Tips
Warn Your Customers about Alternative Payment Sites
There are companies, such as doxo.com, which encourage customers to pay through their websites. These payment sites will send you a payment but you need to let your customers know that these alternative websites are not affiliated with your company. If they submit through an alternative website, it can cause a delay in submitting their payment and therefore, they could incur late fees. Inform your customers that they should only use links, mobile apps and phone numbers listed on your website to make payments. It is best to put the warning on your website and include in correspondence with your customers. (NOTE: This warning does not pertain to your customers banking institutions; PSN can process payments coming through banks [Bank Bill Pay eSolution]. Contact your Service Account Manager for more information.)
By running and reviewing the PSN Daily Reconciliation Report, you can be assured that payments are being properly posted to your software and that deposits are accurately made. To run the report, log into the PSN Account; Management Center; select Daily Reconciliation Report under Quick Links; and a summary report will be generated. Click on View & Download Transactions for a detailed report. Remember to compare payments posted in your software to payments processed through PSN. Then compare the amount PSN deposited to your bank deposit. WATCH A HOW-TO VIDEO
PCI Compliance
To avoid costly PCI compliance requirements, make sure that you are not storing any credit card information. Your staff should not write down card numbers; have them enter data directly into PSN, either online or on our new Mobile AMC field payment app. NOTE: PCI requirements are established by the credit card industry. Failure to comply could result in your merchant account being rescinded; thereby, not allowing you to accept credit cards. Fines can also be imposed. Most importantly, by not adhering to these regulations, you are putting your customers' credit card information at risk. PSN maintains a Level 1 PCI Certification, the highest awarded by the industry. Click here for more info on your requirements.
Tell Them Often
A person generally must see a message three times before they will take action. Constantly remind your customers of your electronic payment services. Download this guide to help create a plan of how and when to notify your customers.
Utilities and government, click here.
Rental and others, click here.
No-Cost Marketing Idea
Placing information on the flap of your envelopes is most often a no-cost way to inform your customers of ePayments and eBills. It also can have excellent results, increasing participation anywhere from 10% to 50%. If you want samples, contact your Service Account Manager or submit a Marketing Request Form.
Collect Customer Emails
As more customers rely on digital communications, make sure you are collecting email addresses on application forms. PSN can design and send emails out on your behalf for a small fee.
View All Payment Activity by a Customer
Want to see all the payment activity from one customer? It's easy. You can view successful payments, declined payments, pending payments in a single online report. Log into the PSN Account Management Center and take these steps:
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Quick Links: Select View Real-Time Customer Payments
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Date Range: Select the date parameters
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Dropdown: Select List All Customer Payments
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Chart: In the box below Name or Customer ID, enter info
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All payments a customer made, attempted to make, are in the process of making or are on hold will display.
NOTE: The report can be downloaded or printed.
Customized Reports Can Be Downloaded
It's easy to download any report in PSN. Simply click on the download arrow and save as an Excel Workbook. To customize the report, you can specify parameters (such as a date range) as well as filter and sort data prior to downloading. These reports are great for comparisons and sharing with staff.
Get Up-to-the-Second Payment Information
Don't rely on emails to stay abreast of your customers' payments. Use the real-time payment information in the PSN online Account Management Center. You can see info at the second it occurs, rather than waiting on an email to arrive. You can view pending, rejected, canceled and successful payments as well as deposits. The Real-time Payment report can be searched, filtered and sorted to help you find info quickly. You can also download the report as an Excel file or simply print it. (PSN has no control over emails once they leave our system; therefore, we can't guarantee delivery.)
Keep Staff Access up to Date
Keep staff who use the PSN Account Management Center current. When a staff member leaves or changes responsibilities, make sure to delete them from the USERS under the Manage Account tab. You don't want them to have access once they are no longer involved in customer payments. Go to your account now to check your users list to make sure it is up to date. Click here for more info on deleting users.
Quickly Notify Customers by Phone
Need to notify customers more quickly than snail mail? You can use our Outbound Auto-Call Messaging service. The service is great for emergency or non-emergency maintenance issues. Simply contact your Service Account Manager.
Migrate ACH Payments
By migrating existing ACH payments from the bank to PSN, you can save numerous hours in reconciling payments because we automatically post payments to your software and consolidate all payments into one report. We may be able to automate the process of moving the payments to PSN. Check with your Service Account Manager for details.
Electronic Refunds
Don't take the time of the cost of mailing a customer a refund check. If they paid through PSN, you can issue an electronic refund. Click here for a How-to Guide.