As we wrote recently, choosing the wrong issuer processor comes with many hidden costs for financial institutions.
There's the financial drain of slow speed-to-market; the operational bottlenecks caused by an inattentive partner; and increased compliance risks from taking the low-cost option. It's vital that organisations fully understand what they're signing up for when choosing an issuer processor.
For some organisations, these realisations may come too late. But for institutions of all types – whether established banks or fintech startups – in the APAC region, making sure you have the right processor is vital to effectively navigating the forthcoming market opportunities and challenges.
The payments ecosystem in the APAC region is highly fragmented, with institutions often needing to have multiple banking relationships and facing high operational costs for processes such as cross-border payments. And with the volume of digital payments and cross-border transactions in APAC growing rapidly, financial institutions need a processor that offers a scalable platform if they want to give their customers a seamless experience. If your processor doesn’t offer this, then you need to change – fast.
Here’s how scalable platforms can help your organisation:
A scalable platform can handle the increased number of transactions without performance degradation, ensuring smooth operations as your business scales. Scalable architecture also minimizes the risk of system failures or slowdowns during peak hours or periods of high transaction volume, ensuring continuity and consistency for your customers.
To cover the diversity of payment preferences – not to mention the multitude of currencies and languages – in APAC, your payment platform needs to be scalable and flexible. Different countries will have different regulations for cross-border payments, so the system must be capable of being configured to comply with local requirements so you can reduce compliance risks.
Any need for repeated manual interventions will have a negative impact on an organisation’s efficiency. But scalable platforms that integrate with other business systems mean that payment processes can be automated and will reduce the need for manual intervention. Further automation of processes will enable you to optimise resource allocations, reducing the operational costs associated with cross-border payments.
Customers expect fast and reliable payment experiences. Without a scalable platform you may experience bottlenecks in payment processes that impact customers, so ensuring you can handle peak volumes is a must. End users will also value integrations with ecommerce providers and other business systems, with seamless payment experiences increasing satisfaction for customers – all of this can be enabled by a truly scalable payment platform. They’ll also want to be able to access payment services through their smartphone, while adapting for local preferences is also necessary. Again, scalable platforms are the answer.
APAC is at the forefront of adopting new technologies like blockchain and real-time payments. Organisations in the region need to ensure their operations are future-proofed and scalable to meet the demands of these new technologies and adapt to any other forthcoming changes in the payment landscape. A scalable platform enables businesses to innovate and adapt quickly to these changes, so institutions can stay ahead of the competition.
Switching processors doesn't have to be a headache – and will come with some distinct advantages. Talk to Paymentology today about your needs.