The 2021 payments landscape demands sophisticated check acceptance risk mitigation tools. Businesses now have a new tool for collecting customer payments. SMS Payment Solutions allow businesses to:
- Text customers with payment reminders
- Accept payment via the cell phone
SMS stands for “Short Messaging Service,” and centers around cell phone texting. The typical late payment collection process involves informing a customer that a payment is late via snail mail, or an office call. Not only do these traditional methods have poor success rates, but adopting SMS Payment Solutions reduces labor costs associated with typical late payment outreach, improves cash flow, and improves the customer experience.
Understanding the Benefits of SMS Payment Solutions
Businesses now realize paying by text offers benefits to both consumers and the business itself. With 98% open rates, 95% read rates it’s easy to see why SMS Payment Solutions are such an attractive customer billing option.
Over 80% of Americans use text messaging (the top activity performed on a smartphone), but despite this popularity, many billing organizations ignore texting as a payment collection channel.
Paperless payment collection can offer significant operational savings to:
- Insurance companies
- Utility & telecom companies
- Financial lenders
- The rent-to-own industry
- Property management
- Etc.
How do SMS Payments Solutions Work?
Text to Pay solutions allow your customers to opt-in to receive a text message containing information (e.g. current balance and due date). Customers opt-in to either receiving pay by text messages or solely bill payment/late payment text reminders.
The process goes as follows:
- Customers opt in to receiving texts around their account
- When current charges come due, text messages are sent to all clients opting-in to the payment channel. The business would be able to customize rule sets and workflows. Eg “When bill is 2 days late initiate outbound text to pay campaign”
- Customers wanting to pay an invoice via text interact with their phone. In some cases they could be directed to a secure payment page to enter relevant data [eg credit card or ACH]. In other cases if they have a payment account associated with their text to pay account payment can be made using securely stored payment data
- Customer and business receive receipt notification. If using a management software reconciliation can be automated if your software has integrated the SMS payment solution into the platform
If your business is interested in reducing labor costs associated with typical late payment outreach, improving cash flow, and improving your overall customer experience, get started leveraging the benefits of SMS Payment Solutions by Contacting Us today!
