Recently, in one of the listservs I subscribe to, someone inquired if any other local governments were accepting Apple Pay or Google Pay as forms of payment. Unfortunately, the post didn’t get any responses, but it did get me to wondering what would be involved and if any of my readers are already doing it.
What are alternative payment methods?
The payment industry term for Apple Pay and Google Pay, along with other non-traditional forms of payment, is alternative payment methods (APMs). APMs, along with Apple Pay and Google Pay, include many others, including PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, and Amazon Pay. Here is a list of APMs offered by Nuvei, a popular payment processing vendor.
Mobile wallets, which allow customers to store their credit card information on a smartphone, are also considered APMs. Credit cards are still the most popular form of payment for most consumers, but mobile wallets are gaining popularity, especially with younger consumers, including Gen Z and Millennials. According to the Fiserv 2023 Expectations & Experiences survey, nearly half of consumers use a mobile wallet and younger consumers find mobile wallets to be more secure and convenient than do older customers.
What is needed to accept APMs?
Alternative payment methods can be accepted both online and in office. If you don’t currently offer APMs and you want to, start with asking your payment processing vendor which APMs they integrate with. If your payment processing is provided by your billing software vendor, ask them which APMs their backend payment processor accepts and if they are available for you to offer to your customers.
Is your utility accepting APMs?
If your utility currently accepts alternative payment methods, please send me an email and let me know which APMs you accept and what the response from your customers has been.
Are you on top of the payment game?
Is your utility offering all the payment options your customers are asking for? If not, or if you aren’t sure, please give me a call at 919-673-4050 or email me at gary@utilityinformationpipeline.com to learn how a business review could help you develop one.
© 2024 Gary Sanders