With today’s business buyers interacting with suppliers via 10 or more online and offline channels and more demanding than ever, B2B businesses need to offer a consistent, convenient and flexible payment experience across multiple sales channels. That’s precisely what omnichannel payments are all about.

In this article, we’ll explore what omnichannel payments are and how your business can enable omnichannel payments. We’ll also highlight the importance of getting the omnichannel payment mix right and why BNPL constitutes an essential part of it.

What are omnichannel payments?

Omnichannel payments refer to a payment strategy that allows businesses to accept payments from their customers through multiple channels. This could include online, mobile, in-store, via phone or email. Offering an omnichannel payment experience comes with the following benefits:

Improved customer experience: Omnichannel payments enable businesses to provide a smoother, more integrated customer experience. Customers have the ability to switch between payment channels without any disruption, making the payment process easier and faster.

Increased revenue: By offering customers multiple payment options across every channel, B2B businesses can increase their sales by providing customers with their preferred payment method wherever they choose to shop.

Increased loyalty: Omnichannel payments allow businesses to offer customers a more convenient payment experience. Customers can pay with their preferred payment method, on their preferred channel, resulting in increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

Enhanced insights: Omnichannel payment processing combines a business’ payment operations and data, enabling a more comprehensive understanding of customers’ purchasing behaviors and preferences. With access to enhanced payment data and insights, businesses can optimize their payment operations and capitalize on new opportunities.

How to provide omnichannel payments to customers 

Offering a seamless and consistent payment experience across multiple channels with a variety of payment options is now a requirement for business growth. But connecting every payment provider across those channels can be a real challenge. The right technology and infrastructure are required to integrate and unite everything into a single platform.

That’s why it’s essential to partner with an omnichannel payment provider. These providers typically offer an all-in-one solution for processing multiple payment methods across different channels. 

Working with a provider simplifies things, saves time, and ensures everything works seamlessly. It also enables a single point of contact if something goes wrong instead of having to reach multiple different service providers. 

Here are seven factors to consider when selecting an omnichannel payment provider:

Security and compliance: Look for a provider that offers the highest levels of security and compliance with industry standards. Ensure the provider is PCI compliant and has advanced data encryption and fraud prevention features.

Fees and charges: Make certain the provider has transparent and competitive fees and charges. Inquire about any setup or transaction fees and any other costs charged by the provider.    

Payment methods: Ensure the provider offers a variety of popular B2B payment methods and makes it easy to add new ones when needed.

Scalability: Ensure the provider can handle increasing orders and transactions as your business grows. Look for flexible providers that can easily adapt as your needs change.

User interface: Look for a solution with a user-friendly and intuitive interface that makes it easy to track, manage and optimize your customers’  payments.  

Getting the omnichannel payment mix right 

It’s pointless to provide a seamless, secure, and consistent payment experience across multiple channels if you don’t offer payment methods that are aligned with customers’ preferences. Offering a wide range of popular B2B payment options such as BNPL, credit cards, PayPal, and payment in advance is a must. 

In most of Europe, Buy Now Pay Later- commonly referred to as invoice payments have been one of the most popular payment methods in the B2B sector for a long time. European business buyers are familiar with and accustomed to BNPL solutions from offline B2B transactions and B2C ecommerce.

Interested in learning more? Check out our knowledge hub and blog for more in-depth insights on B2B sales, e-commerce and emerging payment trends.