WHY USE A MANAGED ONLINE PAYMENT SYSTEM?

It takes time, resource, IT knowledge and a good understanding of the payment industry to produce an online payment system that is secure, effective and one that can easily integrate with your current website, finance systems and processes.

It is especially important to ensure that any online payment system you provide is fully PCI DSS compliant in order to reassure your payees that their payment data is secure, and to remove the risk of PCI DSS penalties if you are not processing and storing card details in a secure manner.

Using an external provider (such as WPM Education) removes the risk of PCI DSS non compliance as the card transaction takes place on WPM Education's servers via a payment portal website that seamlessly links from the institutions main website.

Using an external provider to take your payments online can also have additional benefits that have a significant impact on your universities/colleges success:

1. Simplify your payment process
   An online payment system will centralise your payment processing by providing you with a transparent view of your revenue stream, highlighting areas in which you can improve your existing processes and increase sales, helping you to take control of your finances and reduce the resources needed to process payments.


2. Minimise IT maintenance and system integration headaches
   A managed online payment solution provider should be able to smoothly integrate with your current finance systems using their experience and expertise to make sure their solutions fit well within your systems and adhere to industry best practice standards. They will also manage the IT maintenance wherever needed, saving you time and money on your already stretched IT resources.


3. 24/7 guaranteed availability
   One of the core advantages of a managed online payment system is the guarantee that your system can consistently process payments and cope with fluctuations in sales created by your academic calendar or a successful marketing campaign. This means you can confidently offer your students the convenience to pay from any location whenever it suits them.


4. Reduce your payment processing time, costs and errors
   An online payment solution will take payments in real-time and communicate with your students and customers without the need for additional administration resource. This automation of the payment process will help to quickly and simply highlight any errors with the input of payment and/or ask for alternative methods of payment as and when required.


5. Flexibility of offering multiple payment options to your customers
   Don't exclude your students or customers based on the way they wish to pay. An online payment solution will accept payments from credit cards, debit cards and PayPal, with options to add recurring card payments for subscriptions or instalment plans or set up Direct Debits. This added flexibility will provide you the opportunity to win business giving your customers the choice and control they require to make a purchase.