Stuck at checkout? How and why online payments fail and five ways to prevent it

The rise in digital payments brings various challenges within complex payment systems. In such a scenario, numerous factors can contribute to online payment failures. Online payment failures can be exasperating for both customers and businesses. Here are five common reasons for online payment failures in India and ways to prevent them:

1)Scheduled Maintenance and Downtime

Banks and payment gateways may undergo scheduled maintenance or face unplanned outages. Although UPI payments are usually accessible 24/7, banks typically announce scheduled downtime in advance

2)Incorrect Data Entry

Errors in entering payment information such as OTP, CVV, or card expiry dates frequently result in payment failures. Problems, like not receiving the OTP or inputting an incorrect password, can lead to transaction declines.

3)Security Issues

Transactions may be rejected due to security alerts triggered by banks, such as transactions deviating from your usual spending habits or attempting to use a card restricted to domestic use on international websites, noted Kunal Varma, Co-Founder, and CEO of Freo.

4)Payment Gateway or Processor Issues

Kunal Varma highlights that misconfigurations of payment gateways, restrictions on supported payment methods or currencies, and technical glitches can result in payment failures.

5)Fraudulent Activities and Identity Theft

Banks may block transactions due to cybersecurity threats if they suspect fraudulent activities, states Verma, emphasizing that hackers can conduct unauthorized transactions using stolen personal information.

Ravi Battula, Vice President of Wibmo, offered suggestions for avoiding online payment failures.

1) A dependable payment service provider (PSP) or payment aggregator (PA) with significant expertise in delivering secure payments, linked to numerous Payment Gateways with smart routing capabilities.

2) Reducing reliance on customers by tokenising and securely storing payment instrument details to streamline the checkout process.

3) A strong infrastructure comprised of underlying service providers is essential. Most payment failures occur during transitions between participants, leading to timeouts and technical errors.

4) Addressing online fraud, a crucial aspect that affects business success, requires mature systems that minimise false positives while ensuring a positive customer experience.

5) The absence of certified entities in the ecosystem creates challenges in a rapidly changing landscape overseen by entities like EMV 2.0, RBI, NPCI, and relevant regulatory bodies. Therefore, it is imperative to have robust certified players in place.

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.