Benefits of cloud computing for payments

Cloud computing isn’t a new term, but the benefits it can bring to businesses, particularly in the payments arena, truly are revolutionary. As the payments industry continues to evolve at record speed, banks and insurers are faced with the inevitability to innovate. Migrating to the cloud is an open door to the flexibility they need to meet customer demand. In this article, we will discuss what is cloud computing and the benefits of having a cloud-based payments system for your business.

What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing is a technology used to store and manage data in the “cloud”/internet. It allows companies and individuals to access, store and manage their data without owning the premises/infrastructure. They can simply pay a certain amount for the cloud space they use, where they can store all of their databases, servers, tools or applications. All of this data will be kept available in a data centre managed by the Cloud Services Provider (CSP). If a company is looking to expand and requires for space in the cloud to support more technology, all it has to do is pay for extra space.

Traditional hosting, on the other hand, involves hardware that needs to bought, kept and updated by the company according to business needs. For instance, if the company is scaling up and more employees require access to the data, it needs to either purchase more hardware or upgrade their existing system. Every computer or technologies used by the company’s staff is connected to a remote server which, in traditional computing, would be located in the company’s premises. In cloud computing, the remote server is located in the internet (no hardware needed).

Advantages of a cloud-based payments system

Now that the differences between traditional and cloud computing are clearer, it is easier to see the benefits that cloud-based systems can bring to companies. Amongst others, some of the advantages of cloud computing include:

Flexibility and scalability

A cloud-based system is fully flexible and easily scalable according to business needs. Upgrading traditional IT systems can take up a huge amount of time and resources, which holds back companies and prevents them from scaling up quickly. With cloud computing, there is an unlimited amount of space to store data, so scalability will never be an issue. Companies are also able to install payment software whenever they need to, on demand. Considering the fast pace of the payments industry (particularly the growth of mobile payments), having this kind of flexibility to grow fast and easily is game-changing- and very much necessary.

Speed to market

Higher flexibility means that companies are able to deploy payment technologies much faster than if they were using their old IT system. Integrations of payment technologies to traditional infrastructures are a long and expensive process. Unfortunately, as the market evolves faster than ever, these integrations simply aren’t speedy enough to keep up with competition, customer demand and the market itself. A cloud-based payments system like Imburse allows you to deploy any payment technology, in any market, within weeks.

Reducing costs

Traditional IT infrastructure requires the purchase of actual hardware, so there are upfront costs involved that companies can’t escape from. Equally, as the business grows, there will be more and more upfront costs for purchasing more hardware. Business needs are constantly changing, so it may be difficult for companies to predict what technologies they want to install before purchasing the hardware. That is why it is easy to end up with a lot of unused space or to end up needing extra space urgently. With cloud computing, companies only pay for the space that they are using. This flexibility allows companies to better manage their expenses and avoid unnecessary costs for hardware that isn’t being used.

Higher security

There are many fraud risks associated with internet usage, which is why the regulations around payments are constantly improving. It is crucial to be compliant with all the payment services regulations set in place, particularly the PSD2, but banks have struggled to meet the deadlines for these rules in the past. A cloud-based system can alleviate much of the hassle of complying to regulations, because it already comes with all the necessary security measures. This way, banks and insurers are able to rely on their trusted payments partner not only to meet current security rules, but to adapt to future regulatory changes.

How Imburse can help

Imburse is a cloud-based middleware connecting large enterprises to the payments ecosystem, regardless of their existing IT infrastructure. Through a single connection to Imburse, enterprises can collect or pay out using a variety of payment technologies and providers around the globe.

In a world where consumers payment preferences and technologies are ever-evolving, Imburse works with insurers to future-proof their payment requirements. Regardless of the business area, market, or requirements, Imburse will connect you to your choice of technology and provider.

Reach out to our team below should you want to discuss how Imburse can help you. Our team is happy to show you what our platform can do for your business and offer you a free demo.