HiPay’s business reviews are designed to help merchants make the best decisions throughout the business relationship to boost their activity and take their payment strategy to the next level.

These meetings are part of the constant search for performance and optimization of our Account Managers dedicated to merchants and their personalized support.

The three main aspects are: transactional data analyses, fraud review and technical review. Account Managers, who often work alongside business experts such as Fraud Analysts and Technical Account Managers, engage in constructive and interactive discussions with the merchants using previously prepared documentation to analyze their business and find new areas for improvement.

Scheduled according to the merchant’s needs, business reviews can be quarterly, bi-annual or annual. “For new business launches, we suggest a review as soon as the first month to guide the merchant and push for optimizations. Then, depending on the situation, in case of fraud, for example, the Account Manager may recommend more frequent meetings,” explains Lisa Alimi, Key Account Manager at HiPay.

Every merchant benefits from premium support, before they go live, or after, at every stage of their projects.

In addition to business reviews, Account Managers provide day-to-day operational support that entails coordinating the teams, organizing dedicated workshops as well as monitoring merchant activity.

Discussions make use of their business data, notably thanks to HiPay Console, a centralized management interface that allows easy access to analytical reports and Key Performance Indicators over a given period. These may include the gross success rate, the turnover, the volume of captured transactions, the refund rate, the acquirer’s reasons for a refused transaction…

This tool is entirely customizable, from the dashboard (with unique “widgets” tailored for each use case) to the set-up of transaction reports and logs. “These widgets contain a global indicator that can display upward and downward curves, or compare overall performance from one period to the next. As Account Managers, we use this tool to carry out complex analyses, see transaction statuses, and calculate, for example, the rate of transactions that have failed in relation to 3-D Secure. Moreover, it enables us to check if an issuer has a higher refusal rate than another,” says Lisa Alimi.

Using payment data to boost commercial strategies

With HiPay, merchants can subscribe to a Business Intelligence tool to fully leverage the power of their data. Used on the daily by Account Managers to analyze payment data, as well as to prepare business reviews, this tool dives into the details of various criteria to go deeper into the search for optimizations. For example, with merged and purged success rate by payment method, by device, by card country, etc.

Business reviews are therefore an essential, high-value exercise that creates opportunities for discussion with the merchant in the presence of business experts. It is an assessment of the existing situation, performance, and all possible areas for improvement, thus strengthening the trust and the partnership between the merchant and the payment service provider.

“These interactions are necessary to identify the merchant’s needs, measure the impact of previous optimizations, and support the launch of new projects, such as creating a marketplace or implementing the Click-and-Collect feature,” describes Lisa Alimi. “This approach is crucial to guide the merchant in their growth. Without detailed payment expertise, one merchant trying to, for example, enter the Belgian market, and who has not set up certain payment methods, may miss on market opportunities.”

Business reviews are also a way to monitor the implementation of ever-changing regulations. When PSD2 came into force, many technical updates were necessary to help merchants in their fight against fraud. The provided support thus allows to handle these regulatory requirements with ease, without jeopardizing business. Another challenge is to learn enough about these constraints in order to know which exemptions may be applicable depending on the merchant’s situation.

Lisa Alimi notes that “these topics are of interest to every player. We already have to deal with questions relative to the PSD3, which will not come into force before 2026, but for which our merchants need to prepare.” Beyond the regulatory aspect, another ongoing challenge is to strike the right balance between performance and security.

Finally, providing the right support and guidance also means adapting your approach to the culture and knowledge of the person you are dealing with. “Depending on the merchants, we may be talking to an accounting or administration specialist, or an e-commerce manager. Every HiPay expert strives to customize their approach,” concludes Lisa Amini.

Clearly, by proposing actions to be implemented in the short, medium or long term, a successful business review is the combination of several levers:

- a personalized response to the specific needs of each merchant,

- a roadmap for partnership development,

- a constant search for performance.