Creating a Better Payment Experience for Everyone
December 01, 2023 by Jordan Loa
When it comes to payment systems, governments want solutions that deliver a frictionless experience for both their staff and their residents.
In a recent Government Technology webinar, Sloane Wright, senior vice president of Payments, and Jared Vinson, vice president of Payments platform development, discussed ways to enhance the checkout experience across various government departments, how digital payments can benefit agencies and staff, and new and emerging trends in the payments industry.
The Streamlined Approach
Residents enjoy convenience and flexibility in the retail sector, and they expect the same with their government payments, too.
“We’re starting to see where technologies are starting to make these things easier, more streamlined, and oftentimes through one single integration point, which is a big deal for our government workers,” explained Wright. “We’re also seeing that customers want to share more data, such as storing their payment methods to make their future checkout processes simpler.”
Flexibility, Speed, and Savings
While not new, digital forms of payment, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo are becoming more and more popular, presenting such advantages as improving authorization rates, limiting where card information is exposed, and adding convenience by way of additional payment options.
“We’re seeing a real spike in adoption," Vinson said. “People are comfortable paying with their phones and their stored payment methods.”
Sure, adding new payment methods presents challenges, such as the steps to record that a specific bill has been paid and reconciling deposits for all transactions, but the advantages they provide outweigh these challenges.
These advantages not only benefit the resident, but agencies, too. One example is eliminating the need to disburse funds via paper checks, which saves agencies time and money and quickly gets funds to those who need it. Wright provided the following example.
“Natural disasters. Why in the world would you not be prepared ahead of time to be able to help those in need and have the ability to issue pre-paid debit cards on the spot once a disaster is declared? That technology is available now,” posits Wright.
Having funds available on the spot would be great for residents, they don’t have to worry about how they’re going to pay for the things they need right away, losing their checks, or even having their checks stolen.
There’s no way around it: technology is the future of payments.
“How do things like real-time payments and these future capabilities that are being introduced continue to revolutionize or change how the payment ecosystem will work going forward?” inquired Vinson.
Bottom line, meeting residents’ demands for payment options doesn't mean you need to sacrifice back-office processes or efficiency. See how both are possible with modern technology.