In an increasingly connected world, implementing a unified commerce strategy is the future. For mid-size and enterprise merchants, consolidating business systems into one central place will unquestionably unlock immense value. Not just for gaining efficiencies such as decreased fraud cost and tighter security, but it will also result in a superior experience for the consumer.

Here, we’re going to explore a unified commerce strategy; and understand how a ‘one stop shop’ is the smart way to elevate a business to the next level.

What is Unified Commerce?

Unified commerce is the strategy that seamlessly connects back-end systems with customer-facing channels. In other words, omnichannel. It involves bringing together all business systems—such as in-store point-of-sale (POS), e-commerce platforms, mobile wallets, and more—into a single, centralized platform.

FreedomPay’s single global platform empowers businesses to support omnichannel journeys while providing a cohesive view of consumer behavior and operational systems. Specifically, it demonstrates how unified commerce can centralize transaction data, enhance payment security, and deliver actionable insights.

One World. One Platform. One Product

A unified commerce strategy starts with integrated payments. Without combining payment systems into one robust platform, achieving the benefits of unified commerce would not be possible.

Integrated payments connect every part of your business—POS systems, e-commerce operations, self-service kiosks, and more. This omnichannel connectivity ensures consistency for customers, no matter how they interact with your brand.

Here’s what integrated payments bring to the table:

• Payment Flexibility: Accept multiple payment types, including credit cards, mobile wallets, Buy Now Pay Later options and other alternative payment methods.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Capture payment data across channels to identify trends and improve business strategies.
• Enhanced Security: Protect every transaction with point-to-point encryption (P2PE) and PCI compliance to mitigate risks.

By unifying your payment systems through integration, your business sets up the foundation it needs to adopt a unified commerce solution.

Key Benefits for Merchants

Integrating payments to benefit your unified commerce strategy can provide several advantages, especially for merchants across retail, hospitality, food & beverage, etc.

1. Seamless Customer Experience

Today’s consumers expect consistency. Whether they’re shopping in-store, online, or using a mobile app, the experience should feel familiar and streamlined. A unified commerce strategy helps to ensure the checkout process remains frictionless across every channel.

For example, a customer can browse products online, purchase them via mobile app, and pick them up in-store without any disruptions in the process.

2. Optimized Operations

Managing siloed payment systems can be time-consuming and costly, especially when having to reconcile all the data that comes from different sources. Integrated payments eliminate these inefficiencies by unifying all payment data into a single platform. With one dashboard, merchants can view transaction data, simplify reporting, and manage all channels with ease.

3. Actionable Data Insights

One of the most significant advantages of unifying the back-end systems is consolidated real-time data. It doesn’t have to be just payment data, it could also include accounting, outages and fraud. When all the information is captured and analyzed effectively across channels, a merchant has powerful deep insights into customer behavior to make smart business decisions.

Two examples: a merchant would be able to make data-driven decisions regarding new store openings to gain maximum revenue and/or sales; and understand customer preferences in real-time from purchasing history, and loyalty information.

A unified strategy is creating the businesses of the future. Imagine truly personalized offers, reduced fraud costs and optimized inventory strategies.

4. Improved Security and Compliance

Payment security has become standard practice for modern businesses. The real question is: exactly how secure are your payments? Integrated payments bolster security with state-of-the-art technologies like PCI P2PE and tokenization, ensuring sensitive payment information is protected.

With a PCI-compliant single platform, merchants stay out of PCI scope, reducing costs plus the overall risk and liability of handling customer data.

5. Omnichannel Readiness

Whether it’s in-store or online, customers’ shopping habits vary. Businesses investing in a unified commerce strategy with integrated payments are prepared to adapt to evolving customer needs.

By bridging all consumer-facing channels, merchants ensure their customers have the flexibility to shop and pay in the way that works best for them.

How to Implement an Integrated Payments Strategy

Unifying systems begins by taking several strategic steps toward integrating your payments on the backend. Here’s the roadmap to get started:

1. Choose a Payment Gateway

The payment gateway is the foundation of integrated payments and a unified commerce strategy. It securely connects your payment systems to processors and ensures complete compliance. Select a system with agnostic capabilities to avoid being locked-in to a closed ecosystem. It is essential to guarantee flexibility with your existing tech stack.

2. Integrate Across Channels

Connect all your payment solutions—whether it’s POS systems in brick-and-mortar locations, e-commerce platforms, or mobile apps. This provides a single view across your payment ecosystem.

3. Ensure Flexibility and Scalability

Work with a payment platform that integrates with various processors, ISVs, and acquirers. This versatility allows your business to adapt and scale with ease. For example, enterprises using 3P POS can use FreedomPay’s payment gateway to seamlessly integrate with Stripe for optimized online and in-person payments solution. This partnership helps enterprises unify payments and POS across the organization while providing flexibility in adaptation.

4. Leverage Data for Optimization

Capture and analyze payment data in real-time to guide business strategies. Identify trends, track performance, and use insights to enhance customer offerings such as loyalty programs and personalized incentives.

For merchants looking to simplify implementation, explore FreedomPay’s Next Level Commerce™ single platform that provides everything —from a secure agnostic payment gateway with 1000+ seamless integration opportunities and the most advanced, secure tech in the industry.

Integrate Payments: Less Friction. More Freedom.

The future of commerce lies in payment integration. By unifying commerce, merchants can unlock levels of efficiency, scalability, and customer satisfaction never previously imagined.

By embarking on this transformation, businesses are better positioned to thrive in an omnichannel environment and adapt to changing consumer behaviors.

Start your unified commerce strategy with the right technology partner. Learn more about FreedomPay’s Next Level Commerce™ platform and see how we can transform your business today.