Payment Links: The Solution to the Wrong Problem

In the ever-evolving world of payment processing, payment links have emerged as a popular solution for collecting payments. While they may seem convenient and modern, they fail to address the core challenges faced by businesses that traditionally process payments over telephone calls. Payment links disrupt real-time processes, introduce security vulnerabilities, and impose unnecessary friction on both businesses and customers.

This article explores the limitations of payment links, contrasts them with traditional telephone payment methods, and presents Paytia's perspective on why secure telephone payment processing is a superior alternative.

The Traditional Telephone Payment Process

For decades, businesses have relied on telephone calls to process payments quickly and seamlessly. Here's how the process traditionally worked:

1. Real-Time Card Capture: The cardholder would provide their payment details verbally in real time to a business agent during a call.
2. Immediate Transaction: The agent would process the payment instantly, ensuring that the business's database systems could track and respond to the transaction in real-time.
3. Integrated Flow: Because payments were completed during the call, business processes such as order confirmation, service activation, or product dispatch could continue without delay.

This method, while effective, carried security risks. The verbal exchange of card details exposed sensitive data to human error, fraud, and non-compliance with PCI-DSS standards.

The Rise of Payment Links

Payment links have been marketed as a secure alternative to traditional payment methods. These links are sent via email or SMS, directing the cardholder to a web-based payment form. While they eliminate the need to verbally share card details, they create a host of new challenges:

Limitations of Payment Links

1. Non-Real-Time Process:
2. Security Vulnerabilities:

Note: Paytia has created a Secure code system to tackle this growing issue.

• Once a customer is exposed to a phishing attack, trust in the business can be significantly eroded.

1. Access Barriers:
2. Customer Friction:
3. Conflicting advice: Banks and financial institutions warn their customer on a daily basis about the dangers of opening links. This messaging conflicts with the push to merchants to utilise payment links as the answer to the problem of secure card capture.

Paytia's Perspective: Why Payment Links Fall Short

At Paytia, we view payment links as a solution to the wrong problem. They may reduce the need for verbally sharing card details but fail to address the need for real-time, secure, and seamless payment processing.

The Case for Secure Telephone Payment Processing

Paytia advocates for secure telephone payment solutions as a modern, PCI-compliant alternative to traditional payment methods. Here's why:

1. Real-Time Payment Processing:
2. No Internet Required:
3. Seamless Integration:
4. Enhanced Security:

Evidence and Supporting Information

Research highlights several challenges associated with payment links:

1. Non-Real-Time Delays: A 2023 study by The Baymard Institute found that payment abandonment rates for non-real-time payment methods are significantly higher than those for real-time solutions. Customers often delay completing payments when additional steps are required (3).
2. Phishing Vulnerabilities: The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has repeatedly warned about the rise of phishing attacks using fraudulent payment links, emphasising the importance of secure payment alternatives (1).
3. Customer Friction: According to a 2022 report by Statista, businesses that simplify payment processes see a 30% higher completion rate compared to those requiring multiple steps, such as retrieving and filling out payment links (3).

So, to wrap things up

Payment links may seem like a step forward in payment processing, but their limitations—non-real-time delays, security vulnerabilities, and increased customer friction—make them unsuitable for businesses requiring seamless and secure transactions.

Paytia's secure telephone payment solutions address these challenges by providing real-time, PCI-compliant payment processing that integrates directly into business workflows. Paytia ensures accessibility, security, and efficiency by using the customer's existing telephone connection.

Ready to move beyond the limitations of payment links? Let Paytia help you modernise your payment processes while maintaining real-time efficiency and security.

Visit www.paytia.com to learn more.

Note: this document doesn’t consider the plus points of process flows involving 3DS2, but that will be also be covered in future posts.

#paymentlinks #paytia

References

1. UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). “Phishing Threats in Payment Processing.” (2023).
2. Statista. “Internet Access and Its Impact on Payment Accessibility.” (2022).
3. The Baymard Institute. “Payment Abandonment Rates in E-Commerce.” (2023).