Recurring Payment Processing: Increase Transaction Approvals

In this blog, we highlight 3 ways subscription merchants can grow their revenue by increasing transaction approvals and proper set up with their payment processor.

1.

Select the right payment provider to support your recurring payment/subscription-based business.

Some of the qualifications you should look for in a payment provider:

• Experience in recurring payments
• Supports cost-plus pricing
• Offers Account Updater
• Level 3 Data processing
• Offers payment options your customers use
• Integration with other business platforms, especially when it comes to correctly passing through data
• Customer & tech support – check service level agreements

2.

Once you’ve selected a payment provider, make sure your processing account is set up correctly.

• Establish your business’ merchant ID hierarchy.  To help with approval rates, set up a MID for your one-time transactions and another for your recurring subscription payments.
• Be as accurate as possible with your MCC (merchant category code). This information is passed onto the issuer and indicates the type of transaction. An issuer will not approve a transaction that is not recognizable by the MCC provided.
• Work with your payment provider to set up billing descriptors. These help customers easily identify their purchases, decreasing the chances of chargebacks.

3.

What to consider when expanding your customer base globally

• Leverage local acquiring. Work with a payment provider that’s connected with networks in any given region, has a local entity and local bank account. When used along with proper MCC, authorizations increase and costs decrease.
•  Think carefully about the payment options you offer. There are about 250 payment methods worldwide. That doesn’t mean you use everyone. Use the payment methods preferred by your customers. Global customers have difference preferences than US customers.
• Process payments in your customers’ local currency.  Any confusion in pricing due to exchange rates will cause customers to abandon checkout.