APIs and Innovation Help Merchants Put Payments ‘in the Background’

For merchants, omnichannel innovation comes in several flavors.

When it comes to eCommerce interactions, sellers face the drive to streamline and reduce friction during the onboarding processes — and to digitize the interactions that happen after onboarding, including lending and payments.

In an interview with PYMNTS, Jordan Owen, head of merchant business banking at U.S. Bank’s wholly owned subsidiary Elavon, said broadening payments acceptance across credit and debit cards — and enabling firms to integrate digital wallets — levels the playing field between larger enterprises and small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

Through the partnership model, providers including Elavon, use developer-first APIs to help those firms — large or small — integrate new solutions on an as-needed basis. That bespoke approach underpins multinational retailers’ efforts to sell in dozens of countries and currencies, tapping a variety of markets, or an SMB’s single-market, dollar-denominated home base, Owen said.

“What it all comes down to is making sure that these merchants have the optimal setup to have payments work in the background — so that they can in turn go and run their businesses,” she said.

Elavon is one of only two payment processors that are wholly owned by a bank, which means that commercial clients accessing the full suite of services (combining U.S. Bank and Elavon’s offerings) can access funds the same day and/or embed point-of-sale lending that translates into reaching a broader market of customers that may not have been accessible otherwise.

The combination is the culmination of U.S. Bank’s efforts to combine financial services and payments under one roof, after acquiring Elavon’s predecessor, Nova Information Services.

Across the Range of Businesses

“We service everyone from major enterprise clients in the airline space all the way down to startup businesses,” Owen said.

That range of expertise is especially relevant given the movement of FinTechs and private equity-backed firms that have sought to extend banking solutions as part of their payment offerings.

“The point-of-sale lending solution is no-code or low-code and fully headless APIs … and that’s the kind of innovation we’re excited about,” she said.

The company has focused on several verticals that are being transformed by simplified payments and better communications.

Through its partnership with Rectangle Health, for example, Elavon enables clients to send reminders about appointments. Payment needs to be collected at the time of the visit, which improves the cash flow of providers. The company’s Practice Management Bridge integrates with a practice’s electronic medical records systems so that providers can track, manage, report and reconcile patient payment information.

In retail, setting SMBs up with real-time financing options can build consumer relationships as customers can buy large-ticket items as needed.

“The SMB’s key preference is to make things as simple as possible because they don’t have the people or processes to manage a number of complex and different relationships and systems,” Owen said.

To that end, Elavon can set up payment options through a pre-set checkout page or tailor the page to the merchants’ own preferences and markets, she said.

“Our goal is to be the payments expert,” Owen said, adding that the partnership approach “enables merchants to build stronger relationships with their customers — and giving them time back.”