3 Reasons To Allow Your Customers To Change Payment Methods After Purchase

By Author: Sahil Verma
Total Articles: 160
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Think again if you think allowing customers to change payment methods after purchase isn't worth it.

What is the one thing you never want a customer to feel after completing your checkout process through the best online payment gateway? Dread.
Unfortunately, when they realise they've used the wrong card or account and may face a penalty or fee, that's exactly what hits them in the pit of their stomach. They want to avoid that as soon as possible. To do so, they must change the payment method after making the purchase. What your store should ask is if you want to let them in and be a part of the solution to this problem. Or, if you don't have the option, the customer will be forced to consider cancelling the order.

It's not the most common scenario, but it's one with a clear win-win outcome when done correctly. Let's take a look at how to approach the problem and why you might want to take the time to offer a solution.

Allow Payment Method Changes Sooner – Rather than Later

Payment errors occur for a variety of reasons. Someone may have selected the incorrect ...
... card on your smartphone wallet. While they are distracted, their browser auto-fills payment information. Or they've simply spent too much money that day and want to avoid an overdraft. None of these are issues with the store, but you can be the solution.

If you want to allow customers to change payment methods after they've made a purchase, start by talking with your payment processors and platforms about their capabilities. See what you can do and collaborate with them to clearly define the process. Then, to your customers, state it as clearly as possible.

Make sure to inform customers of any restrictions. One thing to keep in mind is that it is often only possible before the goods enter the shipping process. Make it a point to state clearly what you can and cannot do in the offer, at checkout, and in customer service chat or support. If you can find a way to offer this, here are a few reasons why it might be worth the effort.

Reason 1: It’s Great Customer Service

When considering payment changes, most businesses ask themselves, "Why does the customer need to make the change?" However, it may be more appropriate to inquire whether this is even relevant.

It's a customer service opportunity when someone asks for assistance in changing payments and protecting their wallets. You can assist them in correcting their errors and earning their loyalty by making the process as simple and stress-free as possible.

If you make a mistake, treat others the way you would like to be treated. It helps to ensure that they complete the purchase without requesting a refund, which increases your retention rates. Existing customers are up to 70% more likely to purchase from you than new visitors, and repeat customers spend 67% more than new customers. Why not provide a fantastic service that also increases your revenue?

Reason 2: Reduces Your Pain and Risk of Loss

Supporting payment method changes is not only good customer service; it can also help to reduce lost sales. This is due to the fact that not supporting payment method changes may cause the customer to cancel the order. This is especially true if they discover that using a specific card or account will result in a problem.

According to one survey, 10% of people who cancelled an online order did so because they needed more room on their credit card or were trying to avoid an "insufficient funds" error.

Cancellations have a negative impact on your business in a variety of ways. Cancellations can result in a loss of revenue. If you begin internal actions before cancelling, such as picking orders and printing shipping labels, you are obligated to pay those costs. If an order is cancelled after it has been shipped, you will need to begin the costly returns process, which will generally cost your business — useful returns policies are a very different but important customer service tool.

There are additional areas where cancellations may be detrimental. Multiple factors are used to evaluate companies selling on online marketplaces. According to consultants, if your cancellation rate is greater than 2% in a 14-day period, you may be at risk as a seller. If the order is cancelled after the payment process, your eCommerce platform or online payment gateway India provider may charge a small fee.

Reason 3: Avoids Complications of Reorders

If you don't let people change their payment methods after they've made a purchase, your only chance of recouping a related cancellation is if they decide to order from you again. That's a lot to ask of a dissatisfied or concerned customer.

Supporting payment changes can help you avoid the entire problem. Instead, a customer must contact you and their payment option (bank, credit card company, or PayPal) to stop payment; they only need to work with your customer service agents to make a minor change. It's easier for both the customer and your operations.

Reorders also necessitate a significant amount of work within your inventory and order management tools to ensure that everything is properly cancelled and that no fulfillment is duplicated. This saves your warehouse team time picking and packing an order that is later cancelled. This prevents SKUs from being pulled from inventory and then added back to your count. If you have manual inventory processes, pulling and replacing goods frequently necessitates a stock count.

When you work with a 3PL or third-party logistics company, all of those cancellations and reorders become more complicated. Your service-level agreement will have fulfillment cutoff times, and the cancellation must arrive just in time if you want to avoid the picking process starting. Bring them into your payment discussions, and they may be able to assist you in avoiding complications even if someone shifts payment after an order has been fulfilled.

Allowing payment changes after purchase also helps you keep your revenue predictable by reducing cancellations and reorders. Simultaneously, you are reducing complex warehouse work and partner efforts. It adds layers of security while keeping customers satisfied.

After Purchase Payment Changes Benefit You and Your Customers

The simpler your website's payment process, the better for everyone involved. Allowing payment changes after purchase — and making it easy to do so — is one way to avoid sales losses and extra work for your teams.
Offer it, and you'll be able to help make a customer's stressful day a little less stressful while also increasing the security of your revenue. It's a win-win situation that you can achieve with the help of your online payment gateway and processor partners.