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Online Payments in the Dating IndustryQuick Start Guide
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Introduction
Online dating websites have completely changed the way we meet new
people - whether doesn’t matter if we’re looking for a serious connection
or for someone just to have fun with.
Competition in the online dating market is growing and because there
are lots of services relationship-seekers can choose from, online dating
business owners have to provide the best customer experience to ensure
their service is truly easy to use.
We’ve spent 15 years learning about the problems with payments in the
online dating industry and made our own analysis. Now we’re giving you
the lowdown on what matters most when you want to accept online
payments.
Let’s dig deeper into payments for dating websites.
Why should you accept payments on a dating website?
Matching users Messaging system Premium features simplified payment process with the right solution
Choosing a dating payment provider. What should you consider?
Technology and integration Security and fraud mitigation Dividing transaction volume across multiple merchant accounts Conversion Subscription payments Mobile solution Costs A service for users around the word Support you can count on
Make a match with the right payment provider
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Table of contents
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Why should you accept payments on a dating
website?
Each year, millions of people turn to the web in search of a “significant
other.” In the UK alone, UK 7 million people were using online
dating in 2016 and it’s estimated that 15% of Americans have used
dating services or apps. According to reports, the trend is going to
rise in the coming years.
Love-seekers can choose between free and paid dating sites. Why do
some of the websites for relationship seekers want them to pay?
Free dating sites have their drawbacks, which includes being lower
quality because they’re open to everyone. It’s assumed that free sites
are great when first starting out, but people who pay for using a dating
website are more serious about finding their perfect match.
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Matching users
Basically, free dating sites provide limited services to users, e.g. offering to
search by location only. On the other hand, paid websites offer a detailed
personalization with many different preferences. Users need to
answer a series of questions describing their details, interests, etc., as well
as describing the perfect mate to find the best dates possible for them.
There are a variety of methods for making matches, but mostly it’s based
on certain criteria. Free websites usually offer just a simple search, and
paid ones usually come with a highly specific advanced search, using an
in-depth capability.
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Messaging system
The same thing happens with a messaging system. Usually, when users
want to contact the person they’re interested in, they need an upgraded
account. In most cases, they aren’t able to initiate contact with other
website members.
Everything starts with a short message and offering paid extras, such as
virtual winks, hugs or kisses to make it easier for love seekers to flirt and
break the ice. Keep in mind that paying for this kind of interaction (with
virtual items or emojis) must be extremely simple, with one-click.
When using a paid dating service, people usually get their own dedicated
email inbox, which seems to be a safer option to chat with people they
don’t know. There’s no need to give out personal information, which
makes people more comfortable.
Think about it this way: when someone pays for using a dating service,
they take it more seriously. Free sites could come with more scams, fake
accounts and naturally more potential fraud.
Paying for virtual winks, hugs or gifts must be extremely simple, with one-click. #dating #payments
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Premium features
Many dating websites offer premium features for users or charge
them for each item, such as the afore-mentioned virtual kisses or
flowers. It’s a great way to engage people, as well as grow your business
performance. Premium users can also boost their profiles in search
rankings.
Paid sites also offer quick and efficient customer care and exclusive
events that might be an opportunity for many singles. There’s no question
that all this creates a better dating experience.
Paid dating sites also sometimes run promotions, e.g. a lower price on
subscriptions, so when it comes to using a payment system, it’s important
to have a solution that enables you to set up a tailored scenario. Dating
services also need to make sure they provide seamless and hassle-free
payments on their website in order to keep their high quality of service on
track.
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Simplified payment process with the right solution
Providing high-quality service on a website (without pushy ads
screaming in the user’s face, and with lots of great features that can
simplify the search process) is a characteristic of premium dating sites.
The key, though, is to make sure your payment system doesn’t lag behind.
That’s why choosing the right payment provider is so important. It will
not only help you grow but create a one of a kind dating experience that
provides a quick and user-friendly solution.
By simplifying the way users pay, you can improve your conversion rate
and build a long-term relationship with your audience. When you put
consumers first, they will put you first.
Read on to learn more things that should be considered before choosing
an online dating payment provider tailored to your needs.
When you put consumers first, they will put you first. #dating #payments #UX
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Choosing a dating payment provider. What should you
consider?
Now that you know choosing a payment provider for your dating website
is more important than you might have originally thought, it’s time to get
down to the nitty-gritty.
In other words, how to offer easy-to-use payments without redirection
and with simplified user flow can increase conversions on your website.
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There are lots of MCC codes and for your business, it’s better to get the 7273 code (dating), which gives you the higher approval rate and better conversion rate. A code that is even better in regards to approval ratio is 8641 - social media, but this category is not so easy to obtain.
Make sure the payment platform you want to choose works with your
industry to avoid rejection in a compliance process.
What are the most important things that make the payment process on
your dating website a smooth and seamless experience?
The first thing you should know is that you’ll fall into a defined Merchant
Category Code (MCC). Different category types have a higher or lower
impact on payments and conversion rates on your dating website. The
MCC is provided by Card Associations but you need to know that it is the
acquirer that decides which type is proper for your business model.
A dating business can be categorized simply as dating (with the 7273
code) but also as a high-risk business (with 5967 code). In the latter one,
the content of the website is one of the decisive aspects (adult content
vs. mainstream). The final decision may be the result of a type of website
content, your current chargeback ratio, and the acquirer’s opinion.
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Technology and integration
Forget about complicated integration that takes ages. Look for a payment
solution with a powerful technology that enables you to implement
payments in hours instead of weeks. There are also solutions for non-
developers, so you can add your payments by dragging and dropping the
payment button.
Remember that the easier the implementation, the cheaper it will be
for you in the long run. You save time and money as well. It’s important
to have the possibility of implementing a payment solution using any
programming language to handle a payment scenario that will work best
for your dating business.
Ask a payment provider about the technology
they use. Do they provide a flexible APIs? Do
they offer payments without redirection?
Note that when you choose a payment gateway
with APIs, you can set a tailored payment
scenario, but it also makes you the owner of the
code. This means you have full control over the
entire payment process on your website. It also
comes with what everyone is looking for today:
customization. You can create the payment form
that will completely meet your needs.
What to focus on? The fact that the user stays right on your page and is
not redirected to an external site also matters. You
can easily track and analyze the way your customers
pay for your service. We’ve noticed that our clients
who changed payments with redirection to the custom
form, increased their conversion by at least 2-3%.
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Security and fraud mitigation
From years of working with dating business owners, we’ve observed that
one-third of dating websites have major problems with fraud.
Now, it’s one of the biggest threats in online dating. Dating fraud is
becoming more sophisticated and, according to the stats from the City
of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, online dating
fraud in the UK cost £27 million in 2015.
Most online dating websites prevent users from revealing their personal
details, such as email address, phone number, etc. so they feel secure. The
same should occur with online payments on a dating site.
The industry comes with lots of chargebacks and fraud attempts so
providing solutions with the highest level of security is paramount.
We can even say that chargebacks are the nature of the online dating
landscape.
Scammers can use stolen cards to get access to a dating site. Any fraud
attempt results in threats to a business, such as chargebacks or higher
banking fees. To limit any fraud attempts, dating websites need highly-
secure solutions with several security layers and highly accurate anti-
fraud tools.
Chargebacks are the nature of the online #dating landscape. #fintech #fraud
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To prevent and mitigate the risk, choose a payment solution with anti-
fraud tools, based on machine learning technology. It will help you score
every payment and check it against fraud.
You, as a dating business owner, know your customer base best. You
should have the option to decide what to do in order to strike a balance
between conversion rate and account longevity. With proper tools and
information from your payment partner, it will be much easier for you to
keep control of the payment security on your website.
The advanced set of filters and multi-level protection is what every paid
dating website needs. Extra security layers, such as tokenization, 3D
secure, or blacklisting will give both you and your customers the certainty
that payments on your website are well-protected.
For high-risk businesses (online dating could be one of them), it’s better
to have a dedicated merchant account and work with a payment provider
that has experience in this field.
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Smart 3D Secure authentication
Do you think that 3D Secure technology is a conversion killer? What if
we told you that you’re wrong? You can now choose a solution that gives
you a non-invasive 3D Secure i.e. that lets you accept secure payments
without losing customers. Even if the customer’s card is not enrolled, the
transaction will be accepted. It’s up to you how you set up the 3D Secure
solution, so you don’t have to worry about a drop in conversion rate.
You can make a special offer for clients using 3D Secure authentication while
paying. It won’t affect your budget that much, and it could help you save on
chargeback fees. What’s important is that payments on your website will stay safe
without hurting your conversion. Smart enough, don’t you think?
Note that conversion rate shouldn’t be the one and only thing you focus
on. It is, of course, the major goal, and it helps you control your business
performance, but there are other factors you should pay attention to as
well.
Choose a solution with PCI compliance level 1, so
you don’t have to bother with it. Lots of payment
gateways take the PCI burden on themselves, so
you can be sure credit card data will never hit your
servers.
When you choose SecurionPay, the data is sent
to our tokenization server and you are provided
with a token representation of the card.
Also, ask your payment provider for customized anti-
fraud tools based on machine learning technology.
These tools let you manage your payments manually
or automatically by pre-selecting parameters.
With a fraud prevention system, you get the
information about a fraudulent transaction before
things go wrong, so it helps you avoid chargebacks.
What to focus on?
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Dividing transaction volume across multiple merchant accounts
With risk diversification, your online payment transactions are split
between multiple bank processors. This means you can work with one
payment gateway and split transactions across a few acquirers.
Our experience shows that dating websites usually have a large amount
of traffic, so risk diversification is a great solution to prevent technical
failures. It can also help with a sudden increase in sales volume by simply
reducing the risk to your business.
All in all, it helps you to efficiently distribute incoming traffic across a few
merchant accounts under one payment gateway account. The main
benefit is effective transaction monitoring, especially when your service
has high number of transactions. This solution is also a way to mitigate the
risk of fraud and reduce chargebacks.
With a backup and multiple bank partners, it is much easier to mitigate
risk. One payment gateway gives you access to multiple acquirers. All
your stats are kept in one place which makes the entire process easier and
more convenient.
Ask your payment provider if they work with
multiple banks, so they can offer you risk
diversification, especially when you have a high
volume of traffic on your website. It will help you
reduce the risk and mitigate payment technical
errors.
At SecurionPay we are constantly expanding our
list of banking partners to maintain website traffic
and split it to make sure there aren’t any technical
problems.
What to focus on?
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Conversion
Running a business - no matter what kind - comes with the chore
of analyzing major metrics and optimizing activities to improve
performance.
For dating websites, one of the most important things is the number
of registered users converted into paid subscribers. At the same time,
converting visitors into members is one of the biggest challenges for
online dating websites.
The online dating industry is growing larger every day, so it’s crucial to
run a business that converts well. That’s why choosing the right payment
provider to help you reach a goal is more important than you might think.
Since the entire payment process has a huge impact on the conversion
rate on your website, it should be as short and simple as possible.
You have to limit the number of fields in a payment form to those that are
really needed. Actually, only three fields are really necessary - the card
number, expiration date and security code (CVV). Requiring the bare
minimum works great on dating websites because most users don’t want
to share their names.
Wondering how to increase your conversion rate in only two weeks?
Grab an eBook
17
Simplified user flow is what your customers expect. Just three input
fields, such as card number, CVV and expiration date, are enough to
complete a payment.
Provide users with a solution that lets them pay on your website
with one click and gives them much more than just a payment option
- a convenience of using your dating service. You can be sure they will
love you for that.
Card number
Expiry date
mm / yy 123
1234 1234 1234 1234
CVC
Online payment providers offer a bunch
of additional features to give both you and
your customers’ convenience. You can offer
users a “Remember me” option which lets them
pay with one click, without having to remember
their credit card details. Each time they go to pay,
they will see a checkout with pre-filled data so they
only need to enter in their CVV. They can pay for
virtual kisses, winks, or buy their match a gift.
You can also set up a one-click cross-sales, which
can be set up between MIDs. This will help maximize
customer lifetime value and grow sales. You can use
it to offer customers related products or services
right after they complete the initial transaction.
Using cross-sales can increase your sales by up to
20%, - definitely a game-changer for your business.
What to focus on?
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False declines can hurt your conversion
Speaking of conversion, there is another huge problem for merchants, one
that costs them $8.6 billion (according to Business Insider 2016 estimates).
This is false declines, also known as false positives that could be more
expensive than a fraud itself and could significantly decrease the conversion
rate on dating websites.
In short, false declines are incorrectly rejected valid transactions. This
happens when a user wants to pay on a dating website (for a membership
or for an item) and then the transaction is declined. A bank may
consider a website high-risk with a bigger number of frauds, and decide
it needs to protect the user. The problem is that the issuer makes its own
decision, without even asking the customer for permission.
This, of course, leads to customer frustration and the conversion drops when
the cardholder is not able to use his or her card due to the issuer’s block.
Note that a payment processor, as well as the acquirer, is helpless in this
situation. It’s the bank’s decision so the only solution is to try to clear it up
for a customer (a card owner).
That’s why it’s better to get a dating MCC code (7273) from an acquirer than
being qualified as a high-risk merchant (5967).
There are about 100 decline codes that issuers may use to flag a transaction, so
it’s better to work with a payment processor that knows how to analyze them.
It’s important to know the reason for a decline, because you may not only lose
growth opportunities, but also waste the cost of customer acquisition.
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Subscription payments
There are basically two types of dating sites: one with a subscription
where a user is billed a certain fee every month, and another when you sign
up for free and buy tokens to use each time you want to do a certain action,
such as sending a message to somebody.
Speaking of a subscription model, charging customers at regular intervals
makes it much easier to predict cash flow. It’s up to you what the frequency
of payments will be. It might be monthly, quarterly or a yearly amount. Note
that most mobile dating apps require payments for certain actions instead of
using a pay-over-time model.
You can use recurring payments to make your own scenario. For instance,
think of providing a 2-weeks free membership before charging people
for using your service. It’s a great chance to get more engaged users.
Online dating first-timers need time to decide whether they are looking
for a relationship in the right place.
The easier the dating service is to use, the more of a chance you have to
convert first-timers into experienced users that will stay on your site longer.
It’s good to first determine which type of payments
your company needs. Do you want to only process
recurring payments or also charge the customers
for one-time payments (e.g. for a specific items)?
Make sure a payment platform gives you the
option of setting up a payment scenario tailored to
your service. Ask for the possibility of making an
unlimited number of plans to improve customer
retention, so you may offer a variety of billing cycles
with flexible time periods and multiple pricing levels.
Consider what is more viable for you and create your
own plans.
Compare your needs with the features the payment
provider offers to make sure that you will have
everything you need in the future.
What to focus on?
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Mobile solution
The online dating industry, as well as other internet industries, are going
mobile. With new technology developing, dating business owners are seeing
their traffic move rapidly to mobile because people are more willing to flirt on
the go. Today it’s easier than ever before, because of larger screens on smart
devices and the improved design for mobile users.
Providing a smooth and seamless experience with mobile users’
habits in mind is a must. It should be also related to additional solutions, such
as payments.
It’s not that easy to insert all the payment information on a small screen,
so only dating websites that provide a perfect design and mobile-friendly
solutions will be successful.
Online businesses that accept payments need to understand that providing
seamless, quick and safe mobile payments is absolutely necessary. Let
your customers pay on the go - when commuting, in a queue, or even
during a lunch break.
The checkout process for mobile has to be as simple as possible. Without
redirections, distractions, misleading links, buttons, etc. You should ask only
for essentials and users of your dating website should be able to pay quickly.
Paying for a transaction with a single
tap is what mobile users want.
There’s nothing pleasant in entering
loads of information on a small
screen. Immediacy is one of the
key drivers that attract mobile
customers. So, purchasing needs to
be reduced to one action.
w User-friendly design, including bigger input fields, without any distractions, needles links and other elements.
w One-click payments to pay on the go in seconds. Don’t make love seekers enter in all the card details every time they want to send a wink
w Simplified user flow and payments without redirections. Text input on mobile should be reduced to a minimum. Fewer clicks mean more sales, it’s as simple as that.
w Ease & convenience of payments, anytime and anywhere.
What to focus on? Choose a payment platform with:
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Costs
For most business owners, thier pricing and fee structure is
particularly important. Remember that price is one of the factors when
choosing a payment provider, but not the most important one. You’ll
find a large number of payment platforms with similar fee structures, but
there are also other things you need to consider to achieve your business
objectives.
Making a price your central focus can lead to disappointment, for
instance, when you hit upon hidden conditions. Find a provider
with a transparent pricing structure and remember that nothing with
value is free. Even if a payment gateway seems to be more expensive, it
could make up for it in the end.
Note that many payment processors require a rolling reserve for
so-called high-risk businesses. This is when a payment processor
withhold a percentage of a certain amount from the merchant for a short
time in the event of chargebacks or some unexpected costs. For instance,
SecurionPay offers a rolling reserve from 5 to 10% for six months,
depending on the volume processed.
Make sure that the payment provider you want
to work with won’t require any extra or hidden
fees in future. Always focus on the REAL cost.
What to focus on?
Even if a #paymentgateway seems to be more expensive, it could make up for it in the end. #dating #payments
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A service for users around the word
It’s obvious that love doesn’t recognize borders so it’s not a good idea to
offer your service for just the local market. Our internal research shows
that lots of dating websites and mobile applications are used on a global
scale.
Even if you run a local business, it’s good to have the option of providing
payments in various currencies. For instance, when choosing the
SecurionPay solution, you can add a checkout (simple pop-up with
payments) to your website which is translated into 23 languages
and detects the user’s country automatically. You can also accept
payments in over 160 currencies around the world.
Ask about the number of currencies you can accept
on your website, including the currencies in which
you want to receive your payouts.
Multi-currency payment processing is what every
dating business should consider. Giving users the
option of paying in their local currency can mitigate
the risk of chargebacks.
Customers often look at the amount, but forget
to check the currency displayed. Then, when they
see a different amount on a bank statement (which
was caused by currency conversion) they are
more likely to contact the bank and ask for their
money back as they simply do not recognize the
transaction amount.
What to focus on? Why?
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Support you can count on
Before you choose a payment provider for your dating website, check
their customer support. Do they have a tech team that can give you
additional tips to maximize the platform’s features? Getting real help
from a payment provider will help you to achieve better results and
improve a service from a user perspective.
It’s also important for you to be certain the support team will be very
responsive, especially when problems with payments occur. You can’t
afford a solution that will cause intervals in accepting payments on your
website.
To make sure there are no problems with a certain
payment gateway and their customer service, give
them a try. Choose one that lets you test their
solution before you go live to make sure it will really
meet your needs.
And last but not least: It’s extremely important to
choose a payment provider that will also be your
PAYMENT PARTNER. One that will always have
you covered, whether you run a successful business
or you struggle with some problems.
What to focus on?
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Make a match with the right payment provider
There you have it. Now you know the most common things your dating
website should provide and what to consider when choosing a dating
payment provider. Now it’s your turn. Choose wisely and make a match
with the right payment platform to provide your users with a unique
experience.
For many love seekers, online dating is more convenient and efficient
than trying to find someone in real life. It allows them to sort out the
people they might have an interest in. Giving them a convenient and
user-friendly solution can do wonders for your business. It’s better to
focus on quality over quantity, in every aspect of your business.
Want to know more? See 10 Reasons To Choose SecurionPay As Your
Dating Payment Provider.
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Why SecurionPay?
SecurionPay is a Swiss-based, cross-device payment platform that
provides credit and debit card payments, focused on flexibility and
security. With 15 years’ experience, we specifically tailored our solution
for online dating industry. We know lots about the expectations, needs
and worries you may have. We were even called the company which is
shaking up dating payments.
Want to ask something? Feel free to contact us at
[email protected] or [email protected].
Recurring Payments
Mobile payments
No redirections
Cross sales
160 currencies
Better shopping UX
Sandra
Content Marketing Specialist Tech-savvy personality, experience in writing and passion for reading. Staying up to date with the latest social media trends, in love with GIFs.
Lucas
CEO Lucas is a CEO at SecurionPay. FinTech Innovator, Payment Expert, API Fan, Startup Enthusiast & World Traveller.
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