GUIDE
If the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, the best way to find a payment service provider is one step at a time.
As more companies realize the inefficiencies of paper checks and costly credit card fees, payment service providers are helping businesses—and their end users—utilize technology to transact more efficiently. A top-notch payment service provider has the ability to streamline payment processes with a tailored solution that supports sophisticated payment flows and multiple payment methods.
We’ve pulled together a list of reasons our customers chose Dwolla to power their innovations with a sophisticated account-to-account payment solution. Use this list as a resource when evaluating payment service providers. Whether you’re a startup researching how to add payments to your product or a skunkworks team at an established company in the midst of a digital transformation, these common reasons will help you identify the right payment partner:
The first question to answer is simple and direct—can the technology solve your problem?
A single integration with the Dwolla API opens access to a range of account-to-account payments, including real-time payments (RTP), push-to-debit, ACH and wire transfers. This one-stop shop means end-to-end digital payment processes can live in one place and work alongside existing systems.
Our white-label payment API is built to meet the needs of simple (send and receive funds) and sophisticated (complex payment flows and multiple transfer types) use cases. It’s important to identify a solution that will give your business the ability to control the payment experience, keeping users submerged in your own unique brand while offering payment flexibility.
“Dwolla custom tailored a solution to something that we needed. We have a full money moving system without having to do any of it. And it looks like it is coming from us with our look and feel.”
If keeping the user experience consistent is important to your business, consider integrating a white-label payment API to enable payments through your application. Match the user experience, keep your branding in the spotlight and power payments in the background.
“If you are wanting a really good user experience and not wanting to send your users to a third party to connect a bank account, I don’t think you have a choice. Dwolla is right up there in terms of an API, it’s probably the best solution we’ve found in terms of facilitating payments. ”
To take advantage of the timing, data and cost benefits available with account-to-account payments, work with a payment service provider that offers you a full range of payment methods.
Through Dwolla’s payment API you can access RTP, push-to-debit, same day ACH, next day ACH, and wires. Expedited payment options like RTP and push-to-debit give you and your customers the ability to transact 24/7/365, without the delays of weekends or holidays.
“Our return on investment was almost immediate. We were able to get up and running in no time with Dwolla’s straightforward API. Dwolla’s flexible options such as same day ACH gave us the flexibility our customers demanded.”
An important part of your search for a payment service provider is finding a solution to protect transaction data and personally identifiable information. At a time when the trust of your end users is paramount, find a solution with a sophisticated security strategy, strong cryptography, statistical analysis, machine learning and continuous platform monitoring.
When integrating a payment API, you begin operating in a heavily regulated financial space. Because of this, collecting the right information from the appropriate parties is imperative. Your business needs to be aware of your own legal and/or regulatory requirements for owning CIP and KYC processes. It’s important to be aware of the industry you are operating in and the risk incurred when offering certain types of transfers.
Bank account verification also is important to keep in mind here. When integrating with Dwolla, a business has several options for bank account verification, including Instant Account Verification, micro-deposits and third-party methods.
“The sophistication of Dwolla’s technology builds trust within our marketplace community and the experience really validates us as a player in this space.”
A comprehensive payment service provider produces business analytics and transaction data about the activity happening between the Dwolla Platform and your application. Monitor in real time the status of a transaction and access data to view specific transactions and monthly statements.
Each business has its own important indicators that need to be consistently measured and tracked. In the Dwolla Dashboard, manage customers, view transactions and discover trends about your business’s payments. Easily download transaction statements from your dashboard.
“We’re 100% digital. Being able to do electronic transfers and monitor the payment statuses with Dwolla, that’s part of the selling point of our solution.”
Integrating a payment API should be straightforward and come with resources to help guide you through the process.
To ensure each integration starts off on the right foot and to help companies go live quickly, Dwolla offers resources like our sandbox testing environment and a developer community. Our developer portal is home to all of our technical documentation, including guides, concepts, SDKs and tools and API Reference documents.
“Dwolla definitely has one of the nicest sandboxes I’ve worked in, especially with the dashboard for the sandbox. I can’t speak highly enough of how helpful the sandbox was, it validated Dwolla as a fit.”
Sandbox environments and developer resources are great starting points, but the ultimate goal of a payment service provider is to facilitate money movement.
People frequently focus on technical aspects when considering a payments integration. Other aspects are commonly forgotten—information security, statement emails, terms of service and privacy policy.
Payments Support Dedicated to Your Business’ Success
With Dwolla, a dedicated developer advocate and an integration manager are assigned to help your business get through the integration process. Once live, each client receives a Customer Success Manager as a direct point of contact for all questions.
“One of the things Dwolla has done best is the real time support, that’s incredibly helpful. Dwolla shortcutted the support cycle down from hours and days with email exchanges to real time. When you’re moving other folks’ money around, that real time support is invaluable.”
The Decision: Choosing a Payment Service Provider
As you evaluate various providers, consider what your business needs are today and how they might change in the next 12 months. Implementing a solution that can support your business at scale is key to long-term success with your payment strategies.
If you’re wondering how Dwolla might help support your business’ short and long-term innovation goals, reach out!
