Shopping online rarely takes more than a few minutes. The payment process, however, concentrates most of the friction. A form that is too long, an absent payment method, an unexplained refusal: each obstacle pushes the customer to close the tab. Optimizing online payments means acting at the moment when the sale is made, with solutions that have significantly evolved in recent months.
Beneficiary verification and instant transfers: what the European regulation 2024/886 changes
Have you ever received a standard transfer that takes a business day to arrive? This delay is about to disappear. Regulation (EU) 2024/886 makes instant SEPA transfers mandatory for all payment service providers in the euro area. Receipt is to be effective by January 9, 2025, and issuance by October 9, 2025, at the latest.
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For e-merchants, the change is tangible. A payment by transfer can now be confirmed in a matter of seconds, providing a credible alternative to credit cards for high-value baskets or B2B transactions.
The regulation also imposes Verification of Payee (VOP): before each transfer, the provider must verify that the beneficiary’s name matches the recipient account. Solutions like those offered on flashwave.fr integrate these new regulatory constraints directly into the payment process, with alert messages in case of inconsistencies. This mechanism reduces data entry errors and limits attempts at fraud through IBAN diversion.
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Tokenization of card data: pay without exposing your information
When a customer saves their card on a merchant site, the actual number is no longer stored by the merchant. A unique token replaces the sensitive data. This token only works in a specific context: a given merchant, a given type of transaction.
Why does this technical detail matter? Because tokenization eliminates the risk of card number leaks in case of a merchant database hack. The stolen token is unusable elsewhere.
Network tokenization, managed directly by Visa or Mastercard networks, goes further. It automatically updates data when a card expires or is replaced. The customer has nothing to do. Recurring payments or one-click payments continue to function without interruption.
Impact on conversion rates
A one-click payment with a valid token reduces the steps in the purchase funnel. Fewer fields to fill out mean less risk of abandonment. Merchants that enable network tokenization see a decrease in refusals related to expired cards, a common issue with subscriptions and repeat purchases.
PSD3 and PSR: the next wave that will reshuffle the cards
The European reform PSD3/PSR has not yet been transposed, but its directions are clear. It will harmonize access to payment infrastructures and mobile technologies for non-bank players. Fintechs and payment providers will have more direct access to banking rails.
What this means for a merchant:
- Predictable decrease in transaction fees due to increased competition among providers, banks, and new entrants
- Strengthening of anti-fraud requirements, with more granular authentication mechanisms than the current 3D Secure
- Better transparency on the actual costs of each payment method, allowing for comparison of solutions on equal terms
PSD3 will also facilitate account-to-account (A2A) payments, meaning from account to account, without going through a card network. This model, already popular in several European countries, could become a standard option on French checkout pages.
Concrete criteria for choosing a suitable online payment solution
All providers promise security and simplicity. The difference lies in specific technical points that marketing pages do not always highlight.
- Management of soft declines: when an issuing bank requests additional authentication rather than a definitive refusal, the solution should automatically retry the attempt with 3D Secure, without the customer starting over
- Smart routing: some platforms direct each transaction to the acquirer that offers the best acceptance rate for that type of card and country, in real time
- Accounting reconciliation: a good payment tool produces exports compatible with your management software, without manual line-by-line reprocessing
- Coverage of local payment methods: offering Bancontact for Belgium, iDEAL for the Netherlands, or Bizum for Spain changes the conversion rate in these markets
Avoid the all-in-one trap
A solution that manages payment, invoicing, follow-up, and loyalty seems appealing. In practice, a tool specialized in transaction processing performs better than a Swiss army knife for pure payment. Coupling with an ERP or CRM via API is often more reliable than an integrated suite that does everything in an average way.
Strong authentication and customer experience: the right balance
Strong customer authentication (SCA) mandated by PSD2 has reduced online fraud. It has also led to cart abandonment when the experience was poorly calibrated. Recent solutions incorporate smart exemptions: for low-risk transactions or modest amounts, the provider can request an exemption from the issuing bank and avoid the 3D Secure step.
The exemption does not eliminate security, it shifts it. The provider takes responsibility for fraud on these exempted transactions. A good PSP adjusts the balance based on the merchant’s risk profile, the amount, and the customer’s history.
The concrete result: a regular customer buying a moderately priced item places an order in two clicks. A new customer with a high-value cart undergoes enhanced verification. The journey adapts without the merchant having to intervene manually.
Optimizing online payments is no longer limited to choosing between three or four well-known providers. European regulation, network tokenization, and SCA exemptions create a technical environment where every detail of the payment tunnel can be adjusted. The merchant who masters these mechanisms does not just reduce cart abandonment: they turn payment into a competitive advantage.