When determining the best payment solution for your business, you may hear about embedded and integrated payments. So what are they? What are the benefits and drawbacks of each? And which payment method is best for your business?

Before we can dive into integrated and embedded payments, it’s important to first understand disconnected payments.

What are Disconnected Payments?

Disconnected payments are payment methods or systems that are not seamlessly integrated into an organization’s main financial or operational processes. In disconnected payment systems, transactions often necessitate manual intervention and may not be synchronized in real-time with an organization’s financial management systems. 

Examples of disconnected payments include:

• Checks
• Cash 
• Money orders

Benefits of Disconnected Payments

While disconnected payments are usually defined by their drawbacks – including manual data entry that leads to increased human errors, inefficient processes, slower transaction processing, and increased opportunities for fraud – they still have many benefits:

• Accessibility: Disconnected payment methods offer flexibility and can be used in various situations and locations, even when electronic options are not available or practical. This is particularly beneficial for businesses that cater to diverse customer bases or operate in regions with limited digital infrastructure.
• Autonomy: Businesses and individuals using disconnected payment methods are not dependent on a specific electronic system or network. This independence proves advantageous when electronic payment systems are unreliable or inaccessible.
• Ease of Use: Disconnected payments are typically simple and easy to understand. This straightforwardness benefits individuals or organizations that prefer a more traditional and familiar payment process.
• Cost Savings: Some disconnected payment methods may have lower transaction fees compared to their electronic counterparts. This cost-effectiveness is advantageous for businesses or individuals seeking to reduce expenses.
• Perceived Security: Many people believe disconnected payments are more secure than digital transactions because they are concerned about data breaches or cyber threats. However, check fraud and cash theft happens.
• Tangible Records: Certain disconnected payment methods, like paper checks, provide physical documentation of payments made. This feature is preferred by some individuals and businesses for record-keeping and audit purposes.

What are Integrated Payments?

Integrated payments involve the seamless integration of payment methods or systems into an organization’s fundamental financial and operational processes. These systems ensure that transactions take place in real-time or nearly real-time, with the payment process interconnected with the organization’s accounting, inventory, and other relevant systems. 

By automating payments, manual intervention is minimized, resulting in a streamlined payment process. 

Examples of integrated payments:

• Online shopping carts (using credit and debit cards)
• Point-of-sale (POS) systems (using mobile payment apps, and credit and debit cards)
• Recurring billing software (using credit and debit cards)

Benefits of Integrated Payments

There are many benefits of integrated payments for businesses and consumers, including:

• Efficiency: By integrating payments, businesses can automate the payment process, eliminating the need for manual data entry, reconciliation, and paperwork. This not only saves time but also reduces labor costs. 
• Accuracy: Real-time transaction processing ensures that financial records are more precise by minimizing errors such as double entries or data input mistakes. 
• Convenience: Integrated payments provide a seamless and convenient experience for both businesses and consumers Customers can make payments effortlessly, while businesses can process transactions and update records with ease. 
• Faster Access to Funds: Integrated payment systems process transactions in real-time, resulting in quicker availability of funds. This improves cash flow for businesses. 
• Streamlined Reporting: Integrated systems offer comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities that simplify tracking and analyzing transaction data. This empowers businesses to make informed decisions based on accurate information.
• Reduced Fraud Risk: Integrated payment systems come equipped with built-in security features like encryption, tokenization, and fraud detection tools to safeguard against fraudulent activities.
• Customer Satisfaction: The convenience and speed of integrated payments enhance customers’ overall experience with a business.
• Simplified Record-Keeping: Integrated payments automatically update financial records, simplifying accounting processes and minimizing the risk of discrepancies.
• Scalability: Integrated payment systems have the ability to scale alongside a business’s growth, ensuring continued efficiency as operations expand.

Drawbacks of Integrated Payments  

Although integrated payment solutions offer numerous benefits, they also present certain disadvantages and obstacles. It is crucial to consider these potential challenges when considering the implementation of integrated payment systems:

• Initial Expenses: The setup and integration of payment systems often entail upfront costs, including investments in software or hardware, integration fees, and staff training.
• Complicated Implementation: Integrating payment systems with existing infrastructure can be a complex and time-consuming process. It may necessitate technical expertise and disrupt regular business operations during the implementation phase.
• Technical Glitches: Integrated systems may encounter technical issues such as software bugs, compatibility problems with other systems, or network interruptions. These problems can disrupt the payment processing flow and require troubleshooting efforts.
• Security Risks: Integrated systems might be susceptible to cyberattacks and data breaches that could expose sensitive customer information and financial data. It is important to have robust security measures in place to safeguard against potential threats.
• Compliance and Regulations: Payment processing is subject to specific compliance requirements and regulations in different industries and regions. Ensuring compliance can be a complex ongoing task that demands legal and regulatory expertise.
• Reliance on Third-Party Providers: Many integrated payment solutions rely on third-party service providers, such as payment processors. This dependence can pose a risk your provider experiences service disruptions or problems, so it’s important to partner with a trustworthy and secure payment processor like ReliaFund.
• Transaction Fees: Integrated payment systems often come with fees for each payment processed, which can accumulate and impact the overall cost of business operations.
• Limited Customization: Compared to building a custom payment system, integrated solutions may offer less flexibility for customization. This limitation can be a disadvantage for businesses with unique or complex payment processing needs.
• Scalability Issues: As businesses grow, integrated payment systems may struggle to handle increased transaction volumes. Ensuring scalability can be challenging and may involve additional costs. 
• User Experience: Poor implementation of integrated payment systems can result in a subpar customer experience. Lengthy or complicated checkout processes can lead to abandoned carts and lost sales. 
• Vendor Lock-In: Choosing an integrated system may lead to being locked into one vendor, making it difficult to switch providers or solutions if necessary. This lack of flexibility can restrict choices for businesses. 
• Integration Maintenance: Continuous maintenance and updates are essential to keep integrated systems running smoothly. Businesses must allocate resources towards this upkeep.

What are Embedded Payments?

Embedded payments are payment methods or systems that are smoothly integrated into the user experience and are an essential component of another application or service. Unlike conventional payment systems, which redirect users to a separate payment portal, embedded payments enable users to make payments within the application they are using, eliminating the need for a separate payment gateway. The main objective of embedded payments is to streamline the payment process and improve user convenience.

Examples of embedded payments include:

• Ride-sharing apps
• E-commerce marketplaces
• In-app purchases
• Subscriptions
• Online food delivery
• Smart home devices

Benefits of Embedded Payments

Embedded payments offer many benefits for users and businesses, including:

• User Convenience: By embedding payments directly into the app or software, users can enjoy a smooth and hassle-free payment process, eliminating the need to navigate external payment portals. 
• Improved User Retention: Streamlined in-app payments contribute to higher user satisfaction and encourage repeat business or usage. 
• Faster Transactions: With embedded payments, users can save time as they no longer have to leave the app or software, input payment details, and return to complete a transaction. This results in quicker transactions overall. 
• Reduced Cart Abandonment: In e-commerce settings, embedded payments significantly decrease cart abandonment rates by allowing users to complete transactions without being redirected to external sites. 
• Enhanced Security: Embedded payments are accompanied by robust security measures that safeguard user data and ensure secure transactions.

Drawbacks of Embedded Payments

Even with all of these benefits, embedded payments still have a few drawbacks:

• Integration Complexity: The process of developing and seamlessly incorporating embedded payment solutions can pose technical complexities and require a significant amount of time.
• Dependency on Third-Party Providers: Businesses frequently depend on third-party payment providers to embed their services, which can pose a potential risk in case the provider encounters service disruptions or problems. That’s why it’s crucial to collaborate with a reliable and safe payment provider such as ReliaFund.
• Costs: Using embedded payment solutions may lead to transaction fees and service costs, ultimately increasing the total expenses associated with conducting business.
• Limited Customization: Embedded payment solutions may provide limited options for customization in comparison to developing a tailored payment system. This constraint can be a disadvantage for businesses that have distinct or intricate payment processing needs.
• Vendor Lock-In: Adopting an embedded payment system can result in being locked into a specific vendor, making it challenging to transition to alternative providers or solutions when necessary. This can restrict a business’s ability to be flexible and have options.

Despite the disadvantages, embedded payments are becoming increasingly popular because they enhance user experience and allow users to stay engaged and satisfied within one app or experience. Companies need to carefully evaluate the trade-offs and choose the payment solution that best fits their unique requirements and customer preferences.

An Analogy of Payment Methods

To help you better understand these payment methods, let’s use the analogy of a plumbing system. 

Disconnected payments are like a house lacking a modern plumbing infrastructure. You have to use an outhouse and manually fetch water from a well to cook and clean. This is a time-consuming and labor-intensive task, similar to handling paper checks to make payments. 

On the other hand, integrated payments resemble a state-of-the-art plumbing system in a house. Water effortlessly flows through pipes, taps, and fixtures, providing instant access whenever needed. It is convenient and efficient, just like integrated payment methods that process transactions in real time, such as online credit card payments.

Taking the analogy further, embedded payments bring about a whole new dimension. Picture a scenario where your entire residence is equipped with smart technology, and each appliance, ranging from the shower to the dishwasher, is aware of your water preferences and adjusts accordingly without any effort on your part. The integration of water into your daily life becomes seamless; you don’t even have to think about it. Embedded payments are so intricately woven into the user experience that they become an indispensable element of the process, much like a smart home that intuitively meets your needs without requiring any manual intervention.

Choosing the Right Payment Solution For Your Business

Do you want expert guidance on choosing the right payment solution for your business? We can help! At ReliaFund, we can help you with disconnected, integrated, and embedded solutions, including:

Checks

Checks are traditionally considered disconnected payment methods that involve manual tasks such as depositing and reconciling. Although some businesses may incorporate check processing into their financial systems using remote deposit capture technology, it still requires some manual intervention compared to fully electronic payment methods.

ACH Payment Processing 

Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments are often integrated into banking and financial systems, seamlessly connecting them to an organization’s accounting software or payment processing system. This integration enables instant or nearly instant processing, minimizing the reliance on manual input and reconciliation.

Credit Card Processing 

Debit and credit card payments are typically integrated into payment processing systems. Businesses commonly utilize payment gateways to securely accept card payments. These gateways are integrated into e-commerce platforms and POS systems, allowing for real-time authorization and transaction processing. This integration helps simplify the process of accepting payments and generating reports.

Gateways

Typically embedded within e-commerce websites, applications, or payment processing systems, payment gateways play a pivotal role in facilitating seamless transactions. These gateways establish a direct and real-time connection between the customer’s payment information and the merchant’s chosen payment processing service. Acting as intermediaries between customers and financial institutions, payment gateways are deeply ingrained in the overall payment process approach.

Find the Right Payment Solution to Boost Your Business’s Success

It is important to consider that the level of payment integration you need depends on your business model, location, technology, and other factors. Plus, just as technology advances, your payment needs and preferences will change over time. That’s why it’s so helpful to have a payment processing partner like ReliaFund to help you navigate your evolving business challenges and operations. Contact us to discuss your payment processing needs. We can help you choose the right payment solution for today and tomorrow.