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Fiserv Inc. has partnered with conversational-commerce platform provider Authvia to enable independent software vendors to offer a text-to-pay solution through Fiserv’s CardPointe gateway. The offering, which was developed in response to the growing use by businesses of tools to communicate with consumers via text and chat, allows businesses to bill, invoice, and accept payments from consumers via text and chat. When a new communication channel emerges, often a new payments channel emerges as well, Fiserv says by email.
ISVs will be able to connect their processing services with Fiserv’s CardPointe gateway through Authvia’s platform. As a result, ISVs will be able to integrate text-based payments into their software without developing their own solution, according to Fiserv.
To enable a text-to-pay transaction, merchants send a payment request via text messaging or prompt the customer at checkout to pay via text.
One advantage of enabling payment via text messaging is the 98% open rate for text messages, which positions the technology as a way for merchants to offer a convenient mobile-payment option for consumers, according to Fiserv. Another advantage is that transactions happen in a single message thread. No logins or passwords are required to initiate a transaction.
“As consumer demand fuels the software-led payments evolution and ISVs focus on building for the future, Fiserv is expanding its digital-payments capabilities into conversational commerce,” Jon Halpern, head of ISV for Fiserv, says in a statement. “Authvia provides a robust solution that aligns with our ISV payment engine, with industry-pacing technology and real experts helping to guide integration.”
A relatively new payment option, text-to-pay has been gaining momentum in recent years. Earlier this week, mobile-management platform provider Passport labs Inc. launched a text-to-pay solution for parking in Atlanta, Decatur, Ga., New Orleans, and Gretna, La. The company, which is partnering with parking-facility management-services provider SP Plus Corp., will enable consumers to pay for parking by text using SP Plus’s Parking.com solution.
A big advantage of using text-to-pay for parking is that consumers do not need to download a separate app, according to Passport, which plans to launch the solution in Annapolis, Md., Beaufort, S.C., and Harrisburg, Pa., in the coming months.
Text-to-pay has also found its way into the world of buy now, pay later solutions. In 2021, BNPL provider Opy USA Inc. partnered with Everyware Worldwide Inc., a contactless-payments and customer-engagement provider, to enable buy now, pay later by text.
