Digital payments have become the lifeblood of businesses. 

With today’s buyers increasingly expecting convenience and ease at the point of purchase, merchants and eCommerce managers need to place a high value on having a trusted digital payment infrastructure for their business. 

Payment providers provide the needed technology and financial infrastructure to make electronic payments quick and reliable for both sellers and their customers. 

In this article, we explain what a payment provider is and how your business can benefit from hiring a trusted provider.

Who is a Payment Provider?

A payment provider also known as a merchant service provider is a third-party company that provides payment services to businesses allowing them to accept various methods of electronic payment, including credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers, digital wallets and more.

What Services do Payment Providers Offer?

1. Payment Processing:

A payment provider manages the entire transaction process from the minute a customer initiates a payment with their card right up till the payment is credited into the merchant’s account. 

The payment processor routes transaction details across the various parties involved in a transaction processing, from the point of sale or an eCommerce checkout page to the associated card network, then to the issuing and acquiring bank, and back to the seller for confirmation or decline.

2. Security

Payment service providers are responsible for encrypting and protecting the card details of payers by complying with the payment card industry standard for protecting users’ data, from fraud, and identity theft.

3. Reporting

Payment service providers also provide accurate transaction reporting that enables merchants to track and reconcile all payments received across various electronic payment methods.

4. Multi-currency processing

Payment providers have the financial infrastructure to process international transactions and receive payments in different currencies while ensuring you get settled in your local currency.

How do Payment Providers Process Card Transactions?

A merchant service provider is responsible for managing a transaction from initiation to completion by communicating with the merchants, banks, and card networks. Here are the steps a payment provider takes to process a transaction initiated by a buyer:

1. The payment provider receives the transaction details from the merchant’s POS machine or checkout page.
2. The payment provider then sends the transaction information to the credit card network used by the customer.
3. The card network sends the transaction details to the issuing bank (the bank where the buyer’s account is domiciled)
4. The issuing bank approves or declines the charge based on whether there are sufficient funds in the account and whether no suspicious activity has been determined. 
5. If the payment is approved, the appropriate funds will be transferred from the issuing bank to the acquiring bank to be deposited in the merchant’s account.
6. The issuing bank then sends the approval or decline decision back to the card network.
7. The card network transfers this information to the payment provider.
8. The provider then shares the completion or decline message with the buyer and the merchant.

Tingg – Your Trusted Payment & Merchant Services Provider in Nigeria and Kenya

Tingg is a merchant service provider that is revolutionizing digital payments in 36+ markets in Africa including Kenya and Nigeria. 

Tingg offers pageless and POS-free payment solutions, that lets every business, whether they operate offline or online, receive digital payments from customers. 

From your Tingg account, you can generate a payment link or create a quick payment page to share with customers whenever they want to make a payment. 

Benefits of Using Tingg as your Payment Provider

1. Accepts several payment methods without the need for a POS or even a website 
2. Receive payments in multiple currencies
3. Complies with the payment card industry security standards
4. Fraud detection for every transaction
5. Reconciles all transactions across payment methods in one single reporting view

Ready to set up seamless digital payment for your business? 
Visit tingg. africa to set up a store today!