SafeCharge launches Marketplace Manager, a one-stop shop solution for marketplaces to outsource payments

This article is brought to you by Retail Technology Review: SafeCharge launches Marketplace Manager, a one-stop shop solution for marketplaces to outsource payments.

SafeCharge, the payments services partner for demanding businesses, has launched Marketplace Manager.

The single API based solution relieves all payment pain points for marketplaces while enabling them to remain in full control of operations and user experience, for both buyers and sellers. It is the first solution to cover all the payment functions a marketplace needs, from a white label onboarding seller process, to ready to use checkout pages, and pay-out to sellers, all in a fully compliant way.

Marketplaces are seeing unprecedented growth. According to a study by the Ecommerce Foundation, almost 40% of the world's online retail market will be controlled by marketplaces by 2020. However, marketplaces are facing complex challenges and do not have a payment solution that meets all their specific needs at once. Pain points for marketplaces range from cumbersome seller on-boarding to paying out in a fast and cost-efficient way, as well as accommodating local payment preferences of buyers, and meeting new regulations like the European PSD2 (Revised Directive on Payment Services). Under PSD2, certain marketplaces handling funds from both a seller and a buyer will need a payment institution licence.

Marketplace Manager covers all marketplaces payment needs at once, leveraging SafeCharge's payment engine, a proven technology trusted by the world's most demanding businesses. The solution specifically designed for marketplaces enables:

• Regulatory Compliance – Marketplace Manager's fully outsourced API takes full responsibility for all the payment regulation. Meaning marketplaces are relieved from KYC requirements at onboarding, the complication of becoming a 'payments institute' as well as descoping their PCI compliance liability.
• Seamless Onboarding – The Marketplace Manager provides a seamless onboarding process via an API. To get started, sellers only need to provide a minimum amount of information while the rest of the KYC information and selection of a pay-out option can be completed at a later stage.
• Maximised Conversion – Fully customisable checkout pages provide a localised payment experience, with a choice of the most popular local payment methods in the language and currency of buyers based on their location. For returning buyers, Marketplace Manager also allows for "one click" checkout.
• Smart Payment Management - Upon buyer's payment completion, Marketplace Manager holds the funds in a segregated "escrow account" until the service is fulfilled. With service completion or product delivery the marketplace instructs through an API call to transfer payment from the escrow account to the seller and the commission is automatically paid to the marketplace.
• Cost Efficient Pay-Outs – Marketplace Manager enables pay-out through a large range of local and international payment options. In addition to bank transfers, sellers can be paid instantaneously via prepaid debit cards, credit transfer on a credit card or via all the popular e-wallets.

"Marketplaces use a different model to traditional retailers that creates complexity and a plethora of challenges which the payment industry has been slow to recognise and address," said David Avgi, CEO of SafeCharge. "Working closely with existing marketplace customers, we have painstakingly created a solution that addresses their major challenges head on, from operational control to regulatory compliance and bi-directional payments. A solution that allows marketplaces to meet complexity with simplicity, opacity with transparency and uncertainty with foresight."