A newspaper report states that RBI data shows a growth of 30.19% in digital payments at the end of the Financial Year 2020. This indicates the digital revolution India is going through. Today, most businesses accept online transactions through a payment gateway. Moving digitally opens up a host of other possibilities as well.

After electronic payments, automated payments are slated to be one of the top payment trends for this decade. Individuals can reduce the time taken to complete payments by automating them, making recurring transactions an effortless activity. Naturally, this makes having automated payment solutions a must for businesses. It is both great for marketing the business and attracting eyeballs towards hassle-free payments. The era of one-click payments is here, and businesses need to capitalize on it to its full potential.

Many merchants today are considering automated payment solutions to streamline their businesses, and why shouldn’t they? Advancement in technology has introduced automation to almost every sector. Companies can also harness the power of computational thinking to make payment solutions easier.

What is payment automation?

Payment automation is an online system that enables businesses to collect online payments directly through an automated system without asking the customer to make the transaction manually. This relieves the merchant from having to check and verify all transactions manually. The system automatically generates logs for all transactions, which can then be fed into an accounting or management software for better tracking.

Small businesses can generate payment links to automate their payment collection system. The links can be customized to accept payment of a fixed value. One can also generate multiple payment links with just a few clicks to accept bulk payments. The system can then automatically send the payment links to their respective receivers. Merchants can track the status of each of these payments from the dashboard.

Benefits of using Automated Payment Solutions

• Saves Time

Companies can utilize automated payments to save time. Processing or accepting payments would get heavily delayed if the accounts department manually verifies all the invoices. With the volume of transactions increasing, the number of invoices also becomes huge. Without an integrated system, it would become difficult to manage the invoices. Tracking the payments and managing whether they are approved or rejected will also become difficult. Automated systems store all the invoices and receipts in an accessible manner. A database can be used to store all payment information.

Small businesses can also track whether they have received the funds by automating their payment process with innovative tools. They can generate payment links and send the URL to the customer to collect the payment. The payments dashboard will indicate the payment status and prompt the merchant when it has been completed. Thus, it becomes easier for the merchant since they can directly look at the dashboard for an update on the payment. They won’t have to reach out to the customer time and again to confirm the payment status. Small businesses have a lot of things to do within a limited time and automating payments can be a life-saver for them.

• Reduces Fraud

As the volume of payments increases, the chances of fraud also increase exponentially. It can be difficult for businesses to manually keep track of the amount due and the amount received in the corresponding transaction. With payment links, the link can be customized to accept only a fixed amount. The payer cannot pay less or more than that. The dashboard also clearly indicates if the transaction has been completed. Not to mention, the scope for any fraudulent activity gets eliminated using automated payment means. The merchant can use the logs generated by the payment gateway to keep track of all the transactions.

The automated system can also be used to maintain invoices and flag inaccurate ones. Even if the business receives some fake invoice, the computerized system will match the amount with the internal database and flag it. Services like Zaakpay encrypt the data to protect against cyber-attacks.

• Reduces Operational Cost

The cost of maintenance of an automated payment collection system is less than that of traditional methods. Automation makes most of the tasks dependent on computer software. Without an automated solution, the business would need more human power and capital to complete the same job efficiently. More human capital means more expenditure in terms of salary. In addition to this, the errors that might inadvertently crop up due to human fallacy may lead to high costs for the business. For example, a business can generate payment link to collect the due amount from customers. The system would automatically notify the dashboard when the payment is received. In the absence of this system, a person would have to be hired to check with the customer about the payment manually.

• Fewer Errors or Erroneous Transactions

Any error in the payment process can bring down the credibility of the business. Mistakes can happen while paying a vendor as well as while receiving payment from a customer. An automatic system can track the amount in real-time. This ensures that incorrect figures are not entered in any payment gateway or transaction accidentally. It also eliminates duplicate payments by updating the status of each payment in real-time.

• Get Access to Analytical tools

Automated systems generate data sales insight and other related data regarding transactions. The business can analyze this to predict customers’ purchasing trends, generate cash flow reports, and other types of analytical data. The company can use this data to boost its sales and for better marketing, conversion, and offering discounts.

Conclusion

The digital revolution has created the best atmosphere for businesses to upgrade themselves. Latest technologies like automation through payment gateways and links can scale up the business to greater heights. Services like Zaakpay offer features that can automate the payment collection process for affordable rates. Integrating a gateway into the business website is sufficiently simple and easy. Businesses that don’t have a website can utilize most of the features of a gateway using a payment link.

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