Page 168 - The Digital Financial Services (DFS) Ecosystem

ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services
Ecosystem

2.1.6 Training

Merchants and their staff will usually need some sort of training/education regarding how to consummate a
transaction, issue refunds and adjustments, become familiar with the settlement/funding process, etc.

2.1.7 Processing

While the actual mechanics and flows may be different, at least one entity is responsible for ensuring that
the transaction is accurately transported from the point of sale/point of customer interaction to the central
processing system. In many card-centric schemes, the acquirer will provide the telecommunications links from
the merchant site to the schemes central processing center, directly and/or via the acquirer’s own processing
facility.
Note that in some cases, a merchant may accept transactions from more than one payment scheme, and just
send all transactions to its merchant service provider; that provider would often be responsible ensuring that
each transaction is appropriately routed and settled (see below).

2.1.8 Merchant Servicing

Merchants will invariably have a wide variety of questions regarding products and services, as well as regarding
potential problems with funding, equipment, etc. Most questions can generally be handled by first-line
customer service representatives on the phone (often the most expensive channel), via email, or via text
messages. Automated voice response systems can often be used to answer some basic questions, such as
the last x day’s sales.

2.1.9 Risk and Dispute Management

As discussed above and in much more detail in a separate section of this report, merchants can introduce
risk into the system, particularly when they accept payment for goods and services delivered at a later time.
Payment systems that do not allow for customer disputes (e.g., the customer paid the wrong person, paid the
wrong amount, never received the goods) will reduce or eliminate much of the risk and customer service costs.

2.1.10 Reporting

Simple but effective reporting is critically important, particularly when money is involved. While costly paper
reports may be necessary in some cases, simple reporting can be provided by SMS (e.g., show the last 10
transactions, day’s total, etc.), automated voice response systems, web interfaces, and live customer service
representatives (usually the most expensive option). Clear reporting will also reduce merchant service calls.

As is the theme with the other value chain functions discussed above, organizations best positioned to provide
services most aligned with merchant needs will be those that can make the complexity of the underlying
schemes as transparent and easy to deal with as possible to the merchant. For example, reporting that takes
all the activity from the various payment schemes and consolidates it into an easily digestible format. Similarly,
it would be advantageous if the merchant/sales clerks were able to be trained once by a single entity on how
to accept digital payments across schemes. It would be advantageous if the merchant had a single point of
contact for questions or problems across the schemes.

2.1.11 Settlement/Funding

Merchants can get paid for their sales in a variety of ways and by a variety of entities. In some systems, the
acquirer or merchant service provider is paid by the scheme and then passes those funds to the merchants
via direct deposit to a bank account, a deposit to mobile wallet, etc. In other cases, the scheme itself may pay
the merchant directly. Settlement/funding timeframes (e.g., immediate, T+1, T+2, etc.) will also vary from
system to system and may depend on the type of merchant, volume, settlement means, and other factors.

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