What is payment routing and how to use it in iGaming industry
In the modern world of online business, payments are an essential part of any project. They allow customers quickly and conveniently pay for goods and services, and business owners to make a profit. In theory, this process sounds simple, but in reality, it involves a huge number of nuances and subtleties that should be taken into account in order to meet customer requirements.
Gambling is no exception, and rather the opposite. This industry has entered everyday life, and the same requirements are imposed on it as on other services used daily. And these are convenience, accessibility, and speed.
Payment routing can help in achieving these precise goals.
What is Payment Routing
Routing is a setting of route or “path” that transaction goes through for its processing, designed to achieve the maximum level of payment approval. In simple terms, routing allows you to manage payment processing in favor of all its participants. Thus, your transactions will not have a chaotic nature, but a clearly defined one.
For example, the simplest routing is used by all international websites on the Internet, based on the location of payer. That is, users from a certain country will be directed by the routing to a specific payment gateway or provider where the probability of transaction success is highest.
There are many routing settings and criteria on which it can be implemented. Another example is to direct new customers to separate payment methods that process unfamiliar users (in gambling FTD — first time deposit) while redirecting the portal's loyal audience to channels set for them. Setting up such "paths" can also be based on different parameters and conditions, from the user's IP and activity on the website to size of average transaction, age, gender, and even the level of risk. Therefore, dividing the website's traffic into categories is the first stage of routing. In this case, the more you know about your customer, the better.
Segment your audience. Where is it located? What payment methods do they prefer? What is the average payment amount? What issues most often lead to payment rejections on your website? Can you influence them? What limits are imposed by the payment system? Answers to these and other questions will help online casinos build the right routing, suitable for their business model.
What are the advantages of routing
Among the main reasons why you should use this feature in your project, we highlight the following:
- Convenience for players. Users can use various payment methods, including cards, accounts, electronic wallets, and others. Therefore, it is worth thinking in advance about which payment systems will be preferred by each category of customers and make them available from the first seconds. It would be irrational to showcase a payment method for a user who will not use it. Agree?
- High payment conversion. With right settings, you can achieve the highest possible processing efficiency. Due to optimized routes, a successful payment will occur faster, and with fewer attempts. After all, it is much more convenient to go straight to the goal, rather than overcoming several obstacles in the form of unsuitable payment methods. Moreover, not all users are inclined to make repeated attempts to complete single payment, many decide to say goodbye to your product after several unsuccessful attempts. And this not only reduces overall approval ratio, but also directly leads to the loss of payment-capable audience.
- Automation. Routing allows you to automate payment processing, which reduces your costs. Since you will not need to cover fees for unsuccessful transaction attempts through unsuitable methods, as well as process complaints to support service related to such cases.
Payment routing in gambling
Literally no business benefits from low payment approval ratio. For gambling, such situation is even more devastating. So, gambling industry today is simply obliged to actively use routing. First of all, because the operator's task is to create an engaging atmosphere on the website, causing a desire to spend time in games. A payment component that does not work to the fullest will directly negatively affect the impression made by an online casino. Today, the iGaming market is so large and competitive that there is practically no room for mistakes, and every operator understands the cost of such mistakes.
Therefore, in the process of building a payment structure, clarity and competence are first and foremost. Payment approval ratio is the main metric to measure effectiveness of complete setup, but make sure you evaluate it correctly. The total average indicator for the entire project will not illustrate the real picture. On the contrary, it can confuse business owners more than help. Approval ratio should be measured separately for each payment method, as well as segmented by countries and categories of players. The same payment method behaves differently in different countries if they are international, and better to know these features in order to successfully use it to their advantage.
At this point, a logical question may arise: "But how do you understand such patterns and set up routing correctly?" In this case, an important role is set to testing. At the initial stages of business development, you can use generally accepted routing rules that work equally well for all projects, since their effectiveness has been tested previously by many companies.
As soon as it is possible to analyze your own audience, you can start developing own rules adapted to your business and specific software. Here, the more parameters you can take into account, the more accurately system will work. Monoup has extensive experience in building routing rules and offers this service as part of consultations. Write to us to learn more.
How else you can increase payments approval ratio in gambling
In addition to using payment routing, consider the following options for increasing approval ratio:
- Creating a simple and comfortable payment process. The easier it is to navigate your website and payment structure; the more likely users will not encounter any issues when paying. Because everything will be clear from the first minutes of meeting with the product. When building a user flow, the main thing is to put yourself in the customer's place. If that doesn't work out, arrange testing with someone who is unfamiliar with your product. Thus, you will get a fresh look at the situation from someone who sees it for the first time and can objectively evaluate it. Often, end users pay attention to completely different things than creators of the projects implied.
- Ensuring customer support. Never leave user alone with the problem. Even if the technical component fails, you can always get to the bottom of the problem and help solve it. Pleasant and timely service will only help in promoting your website and building audience loyalty.
As said, payment routing in gambling can be carried out according to several scenarios and depends on the market of operation. Thus, in a rapidly developing project, really impossible to make it "once and forever". The market is dynamic and task of each operator in iGaming is to keep up with these changes and adapt business to them. Therefore, working to build a successful and efficient payment infrastructure is a constant process that does not stop even for a minute. Keeping up with market trends and building your operations correctly is easier with Monoup. We offer project full outsourced support and solve the most complex tasks in the payment segment.
