At the recent Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, two of the most popular topics were igaming and sports betting. Expert-led panels discussed at length the issues surrounding these relatively new forms of gaming that are potentially worth billions of dollars to operators.
But in order for igaming and sports betting to properly function, and succeed, deposits and payouts must not only meet player expectations, but exceed them. And to do that, gaming operators must remove friction and embrace new methods of assisting their customers.
PayNearMe’s Chief Revenue Officer Mike Kaplan calls the new framework “Payments 3.0.”
“It’s a technological approach that to whatever extent possible makes the payment experience as close to invisible as you can,” Kaplan says.
To accomplish that, PayNearMe has developed an “end-to-end” approach to the payment ecosystem, leveraging data to streamline the payment process.
During G2E, PayNearMe launched MoneyLine, a new platform designed to help users more easily navigate the complexities of igaming and sports betting money movement. MoneyLine leverages PayNearMe’s technology to streamline deposit flows and accelerate payouts for players. It also delivers information to operators that allows them to optimize workflows for customer acquisition, conversion, and retention.
Unlike previous iterations of payments systems that were “layered on top of each other and not necessarily well integrated from customer experience,” according to Kaplan, a Payments 3.0 approach, and MoneyLine specifically, integrates more data, more efficiently and with better results.
While gaming operators have improved their payment platforms, many are still cobbled together and “don’t communicate well together to facilitate payments,” Kaplan says. “In the 3.0 world, which is where we’re at, we provide a holistic approach with a purpose-built platform to provide end-to-end payment experiences that use data as the foundation to improve customer journeys.”
While the MoneyLine platform has been rigorously tested to ensure its efficacy, the flip side of the service is making sure that operators understand the benefits of using the system, and having “the right partners in place,” Kaplan says.
“There’s always this build-versus-buy mentality, especially when it comes to payments, that companies go through,” he adds. “Do they want to own it or outsource it? What we have found consistently is that all but a very few (operators) need to rely on a company that understands and is able to keep up with the ongoing evolution of payments. And that’s a big part of being a 3.0 payment company.”
Kaplan says that because PayNearMe’s sole focus is the payment industry, it can better keep abreast of innovations and developments, including new deposit / payout mechanisms and regulatory issues, and how they are necessary to retain customers.
PayNearMe ties these issues together and allows operators to concentrate on other business concerns.
“That ongoing payment evolution is hard if that’s what you do all day long,” Kaplan says. “And if it’s not what you do all day long, it’s possibly going to be a point of failure.
“In igaming and sports betting, when you’re talking about payments, you’re at the intersection of two very highly regulated industries, and you’re intersecting with this highly regulated industry of money movement. That intersection can get really complicated, and if you don’t have the right expertise, you can easily run afoul of something.”
While PayNearMe’s payment platform is a perfect fit for the gaming industry, it also is used by consumer lenders, mortgage servicers, insurance companies, municipalities and utilities, and others.
