6 Tips To Choose a Payment Service Provider in Europe in 2022

Working with a payment service provider, or PSP, can be a great idea. Especially as more people switch to digital payments.
E-commerce is soaring, and along with it, digital payments. According to Statista, e-commerce payments in Europe will generate more than € 1.09 trillion in 2022 alone!
The right partner can do a lot more than just process payments. They can help you support popular payment methods, give you all-round risk protection, and help you expand into new markets.
No wonder more merchants today prefer to work with a PSP. But choosing the right one can be a task. Some merchants opt to work with their account issuing bank. While this can be convenient, it can also be costlier and not always the best option. A third party might be a better choice and more suitable for your business if cost and flexibility are what you’re looking for.
In this blog, we outline the main points you should consider while choosing a payment service provider in Europe.

1. Fast and Secure payments

Customers demand quick, easy, and secure ways to pay. They like a hassle-free checkout experience. And since the pandemic, more Europeans prefer contactless payments.
To add to it, popular payment methods vary by country in Europe. For e.g., PayPal in the UK, or iDEAL in the Netherlands, or Giropay in Germany. Research shows that 60% of shoppers will abandon a purchase if they cannot pay using their preferred payment methods.
Hence, look for a PSP that supports multiple payment methods and currencies. They should be able to help you localize your payments, process cross-border payments, and give you expert advice based on your business needs. For e.g., when you work with Novalnet, we help you process payments in 125+ currencies in 150+ automated payment methods.
The right partner can help you build seamless checkouts and payment flows that complement your business.
When you give customers more choice and flexibility, they love you. They are more likely to buy from you again and recommend you to others. Know your customer to offer them the best choice – this will vastly improve your sales and brand engagement.

2. Multi-acquirer relationships

Working with multiple acquiring banks can help you accept online payments easily. It improves your conversion and payment success rates. 85% of merchants who work with multiple acquirers report seeing an increase in conversions. It also helps you support more local payment methods to offer to your customers.
Choose a PSP that works with multiple acquirers. They can help you reap the benefits of multi-acquirer relationships, but at lower costs and complexity.
For example, Novalnet connects with multiple acquirers on your behalf so that you are free to focus on your business. We perform smart payment routing so that your payments don’t fail and conversion rates don’t dip. Our smart reconciliation tools help you resolve payments easily.
Our acquirer-agnostic approach helps you to be agile and avoid delays and ensure your payments are running smoothly, round the clock.

3. AI-fraud risk management

Fraud can damage your brand image and cost you loyal shoppers. Consumers today expect brands to protect their data. They quickly lose faith in brands that don’t care about their safety.
Preventing fraud is crucial if you want to create a secure payment experience and build long-term customer loyalty. Existing laws in Europe require merchants to comply with PSD2, PCI DSS and BaFin regulations to protect shoppers.
Look for a PSP that offers AI-based fraud prevention and covers all necessary regulations.
AI-based risk management tools use advanced algorithms and machine learning to detect fraud in real-time. You can customize these tools to suit your business needs. When you work with Novalnet, you get access to AI-based risk management solutions and advanced analytics to securely process payments.
We are fully compliant with all regulations in Europe, including PCI DSS, BaFin.

4. Risk protection from Chargebacks

Consumers raise chargeback claims when they want to dispute a payment. This could be when they face genuine payment fraud, when they don’t receive the goods or services they have paid for, or if they are overcharged. If their claim is successful, they get a full refund. And it is usually the merchant who loses this money.
Hence, look for a PSP that offers a 100% chargeback guarantee. Such a solution will review your orders, and if any order turns out to be fraudulent and results in a chargeback, you will get a full refund.
Novalnet offers a 100% payment guarantee on chargebacks and return debits. The best part is that this assurance applies to many popular payment methods, including card payments, SEPA Direct Debit, invoice payments, etc.

5. Easy Integration for website + mobile

To start accepting online payments quickly, you need to integrate payment gateways to your online shop or mobile app.
There are many layers to this – from supporting multiple payment methods and currencies, and payment plans, to complying with data safety laws. Your payment system should also be able to easily integrate into your overall business systems.
This requires technical documents, APIs, and SDKs, along with trouble-shooting support to ensure smooth payments. Your PSP should be able to provide you with all of this.
Novalnet’s instant plug-ins allow fast integration to reduce your time to market. They require minimal coding and are easy to integrate into your existing systems. Our interfaces fit all shop environments and security standards, thus enabling hassle-free payments. A couple of mouse clicks, and you are ready to go.

6. Automated payment reconciliation

Quick access to your transaction data can make your reconciliation process faster and more transparent. This helps you to use the wealth of payment data and gain insights from it. This, in turn, helps you to fine-tune payments and customer experience.
Look for a Payment Service Provider that provides automated AR and AP. This will help you use AI-based insights to understand how your customers shop and pay, in real-time. For example, Novalnet’s automated AR management system helps you keep a close watch on your AR, improve your cash inflow, and reduce bad debt.

How can Novalnet Help?

As a global payment service provider, we help Europe’s leading brands to process payments smoothly. Our technology helps you to accept payments globally in 125+ currencies in 150+ automated country-specific payment methods.
Reach out to us today to know more about how we can help you in your payments journey.

Jose Augustine

Jose Augustine is the Chief Business Development Officer at Novalnet with extensive experience in European payment industry and a knowledge powerhouse.