How Governments Can Offer Worry-Free Payment Options

Payments are a key part of a government’s responsibility to provide residents with access and options. While a previous blog examined the three ways better payment solutions can improve resident satisfaction, this piece will show how a comprehensive, single-vendor solution solves four common concerns for governments. Modern payment solutions are often designed for private sector use, but a government-specific solution can offer greater flexibility, support, and security, with dedicated payments experts and a better understanding of government needs.

1. Technology Integration

Many systems enable governments to accept payments via one channel, such as by check or credit card over a phone system. When looking across an organization, accepted payment channels can vary by department. For example, the utility department may allow payments to be made online, while parks and recreation payments must be made in person by check. To streamline payment offerings across your agency, look for a solution that offers multiple transaction types in a single interface, which improves timely collections and helps government employees easily see and track payments no matter how they were made.

2. Reconciliation

The ability to view and track payment activity across an organization is essential for governments, particularly in the case of refunds or chargebacks. Transaction lifecycles and reconciliation status can easily be tracked across departments with the right payment solution.

Want to hear more about payments solutions?

Listen to payments expert Sloane Wright discuss the challenges governments face in offering modern payment solutions.

3. Omnichannel Payments

While providing a variety of payment methods is beneficial for payers, simplifying disparate, niche offerings on the backend can create headaches for government employees. The best solutions will maximize and support each payment method, while ensuring a consistent payer experience.

4. Compliance

When a department takes on additional payment options, there’s also an additional burden to deal with in Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance. While most private companies have dedicated in-house teams to manage compliance, governments often don’t have the ability to take that on. Government-focused solutions will offer their own teams and experts to ensure every payment and method offered is always fully compliant, so governments can focus on providing the best service to their communities.

While these concerns are real, a single-vendor government-focused payment solution will maximize revenue capture without the burden of compliance, in-house development teams, or inefficient reconciliation processes. With a modern payment solution, governments can simplify work for their employees while offering better service to their communities.