Rising Decline Rates Increase Merchant Interest in Payments Orchestration

Two-thirds of adults around the globe now leverage digital payments on a regular basis, including 57% of consumers in developing countries. Offering these digital payment options smoothly and seamlessly is easier said than done, however, with a seemingly endless array of complications in processing these payments. Few are as disruptive or annoying as payment declines, which have increased in recent months.

Payments orchestration systems are critical for preventing payment method declines by integrating new payment methods and different payment gateways in a seamless and customer-friendly way. If a given payment gateway is offline, the system will automatically route the payment through a new gateway and complete the transaction without any intervention from either the merchant or customer. One case study found that a business reduced its decline rate to between 5% and 8% of all transactions while reducing false declines by up to 35%.

This edition of the “Payments Orchestration Playbook” examines the latest in payments orchestration, including how payment declines inconvenience eCommerce customers, the effect these declines can have on businesses and how payments orchestration can drive decline rates down to acceptable levels.

Around the Payments Orchestration Space

There are countless ways by which a digital payment can fail, but one of the most common reasons was a lack of funds in the account, a recent PYMNTS study found. Twenty-seven percent of consumer payment declines were due to insufficient funds, according to the study, but there are several contributing causes to this as well. PYMNTS research found that approximately two-thirds of consumers lived paycheck to paycheck, meaning that price increases can significantly affect these customers and cause a shortage of funds.

There are countless ways by which a digital payment can fail, but a recent PYMNTS study found that one of the most common was a lack of funds in an account, with 27% of consumer payment declines due to insufficient funds. There are a number of contributing circumstances surrounding this, however, as the research also found that about two-thirds of consumers live paycheck to paycheck, meaning that price increases can greatly affect these customers and cause a dearth of funds.

For more on these and other stories, visit the Playbook’s News and Trends section.

Supreme Golf on Leveraging Payments Orchestration to Prevent Payment Declines

The shift to digital has not been without its challenges. Payment declines, in particular, can happen for dozens of reasons, and its sheer inconvenience can doom a single transaction or even an entire customer lifecycle.

In this month’s Feature Story, PYMNTS talked with Ryan Ewers, chief operating officer of tee time booking website Supreme Golf, about how the company leverages payments orchestration systems to ensure that payments are processed without issue, preventing damaging declines.

Leveraging Payments Orchestration to Prevent Payment Declines

Customers are using digital payments more than ever before, spurred by the expanding ease of digital payment methods like contactless cards and peer-to-peer payment apps. New digital payment methods have the potential for new obstacles, however, and one of the most prevalent and annoying is payment declines. If a payment decline occurs during checkout, it could cause a customer to switch merchants, products and buying methods. Preventing these declines is a top priority for merchants that offer digital payments.

This month’s PYMNTS Intelligence examines how payment orchestration systems can keep these declines to a minimum and maintain customer loyalty.

About The Tracker

The “Payments Orchestration Playbook,” a PYMNTS and Spreedly collaboration, examines how payment declines inconvenience eCommerce customers. It also explores the devastating effect these declines can have on businesses and how payments orchestration can drive the decline rates down to acceptable levels.