I see a lot of fantastically innovative applications out there, where creative developers take APIs and make all kinds of new functionality with them. A stop by ProgrammableWeb shows so many great ideas–every day there are new web applications (or “mashups”) built by simply combining two or more APIs in a new, sometimes unexpected way.
Well, we’re wondering what people might do with the Intellivative Payments API. The goal of our payments API is to simplify adding payment functions (e.g., credit card, debit card, echeck transactions; recurring payments; card on file) to business applications–making it easier to integrate payments into whatever it is you might want to build.
So what WOULD you get if you crossed a payments API with a:
- billing API, an e-mail service, and an SMS messaging service?
- travel service and a map?
- claims processing system?
- movie?
- retail store, SMS messaging service and shipping API(s)?
- Twitter?
Perhaps none of these are groundbreaking ideas–some of them I’m sure have already been done. But maybe you have a business idea that hasn’t been done, or maybe a way to do something that has been done, only better. Or perhaps you have a new twist on an old business idea? Whatever it is, we’d like to hear it.
Are you a developer? Would you like us to feature your work on our blog? Tell us–What would you build with the Intellivative Payments API? We’d love to tell your story.
(Add a comment below by clicking on the little thought bubble thingy.)
Usually I turn to eMarketer to give me facts, figures, and analytical insights, but today I found a refreshing entry from their CEO, Geoff Ramsey, on how staying positive through these hard times can be good for your business.
His main points:
- There’s no sense worrying about what you can’t control (like the sad state of our economy)–or worrying about the things you can. If you can’t control it, you’re wasting energy worrying about it. If you can control it, you’re better off doing something about it than worrying about it.
- Limit the time you spend reading the bad news. Instead, focus on more inspiring business news. In Geoff’s words:
“Does it really help your situation to dwell on the detailed misfortunes of other companies or leaders, whether in your industry or not? Choose to read the article about Amazon’s remarkable 18% rise in revenues during the past quarter, and how they did it. Skip the one about Home Depot laying off thousands (unless you’re Lowe’s).”
- Focus on the opportunities. For every challenge you’re facing, there’s an opportunity laying below the surface. Look for those opportunities and use them to help your business survive–and maybe even thrive.
- Use data to your advantage:
“… pore through primary internal research, especially customer and Web analytics data, as well as secondary market research and trend data, with the goal of identifying potential opportunities, both large and small. Use the data to build hypotheses that can be tested inexpensively, often online.”
- Invest in the future. Spend some time each week planning for the future—so you’re prepared for when the economy picks up and ready to take advantage of the upswing.
I encourage you to take a moment to read Geoff’s words. He’s got some good advice for business people.
The buzz on the web today seems to be all about video and everything that video is going to do for online businesses this year. Predictions are that video overlays with embedded “click to buy” links will allow consumers to spontaneously purchase songs, movies, games, software, and just about any product you could think of.
Here’s some of the buzz that’s going about:
- YouTube announces “click-to-buy” — links for buying songs, games and movies on the watch pages of the related YouTube videos. They’ll be expanding this over time to include more than just songs and movies.
- eMarketer says video sells:
“Among the benefits of videos touted by Web retailers are a lower number of abandoned shopping carts, reduced return rates and higher sales,” says Jeffrey Grau …
- Slideshare also now allows you to embed YouTube videos in your presentations. Here’s a how-to-embed-YouTube tutorial from slideshare. You can take your presentation and add a screencast or product video–or you can string together a series of related product videos into one presentation. Could you embed some click-to-buy links too? Hmmmmmm…
What does this mean for online retailers?
While it can be expensive and time-consuming to produce video, it can really add to a consumer’s understanding of the product. Video can also be entertaining, funny or instructional. ”How-to” videos are great for retailers who sell tools or software. Why not take it an extra step and allow the how-to video watcher to go ahead and purchase the things they need for their big project?
What payments solutions would work with Click-to-Buy videos?
So far, YouTube has been adding links to Amazon or iTunes, but the link in the video is just that–a link, so any flexible payment solution (like the Intellivative Payments API, for example) would work for video click-to-buy. The great thing about videos is they can show off your product better than static images–they can show it in action or as it’s being used in real life, so they can help reduce purchase anxiety and move the consumer closer to becoming your customer.
If you’ve ever looked into using a virtual terminal to handle the payments for your retail, mail or telephone order business, you might be wondering whether it’s better to use a standard credit card machine (a.k.a, point of sale or POS terminal) or a virtual POS terminal. As with anything, there are advantages and disadvantages of each, and you need to consider the pluses and minuses in the context of your own business objectives–then figure out which payment option fits your situation best.
First of all: what’s a virtual terminal?
A virtual POS terminal is generally a secure web site you log into to process credit card and/or electronic check payments. It works a lot like your traditional credit card terminal, except it uses your computer and a secure Internet connection rather than a separate piece of hardware and a phone line to process the payment.
Advantages of a virtual POS terminal
There are quite a few benefits:
- Virtual terminals are available from any computer with an internet connection–if you’re at a trade show or travelling, you don’t have to carry extra equipment.
- There’s no extra hardware to clutter up your counter (or desk). Your computer is your credit card terminal.
- With a virtual terminal, updates are usually automatic. Credit card associations update their rules regularly, usually requiring credit card terminal owners to update their software and/or hardware. Virtual terminals eliminate that hassle because the software processing the payment is on the company’s server–not yours. That means when a change comes down the pipes, they take care of it for you and you never have to worry about it.
- Some virtual terminals allow you to plug in a card-swipe device or keyboard, so you can swipe credit cards or key them in.
- Several people can use it at once. This is really great for catalog call centers, where everyone on the floor usually has a computer anyway, so each of your call center workers can log into the virtual terminal right on their computer. It cuts costs tremendously because you don’t have to pay for each person to have their own POS terminal.
- Payment reports for humans–no paper required. While a traditional credit card terminal does typically have reporting built in, it’s a paper report that may not be the easiest thing to read. Usually with virtual terminals there is a reports module included that has visual reports designed for people to read online. Much easier to read and interpret, available anywhere (from a computer with internet access), and it saves paper because you can read it online.
- Some payment providers even let you download the report data right into a database or into Excel (or your favorite spreadsheet) so you can massage the data to your heart’s content.
The Down Side of Virtual Credit Card Terminals
Virtual credit card terminals are not all roses; they have their drawbacks too.
- If you don’t have a computer where you’re processing payments, it can be a hassle to put one there to run your payments. It only works to your benefit when you have a computer there anyway.
- Some virtual credit card terminals are cumbersome to use–not something you really want when you’re in a hurry trying to check out a long line of customers. Others are more efficient. Shop around and pick the one that works best for the people at your business who process the payments.
- Virtual terminals time out after a period of inactivity. (Or at least they should. If your employee walks away and leaves it for 20 minutes, you don’t want any old schmuck walking up and processing payments or worse yet, viewing your reports.) But when they do time out, it can be a hassle to log back in before you can check someone out, especially if you’re in a hurry. So if you have a long time between checkouts, the timeout could get in your way. Traditional credit card terminals don’t time out.
Intellivative offers both types of solutions so no matter which you option you decide on, we’d appreciate it if you would consider the Intellivative Merchant Portal (which includes a virtual terminal), one of our credit card terminals, or if you already have credit card terminals you’d like to keep using, consider using Intellivative as your payment processor.
Whichever solution you choose, best of luck to you in your business!
