Selecting the Right Processor for Recurring Billers
You'd obviously want to select a processor that is cost effective and has good customer support, but based on our experience, it's the low level details that tend to make the difference when it comes to recurring billing software for billing that should assist in scaling up the business.
6 Best Payment Processors for Recurring Billing
Here is our list of features to look for in a payment processor/gateway.
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Account updater capability
The ability to automatically get replacement credit cards is critical for any subscription and recurring billing model. Causes for re-issued cards include fraud, expiry, and portfolio changes amongst card issuers. Since Account Updater functionality is only available from processors, this is a must have feature to look for
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Comprehensive decline status codes
Being able to distinguish between "hard declines" (e.g.,account closed), vs. "soft declines" (e.g. insufficient credit balance) vs. input errors (e.g., invalid expiry date) can make a big difference in the success of your payment recycling. Of course, your billing platform needs to have the functional capability to leverage these recycling strategies.
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Recurring transaction flag
Being able to flag the transaction as one where the consumer has opted in for recurring payment leads to more favorable approvals, and this translates directly to less headaches with declines.
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Blank Expiration Date policy
In conjunction with the recurring indicator, having the ability to make this optional on subsequent transactions is a big win in our market.
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Soft descriptors
The ability to have control over the description that shows on the consumer's credit card statement can make the difference between excessive chargebacks ("I don't recognize this XYZ charge!")
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Alternate Payment Methods
ACH as an alternate payment method for recurring payment solutions checkĀ why accepting ACH payments is a necessity for all businesses today.
At BluSynergy we work with a number of payment gateways and processors and have the experience to understand the difference between processors who are adept at recurring transactions and those that are mainly catered towards the retail trade.
Read more about Messaging and Dunning Strategies for Recurring Billers