Introducing multiple payment service providers is an important step in the growth of a subscription business. There’s a clear connection between acquiring customers and offering multiple payment methods—but the more payment methods you support, the more costly they can be to implement and maintain. Instead of more revenue, you just have more work.

Building custom integrations for each payment service provider is ineffective and time-consuming, but it’s not the only option. A centralized payment management system can help you tame the complexity of electronic payments while offering a wide variety of customer options for smooth and secure payment processing.

This article explores some of the operational hurdles you might encounter when working with multiple service provider integrations, and it details how implementing a single, centralized payment management system can help you unlock four key benefits:

1. Ease implementations with centralized management of payment service providers
2. Streamline reconciliation and financial reporting with a unified dashboard
3. Simplify maintenance and support for updates, security patches, and compliance requirements
4. Optimize customer experience with data-driven decision-making

Let’s take a closer look at how each of these capabilities can flow from streamlining your payments process.

1. Ease implementations with centralized management of payment gateways

The primary challenge of managing multiple payment service providers is the complexity of integrating them. Each gateway has its own APIs, documentation, and technical requirements, so coordinating integration efforts across multiple providers can be daunting. 

Even with the most careful planning and coordination to ensure the implementation doesn’t disrupt existing systems and workflows, the result is still a time-consuming and resource-intensive process.

Payment orchestration platforms can simplify this process by serving as intermediaries between your business and all of your payment service providers. These platforms provide a unified integration interface that allows centralized management of multiple providers, freeing you from complex and laborious implementations.

“Our ability to accept and process multiple currencies and payment methods is central to DAZN’s success on the global stage,” says Ben Lavender, chief product officer at DAZN. “With multiple different payment integrations on Zuora, we are able to offer much more freedom of choice and a very flexible model for the consumer.”

Related: Retain subscribers by taming electronic payments and revenue leakage 

2. Streamline reconciliation and financial reporting with a unified dashboard

One of the benefits of working with multiple payment service providers is that you can offer customers various payment methods. Each gateway supports its own array of options, such as credit cards, digital wallets, or bank transfers. 

The range of payment choices is helpful for customers, but managing the complexities on the back end can strain operational resources and create challenges in reconciling and managing different payment flows. 

The answer is to implement a centralized payment management system that consolidates payment data from different providers into a single, unified dashboard. This allows you to streamline reconciliation processes, gain a comprehensive view of payment flows, and simplify financial reporting.

3. Simplify maintenance and support for updates, security patches, and compliance requirements

Once you’ve implemented multiple payment service providers, they require ongoing support and maintenance. Each service has its own updates, security patches, and compliance requirements. Managing these tasks for multiple integrations can become overwhelming, especially if resources are limited or technical expertise is scarce.

It’s important to prioritize partnerships with payment service providers that offer robust support services, including proactive maintenance, dedicated account managers, and reliable customer support. 

Look for platforms that provide seamless upgrades and handle compliance responsibilities, alleviating the burden of technical maintenance from your team.

4. Optimize customer experiences with data-driven decision-making

Another challenge of working with multiple payment service providers is that your data and reporting are fragmented. Transaction data, analytics, and reconciliation information may be scattered across different platforms, making it a challenge to obtain a holistic view of your business’s financial performance. This fragmentation can hinder your ability to make informed decisions and optimize subscription services.

Integrating data from all payment service providers into one centralized reporting dashboard eliminates the complicated process of combining your data sources. You get immediate, comprehensive insights into customer behavior, revenue trends, and subscription metrics, enabling you to make data-driven decisions that drive your business.

Overcome challenges with a centralized payment management system

Using multiple payment service providers offers flexibility and expands payment options, but it also presents operational challenges. Managing the complexity introduced by multiple integrations, diverse payment methods, various support and maintenance requirements, and fragmented data can strain your resources and hinder efficiency.

Zuora Payments is a centralized payment management system that simplifies this complexity by streamlining operations, making it easy to operate multiple payment services. Zuora can help you save time and resources while ensuring seamless customer experiences as you scale your digital subscription services and build your business.