will be the same.

1. The size of the commission on transactions

The provider charges a commission for each transfer, which depends on the trade turnover and the scope of the online store, the payment method, participation in affiliate programs and many other factors. The price will be lower if the bank has its own processing center and does not need to buy this service from a third-party company.

Before connecting an acquiring, find out how much and for what you will be charged. But in any case, cheapness should not be the main selection criterion.

2. Speed and ease of connection

What package of documents do you need to collect? How many additional papers will you have to issue? How long does it take to process an application? And if we are talking about a bank, is it necessary to open a current account in it? As a rule, payment services require less paperwork and are ready to connect to the service in a shorter time frame.

3. Availability of ready-made technical solutions

Agreeing on a service is one thing. And for it to work, you need to integrate the payment form on the site. It is good if the provider offers a ready-made solution. Otherwise, you will have to hire a developer and incur additional costs.

4. Number of payment methods

The more payment systems the provider supports, the better. Banks often limit themselves to card payments only, leaving behind electronic money (Yandex. Money, Webmoney, QIWI) or mobile payments (Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay). If you work closely with foreigners, it is important that your service provider accepts cards from foreign banks.

5. The term for crediting funds to the current account

From the moment of purchase to the receipt of money on the seller's account, it may take 3, 4 or even 5 days. It is better to find out this point in advance. The sooner funds become available, the better. Banks are often ahead of aggregators in this matter, depositing money within a day.

6. Quality of technical support

It is critical for online stores that help can be obtained promptly and at any time of the day. Therefore, access to specialists 24/7 is an important criterion when choosing a provider. Test in advance how responsive technical support is to calls and requests.

7. Fight against fraud

Make sure that your future provider supports all of these technologies to protect card payments from fraud:

• PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) is a standard adopted by international payment systems Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discovery, JSB. An organization that provides Internet acquiring services must have a PCI DSS certificate.
• SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is an encryption protocol that ensures secure data transmission over the Internet.
• 3D Secure is a card payment protection protocol developed by the VISA system.

Each service provider may have their own additional anti-fraud systems (from the English anti-fraud - "fight against fraud"). These services automatically check each transaction and monitor whether there is anything suspicious in the payment.

8. Availability of additional features and services

They can make life much easier for both the seller and the buyer. It is useful if the provider provides such additional functions:

• One-click payment. This means that the system remembers the details of the cards of regular customers, allowing them to quickly make a purchase. The less time a client spends on placing an order, the higher the likelihood that he will not have time to change his mind.
• Invoicing. The buyer receives an invoice by email, SMS or chat.
• Holding (blocking funds on the buyer's account). If the money has already been credited to the account of the online store, and the desired item was not in stock, the refund will take a lot of time. This means that the client will remain dissatisfied. The hold function is extremely useful if you need to check the availability of an item. You will be able to instantly get your money back and maintain customer loyalty.
• Multicurrency payments. The buyer can pay for the purchase in a currency convenient for him and save on conversion.
• Recurring payments. New transactions are created automatically based on information about the customer's previous payments.