From e-commerce stores to subscription businesses to platforms and marketplaces, most businesses need to accept and process payments in a secure way that ensures a high-quality customer experience. One efficient solution to this challenge is integrated payments.

Integrated payments enable seamless transactions and streamlined processes, and they're becoming more popular with businesses. The global e-commerce market is expected to reach $83.26 trillion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 18.9% from 2024 to 2030, and integrated payments such as Apple Pay and Google Pay improve efficiency and convenience at checkout.

Here's what businesses need to know about integrated payments and how they're changing the way customers make purchases.

What's in this article?

• What are integrated payments?
  
• The benefits of integrated payments for businesses
  
• How to get started with integrated payments
  
• How to set up integrated payments with Stripe
  

What are integrated payments?

Integrated payments occur when a business's point-of-sale system is connected to a payment processor. This allows for real-time updates of inventory and sales data, which can help businesses increase efficiency and reduce errors.

Integrating this payment-processing functionality into an existing software or platform, such as a website or mobile application, means that users can complete a transaction without leaving the platform or switching to another application or website to make a payment. Integrated payments are an all-in-one approach that saves time compared to manual payment processing, hosted payment gateways, or standalone payment processing software.

The benefits of integrated payments for businesses and customers

Here's an overview of the key benefits of integrated payments, for businesses and their customers.

Benefits for businesses

Integrated payments offer several benefits for businesses, including:

• Enhanced security: Integrated payment solutions are designed to be secure and protect sensitive customer information, such as credit card numbers and personal details. This reduces the risk of data breaches and fraud.

• Improved efficiency: Integrated payments streamline the transaction process by automating tasks and reducing the need for manual input, giving businesses robust payment functionality while keeping costs low.

• Increased revenue: By making the payment process more convenient and efficient, businesses can reduce the number of abandoned transactions and increase revenue. This is especially important for ecommerce businesses, where customers are more likely to complete a purchase if the payment process is easy and secure.

• Better data management: Integrated payment solutions can provide businesses with valuable data and insights on customer behaviour and payment trends, as well as improved tracking and reporting of transactions. Businesses can use this information to refine aspects of the business and manage financial information more efficiently.

• Real-time inventory updates: Integrated payments provide real-time updates to inventory and sales data, which is key information for any business's daily operations. Historically, keeping this data up-to-date has required significant time and energy.

Benefits for customers

Integrated payments also elevate the customer experience. Benefits of integrated payments for customers include:

• Increased convenience: Customers can make purchases directly through the company's website or mobile app, without navigating to a separate payment portal.
  
• Flexibility: Customers can pay with a variety of payment options, including credit and debit cards and digital wallets.
  
• Improved security: Sensitive payment information is encrypted and processed within the company's secure systems, rather than on an external payment gateway.
  
• Easily accessible information: Customers can access detailed receipts and purchase history information, which can be useful for tracking expenses and budgeting.
  

How to get started with integrated payments

Getting started with integrated payments involves a few strategic steps to ensure the system fits your business needs and operates well.

1. Evaluate your current software
Take a look at your current software – such as your point-of-sale (POS) system or ecommerce platform – and determine whether it supports a unified commerce approach. Many modern platforms allow you to connect a payments provider with a simple plugin.

2. Choose a payments provider
Look for a provider that has transparent pricing, provides reliable customer support, and prioritises security. Consider the types of payments you want to accept, and ensure the provider supports them all.

3. Begin the integration process
The actual integration process might involve installing a plugin, connecting through an application programming interface (API), or working with your software vendor or IT team to configure the connection.

4. Test everything
Test the system in a sandbox environment before going live to confirm that transactions are processed correctly for each payment method you'll offer to customers.

5. Train your team
Train your team on how to use the new system and monitor its performance closely after launch. Your employees should be able to spot any problems early.

With everything in place, you're ready to go live with integrated payments.

How to set up integrated payments with Stripe

Stripe offers businesses a complete, growth-optimised payment platform with the combined functionality of a merchant account, payment gateway and payment processor. Stripe's suite of APIs and software solutions help businesses power their payments and move money globally while orchestrating effortless customer moments and capturing more revenue. Additionally, all of these flexible integration options are PCI-compliant.

To set up integrated payments with Stripe, follow these steps:

1. Sign up for a Stripe account. This is a quick process that requires you to provide certain personal and business information, as well as a valid bank account and government-issued ID.
   
2. Once your account is set up, log in to your Dashboard and navigate to the Developers section. There you will find your API keys, which will authenticate your account with Stripe’s API.
   
3. Integrate the Stripe API into your website or mobile app. This will typically involve adding some code to your checkout page, which will communicate with Stripe’s API to process payments.
   
4. Test your integration by making test payments through your website or mobile app.
   
5. Once you are satisfied that everything is working correctly, you can enable live payments by flipping a switch in your Dashboard or reaching out to the Stripe team for assistance.
   

To make the integration process easier, Stripe provides a wide range of libraries and SDKs for various programming languages. For more information, and to learn how Stripe can power your specific integrated-payment needs, start here.