Choosing a payment platform is one of the most important decisions a modern, internet-connected business can make. Unfortunately, many business owners fail to conduct due diligence at this crucial stage and end up handicapping themselves for a long time to come.

Platforms like BlueSnap combine a reliable payment processing functionality with advanced features that can open up new options for users. Even if only one of these perks ends up being applicable, it can end up making a significant difference for a business.

Advanced Features Help Payment Platform Users Succeed

Every payment platform needs to make it simple to process basic financial transactions. That will normally mean having support for a variety of payment methods and being able to integrate naturally with at least one merchant account provider.

Going beyond these basics can allow a payment platform to support a given business even more effectively. Choosing a payment system that affords plenty of room for growth can prevent a business from being held back at an especially critical stage of its future development. Some of the kinds of payment platform features that most often shine in this respect are:

• Subscription support. Businesses that have reliable recurring revenue can afford to aim higher than others. Companies providing software-based services increasingly use subscriptions to improve their financial figures and standing in the market. Even businesses that sell physical products can make subscriptions central to their activities, as with monthly gift programs and the like. When a payment platform makes it easy to set up and maintain subscriptions, a company that uses it will become more likely to benefit from this style of business.

• Virtual terminals. Even companies that are primarily known for their online operations frequently do a lot of person-to-person business. Virtual terminals allow for the manual processing of payments obtained by any means, including offline interactions. Payment platforms that feature virtual terminals help bridge gaps that might otherwise make doing business more complicated.

Many More Advanced Features to Assess

While features like these are not necessarily fundamental to the processing of payments, they can be extremely useful. Choosing a payment platform that goes beyond the basics in these ways and others can end up enabling real competitive advantages.