7 Ways to Optimize Your Magento Payment Processing in 2021

As we head into 2021, online shopping is at an all-time high and consumers are looking to spend their money with eCommerce businesses they trust. This means there’s no better time for Magento users to optimize their payment processing systems than right now. 

With global eCommerce sales projected to reach $4.9 trillion in 2021, there are several strategies businesses can use to prepare their Magento stores for optimal success in the new year.

7 Ways to Optimize Your Magento Payment Processing in 2021: 

1. Offer diverse payment methods
2. Understand and reduce fraud
3. Incorporate a seamless and fast payment process
4. Partner with a reliable payment gateway provider
5. Reduce your costs
6. Manage customer data for optimal security
7. Design for mobile

1. Offer diverse payment methods

Magento users who offer various payment alternatives on their eCommerce sites can set their business up for success in 2021. By including options for every potential customer and financial situation, your brand can appeal to a wider audience and convert more sales. 

When you optimize your payment methods, you give your customer a more customized shopping experience, which gives your business a competitive advantage. This also creates a more self-sufficient business model, because you’re no longer relying on one or two payment sources. Most payment processors are designed to accommodate a variety of payment methods, so Magento users can rest easy knowing their site can accept all major card types.

2. Understand and reduce fraud

Cybersecurity will continue to be a hot topic in 2021. With many employees still working remotely and online sales seeing huge revenues, eCommerce businesses must take action to identify and reduce fraud. Customers look to trustworthy and reliable businesses to protect their personal information when shopping online. 

Magento users can reduce fraudulent activity by optimizing their site and payment processing using proper safety and security measures:

• Secure transactions with an SSL certificate
  • Encrypts sensitive data and improves payment security 
  • Advertise SSL security seals
  • Use HTTPS to garner trust
• PCI compliance and tokenization are a must
  • Use a PCI DSS-qualified secure payment service provider to ensure the highest level of security when processing payments
• Enroll in a 3D Secure program
  • Allow customers to protect card information using password authorization or a PIN to access and approve payments 

For best results, Magento users should also outline clear privacy policies and terms and conditions. 

3. Incorporate a seamless and fast payment process

It’s no secret that we live in a society that’s accustomed to having access to virtually anything with a click of a button, and it’s certainly no different when shopping online. Customers want a smooth buying experience and will most likely abandon their cart if the process is anything but. To avoid this, Magento users can optimize their payment process to increase conversions and return sales.

Businesses can follow this rule: fewer clicks, better conversions. Magento stores can capitalize on this strategy by using one-click payment methods that allow shoppers to enter their information only once. If your site cannot incorporate this strategy, we recommend optimizing the payment process to four clicks or fewer. 

Magento stores can improve their payment optimization further by allowing guest checkouts. This option allows users to commit to a sale without committing to a company just yet. It offers a faster, more instant way of paying, rather than requiring each person to take the time to set up an account. By making it easier for customers to pay on the front end, you can also decrease load times and errors on the backend that might hinder debit or credit card transactions from processing efficiently.

To evaluate overall performance, businesses can run A/B testing on payment pages to see which methods are the most efficient and yield the best results.

4. Partner with a reliable payment gateway provider

Businesses using the Magento platform have a variety of reliable payment gateways available to choose from, depending on their needs and transaction volume — hosted, self-hosted, API, custom, or local bank integration/direct payment gateways. It’s crucial for brands to choose one that pairs best with their existing systems and improves overall productivity and efficiency. 

Here are some important factors to consider when partnering with a payment gateway provider:

• PCI compliance and fraud management
• Software compatibility
• Costly processing fees
• Fast access to funds
• Customer support
• Multiple payment options

If you’re looking for an all-in-one solution for your Magento store, integrated payment gateways have become increasingly popular. They offer a seamless ordering process that allows customers to input payment information and submit orders directly in your store’s dashboard.

5. Reduce your costs

Reducing costs can be very beneficial for online businesses. Although payment processing software already serves as a cost-saving solution for Magento stores, there are additional optimization strategies brands can use to reduce costs in 2021:

• Save on operational costs by using automation
• Take advantage of early-payment discount programs with suppliers
• Avoid high-risk customers — stop marketing to audiences with high return rates
• Negotiate lower credit card processing fees 

Magento stores should also work with their teams to promote a culture that encourages cost-savings techniques. Customer service and company morale play a big role in the efficiency of your business — it’s important to ensure all departments are receptive to change. 

6. Manage customer data for optimal security

Customer data is of utmost importance for online businesses, especially since they don’t have any in-person contact with their audience. Optimizing your Magento store to manage this information can improve customer relations, sales, and spending. 

For best management practices, Magento users should use an organized, secure system to handle their client database. Poor optimization can lead to longer load times and slower site speed, which can lead to abandonment. Businesses can manage customer data by keeping a smaller database — instead of saving information for 100+ days, you can reduce it to 30 days (or whatever fits your company needs best).

Efficiently managing this data can give Magento stores insight into customer information to better optimize their sites, including necessary features that meet their needs and provide a secure shopping experience. For a more optimized payment process, businesses can also offer two-factor authentication for customers to secure account information for future transactions.

For increased security measures during payment processing, eCommerce businesses can incorporate an address verification system (AVS) to confirm customer addresses with major shipping carriers. AVS helps reduce checkout errors and increases conversion rates. In addition, sites should require a card verification value (CVV) for credit card transactions to cut down on fraud. 

Magento stores can also protect customer data by integrating security extensions and plugins. 

7. Design for mobile 

Now more than ever, people are using mobile devices to make purchases instead of desktop — mobile devices account for 55% of online revenue. Optimizing your Magento store for mobile interfaces may seem like a tedious task, but it has become a necessary component for online brands to increase sales and customer conversions in 2021. 

The design and functionality of your checkout page should be top priorities for your business, as they can directly relate to the success of payment processing. Magento users can design their checkout page to include:

• Ample white space
• Small, high-quality product images with product descriptions
• Security badges
• Transparent pricing and additional fees
• Bold, colorful call-to-action buttons
• Autofill features
• Various payment options

Magento stores can tap into mobile optimization extensions like AMP for Magento 2 to monitor load times, performance, and meet mobile parameters.

By creating a visually appealing and functional mobile process, businesses can drive more traffic, conversions, and return sales to their site.

Conclusion

As businesses prepare for what’s looking to be another unpredictable year, making improvements to their online store can give them the advantage they need. Magento users who work to better optimize their payment process can provide a trustworthy experience for their customers and set up their business for a successful 2021.