How to choose a payments provider for your public sector organization

Whether operating at the local, state, or federal level, government entities interact with constituents regularly through transactions – like visiting the local DMV, purchasing a fishing license, paying taxes, and more. As your government organization looks to the future, consider that the ways in which you accept payments from your constituents can shape how they perceive the services you provide and, ultimately, the community you build. That’s why your public sector organization needs a trusted payments partner to help you deliver more modern payment solutions to your residents as you take control of revenue, reduce administrative costs, and streamline financial operations. That’s a tall order, but the right payments processing partner can help you:

1. Ensure data security and reliability for you and your constituents

Electronic bank transfers, ecommerce payments, mobile wallets— the shift to digital payments is booming. Digital payments are becoming more popular with constituents that expect a modern, frictionless payment experience because of their speed and simplicity. But as government organizations expand their digital payment options, security risks, like hacking, phishing, and more, are rising. You need to know you can integrate these digital options while you maintain the same stringent security  standards you uphold for any other payment method. The right payments partner can guide your agency through the PCI DSS compliance process with white-glove service and suggest added layers of security, such as multi-factor authentication, tokenization and EMV verification for all government transactions with constituents.

2. Enhance financial reporting and analytics

From economic inclusion tracking* to annual financial reporting*, government bodies and agencies need advanced analytics capabilities to understand the payments data transmitted in constituent transactions. Visibility and control become even greater when agencies can use one partner that can provide comprehensive reporting and direct access to funds so they can make quick changes to their account when needed. Partnering with an experienced payments provider will ensure you have more control over your transactions with easy access to comprehensive reporting and consultative support for gleaning insights from this information.

3. Accept payments the way your constituents prefer

The payments landscape is rapidly changing* for consumers, businesses, and government entities alike as digitization, rapid transactions, and embedded payments become the norms in nearly all industries and settings. Your constituents increasingly expect the payment process to be easy*, whether they are shopping online or doing business with you. That’s why you need a payments provider that can process any payment type, such as  credit*, debit, and EBT cards, as well as checks, cash, digital wallets and more in one streamlined system. When you ensure your constituents can pay anytime, anywhere through in-person, online, and over the phone payments, you can fund your community’s infrastructure, maximize your budget, and power economic development.

4. Reduce the cost of payment acceptance

Keeping up with consumer payment preferences isn’t easy or cheap, however. Accepting card payments comes with interchange fees, while taking check and cash payments comes with their own service and security costs. The right payments provider will help you implement service fee programs that offset the costs of payment acceptance and are flexible to the needs of your organization. Further, choose a payments partner that will dive deep into your transaction data to identify opportunities for commercial card optimization – reducing interchange fees by providing additional transaction data and leveraging Level II and Level III rates.

Your public sector organization needs to stay focused on your core purpose and shouldn’t have to get bogged down by manual and expensive payments processes. Trust an experienced payments partner that can future-proof your organization by helping improve constituent experience, reduce costs, bolster security, and enhance reporting – giving you more time to focus on the communities where you live and work.

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