How to select payment vendors that access the Account Updater service. How to understand Account Updater access providers, including: o Payment

Transcription

1 How to select payment vendors that access the Account Updater service. How to understand Account Updater access providers, including: o Payment processors and payment gateway providers. o Directory of over 25 Billing and Subscription Management Platforms

2 Contents Publisher s Letter... 3 Selecting Vendors that Utilize Account Updater... 4 Account Updater: Access Providers... 5 Payment Processors... 5 Payment Gateway Providers... 6 Billing & Subscription Management Platforms... 6 About Subscription Insider... 13

3 Publisher s Letter Account Updater a service offered by Visa, MasterCard, Discover and more recently, American Express provides updated payment card information to help merchants manage card-not-present issues. In our Account Updater Trend Report, we discussed issues and trends impacting the Account Updater service with information for subscription and membership recurring businesses to minimize subscriber churn and increase the lifetime value of customers. In this companion guide, How to Access the Account Updater Service, we outline how to select a payment processing vendor that provides access to the Account Updater service. We have also included a directory of more than 25 billing and subscription management solutions. With our directory, you'll be able to create a short list of contenders based on applicable industry experience, existing customers, payment gateways and processors supported, as well as pricing. Kathy Greenler Sexton CEO & Publisher, Subscription Insider Why should you choose one over another? Well, that is up to you! A wise mentor always told me to get three bids on any major purchase. This guide is designed to help you evaluate the possibilities as you select a technology platform partner, helping you keep your eyes wide open as you build a better subscription-based business. Choose your future billing partner(s) carefully and make sure they understand YOUR business and budget be it SaaS, publishing, media or even Internet of Things (iot), video on demand, Over-the-Top (OTT) streaming and other business- and consumer-focused services. Note that some of the billing and subscription management platforms in this directory are pure-plays; that is, billing and processing is the key focus of their solutions. For others, the subscription and recurring billing component is only a part of their overall solutions. As you conduct your bake-off, do your due diligence and confirm that the many best practices for managing recurring revenue will be followed and make sure your final solution includes access to the Account Updater service. Enjoy the guide! Kathy Greenler Sexton CEO & Publisher, Subscription Insider

4 Selecting Vendors that Utilize Account Updater (EMV) chip card Eurocard, MasterCard, Visa

5 Account Updater: Access Providers Account Updater can be engaged either directly through a merchant processor, or via a billing management platform. If your company uses a billing platform or subscription management platform with billing capabilities, you will need to make sure that the merchant acquirer or processor that connects to that platform supports the Account Updater service. Payment Processors Merchant acquirers sometimes generically referred to as processors are the only transaction-handling entity required between the merchant and the card companies (Visa, MasterCard, etc.). They are the primary initiators and facilitators of Account Updater services. Acquirers with deep Account Updater integrations include Chase Paymentech, Vantiv, First Data, Merchant e-solutions and TSYS, among others.

6 Payment Gateway Providers Not all merchants have direct integrations with acquirers, instead, they clear transactions through payment gateways. In such cases, merchants are dependent upon their gateway to support the Account Updater service in tandem with their merchant acquirer. Some gateways support Account Updater services, while many do not. Among the gateways that support Account Updater are Braintree, Cybersource, Digital River and Stripe. Additionally, many acquirers also offer a gateway to connect to their platforms via a simpler integration rather than coding directly. Vantiv, Chase Paymentech, Worldpay and others offer these gateway services. Some of the gateways offered by the acquirers also include value-added services, such as managing recurring billing, tokenization, hosted pay pages and more. Billing & Subscription Management Platforms There are many options available for billing management but not all focus on, or have expertise in, recurring billing and subscription management. If you decide to outsource rather than build this feature in-house, make sure you perform your due diligence and evaluate the potential partner for best practices in managing recurring revenue, including Account Updater. This directory focuses on access to the Account Updater service with information on industry focus, pricing, customers and the payment gateway and/or processors supported. Of course, when selecting a vendor that supports the Account Updater service, always remember that it is one of many features to look for. Depending on your business model, budget, offering, product line or category, product or service delivery needs plus, potential fulfillment, customer service, CRM or marketing automation requirements your requirements for a billing partner are unique. As you review the directory below, note that a number of the vendors below are pure-play solutions that focus only on subscription and recurring revenue. Others, offer billing and subscription management as part of a larger solution. Below are a few options to evaluate in your quest to find a billing management champion that best fits your business needs:

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13 About Subscription Insider Subscription Insider, an online media business owned and operated by Authority Media Network, LLC, delivers intelligence on how to build, market and sell subscription-based products and services. Through exclusive news, research and tools (including case studies, trend reports, buyer guides, tutorials and best-practice information), Subscription Insider provides the industry's most authoritative how-to guidance on running subscription businesses more profitably. For more information: (800)