How Account Updater Helps You and Your Customer Manage Recurring Payments Keeping payment information up to date keeps service from lapsing for the customer and revenue coming in for your business. Brick-and-mortar companies and ecommerce business often have to store customer information for future transactions. With all of the financial regulations and laws in place about security, cyber security must be ensured to protect data from clients. New cards with new numbers, updated expiration dates and new security codes all require the account information to be updated and approved. By streamlining this process, companies can ensure that they have fewer failed transactions while following cyber security regulations. One great option is CyberSource payment integration. Using an Account Updater An estimated 40 percent of accounts receive charges every year because of the account closing, an account number change or an expired card. Known as hard declines, these payment failures can be avoided by using an account updater. This type of program keeps all of the card information on file with the most recent data. This allows the authorization approval rate to increase and limits the cost of having to actually contact a client about their updated payment information. Through allowing uninterrupted, fast service, companies can increase client satisfaction for long-term customer relationships. An Overview Basically, the card issuer sends out their information about the card holder. This includes information like “contact cardholder notices”, account closures, expiration date changes and similar data. Once this arrives, it is stored in the system for future purchases. When a customer tries to make a purchase, the merchant's bank sends an inquiry to see if the payment can be processed. The account updater responds with the updated information, and the merchant is able to process the transaction without a problem. Using CyberSource for automatic updates, companies can save all of their account information on the network. This information is automatically used and updated every month to ensure that the data remains accurate. An alternative option is to use the CyberSource Upload Tool. For this option, companies can manually upload their accounts and request an update. Available Updates Through the automatic updater, businesses can get help with updating out-of-date information. Account closures and expiration dates are automatically updated. Meanwhile, new card numbers because of a lost or stolen card are added to the system. If the customer migrates from Visa to MasterCard or visa versa, their information is changed through the automatic updater. Advantages of Using an Account Updater Uninterrupted Experience: Customers choose ecommerce sites for their convenience and accessibility. When they make a purchase, they want the experience to be as seamless and easy as possible. To ensure this, companies must make sure that account information is automatically updated. If the customer has to re-enter their information or experiences a declined transaction, it decreases the chances that they will make a purchase. Lowering Costs and Time Spent: To following banking regulations and applicable laws, companies have to keep their information updated. Manually updating financial information is an arduous, time-consuming process. When updates are performed automatically, it lowers labor costs for the business and the amount of time they have to devote to updates. Reduces Service Cancellation Risks: Due to the inconvenience of having a transaction canceled, some customers will become frustrated and turn to a different vendor. Although there are other reasons for a customer to leave, having an account updater ensures that transaction processing problems are not the cause of a customer retention issue. Acquirer Agnostic Service: Even when companies switch their acquirers, they still are able to benefit due to the acquirer agnostic service. This type of service essentially means that any acquirers can place chargeback requests or upload RFI in the program. Increased Revenue and Authorization Approval Rates: Customer retention is a necessity for smart ecommerce websites. By keeping customers around and ensuring that the majority of transactions are successful, companies can increase their bottom line. In the short term, better authorization approval rates will ensure a steady stream of revenue. CyberSource Payment integration: To make sure the entire ecommerce platform is efficient, the CyberSource account updater is completely integrated with the CyberSource payment processing platform. This allows an easier experience for businesses and extra services like tokenization. Limit Staff contact With Payment Data: Even the most honest employee can be tempted when they have millions of customers' financial data at their fingertips. Preventing staff members from interacting with the payment information is one way that companies can limit employee theft. Since updates are done automatically, it also prevents the human errors and typos that often occur. Using a Trustworthy Service Legally, ecommerce companies must follow cyber security laws about bank liability, credit card fraud and customer privacy. In order to ensure PCI compliance, ecommerce businesses need an account updating service that they can trust. Updating payment information is not a trivial task when it comes to handling thousands or millions of customer accounts. Credit card processing companies that have extensive experience in the industry and a strong client history are the best options to choose. Clarity Can Help Clarity's CyberSource account updater is designed to meet the needs of businesses around the world. Specializing in handling credit card authorizations, Clarity can ensure that your customers are able to process their transactions easily. All account information is updated on a monthly basis to ensure that customers can continue to use the billing systems and payment gateways. To discover how Clarity can help, contact us today.