Online Payments in the Dating IndustryQuick Start Guide

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Introduction

Online dating websites have completely changed the way we meet new

people - whether doesn’t matter if we’re looking for a serious connection

or for someone just to have fun with.

Competition in the online dating market is growing and because there

are lots of services relationship-seekers can choose from, online dating

business owners have to provide the best customer experience to ensure

their service is truly easy to use.

We’ve spent 15 years learning about the problems with payments in the

online dating industry and made our own analysis. Now we’re giving you

the lowdown on what matters most when you want to accept online

payments.

Let’s dig deeper into payments for dating websites.

Why should you accept payments on a dating website?

Matching users Messaging system Premium features simplified payment process with the right solution

Choosing a dating payment provider. What should you consider?

Technology and integration Security and fraud mitigation Dividing transaction volume across multiple merchant accounts Conversion Subscription payments Mobile solution Costs A service for users around the word Support you can count on

Make a match with the right payment provider

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Table of contents

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Why should you accept payments on a dating

website?

Each year, millions of people turn to the web in search of a “significant

other.” In the UK alone, UK 7 million people were using online

dating in 2016 and it’s estimated that 15% of Americans have used

dating services or apps. According to reports, the trend is going to

rise in the coming years.

Love-seekers can choose between free and paid dating sites. Why do

some of the websites for relationship seekers want them to pay?

Free dating sites have their drawbacks, which includes being lower

quality because they’re open to everyone. It’s assumed that free sites

are great when first starting out, but people who pay for using a dating

website are more serious about finding their perfect match.

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Matching users

Basically, free dating sites provide limited services to users, e.g. offering to

search by location only. On the other hand, paid websites offer a detailed

personalization with many different preferences. Users need to

answer a series of questions describing their details, interests, etc., as well

as describing the perfect mate to find the best dates possible for them.

There are a variety of methods for making matches, but mostly it’s based

on certain criteria. Free websites usually offer just a simple search, and

paid ones usually come with a highly specific advanced search, using an

in-depth capability.

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Messaging system

The same thing happens with a messaging system. Usually, when users

want to contact the person they’re interested in, they need an upgraded

account. In most cases, they aren’t able to initiate contact with other

website members.

Everything starts with a short message and offering paid extras, such as

virtual winks, hugs or kisses to make it easier for love seekers to flirt and

break the ice. Keep in mind that paying for this kind of interaction (with

virtual items or emojis) must be extremely simple, with one-click.

When using a paid dating service, people usually get their own dedicated

email inbox, which seems to be a safer option to chat with people they

don’t know. There’s no need to give out personal information, which

makes people more comfortable.

Think about it this way: when someone pays for using a dating service,

they take it more seriously. Free sites could come with more scams, fake

accounts and naturally more potential fraud.

Paying for virtual winks, hugs or gifts must be extremely simple, with one-click. #dating #payments

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Premium features

Many dating websites offer premium features for users or charge

them for each item, such as the afore-mentioned virtual kisses or

flowers. It’s a great way to engage people, as well as grow your business

performance. Premium users can also boost their profiles in search

rankings.

Paid sites also offer quick and efficient customer care and exclusive

events that might be an opportunity for many singles. There’s no question

that all this creates a better dating experience.

Paid dating sites also sometimes run promotions, e.g. a lower price on

subscriptions, so when it comes to using a payment system, it’s important

to have a solution that enables you to set up a tailored scenario. Dating

services also need to make sure they provide seamless and hassle-free

payments on their website in order to keep their high quality of service on

track.

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Simplified payment process with the right solution

Providing high-quality service on a website (without pushy ads

screaming in the user’s face, and with lots of great features that can

simplify the search process) is a characteristic of premium dating sites.

The key, though, is to make sure your payment system doesn’t lag behind.

That’s why choosing the right payment provider is so important. It will

not only help you grow but create a one of a kind dating experience that

provides a quick and user-friendly solution.

By simplifying the way users pay, you can improve your conversion rate

and build a long-term relationship with your audience. When you put

consumers first, they will put you first.

Read on to learn more things that should be considered before choosing

an online dating payment provider tailored to your needs.

When you put consumers first, they will put you first. #dating #payments #UX

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Choosing a dating payment provider. What should you

consider?

Now that you know choosing a payment provider for your dating website

is more important than you might have originally thought, it’s time to get

down to the nitty-gritty.

In other words, how to offer easy-to-use payments without redirection

and with simplified user flow can increase conversions on your website.

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There are lots of MCC codes and for your business, it’s better to get the 7273 code (dating), which gives you the higher approval rate and better conversion rate. A code that is even better in regards to approval ratio is 8641 - social media, but this category is not so easy to obtain.

Make sure the payment platform you want to choose works with your

industry to avoid rejection in a compliance process.

What are the most important things that make the payment process on

your dating website a smooth and seamless experience?

The first thing you should know is that you’ll fall into a defined Merchant

Category Code (MCC). Different category types have a higher or lower

impact on payments and conversion rates on your dating website. The

MCC is provided by Card Associations but you need to know that it is the

acquirer that decides which type is proper for your business model.

A dating business can be categorized simply as dating (with the 7273

code) but also as a high-risk business (with 5967 code). In the latter one,

the content of the website is one of the decisive aspects (adult content

vs. mainstream). The final decision may be the result of a type of website

content, your current chargeback ratio, and the acquirer’s opinion.

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Technology and integration

Forget about complicated integration that takes ages. Look for a payment

solution with a powerful technology that enables you to implement

payments in hours instead of weeks. There are also solutions for non-

developers, so you can add your payments by dragging and dropping the

payment button.

Remember that the easier the implementation, the cheaper it will be

for you in the long run. You save time and money as well. It’s important

to have the possibility of implementing a payment solution using any

programming language to handle a payment scenario that will work best

for your dating business.

Ask a payment provider about the technology

they use. Do they provide a flexible APIs? Do

they offer payments without redirection?

Note that when you choose a payment gateway

with APIs, you can set a tailored payment

scenario, but it also makes you the owner of the

code. This means you have full control over the

entire payment process on your website. It also

comes with what everyone is looking for today:

customization. You can create the payment form

that will completely meet your needs.

What to focus on? The fact that the user stays right on your page and is

not redirected to an external site also matters. You

can easily track and analyze the way your customers

pay for your service. We’ve noticed that our clients

who changed payments with redirection to the custom

form, increased their conversion by at least 2-3%.

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Security and fraud mitigation

From years of working with dating business owners, we’ve observed that

one-third of dating websites have major problems with fraud.

Now, it’s one of the biggest threats in online dating. Dating fraud is

becoming more sophisticated and, according to the stats from the City

of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, online dating

fraud in the UK cost £27 million in 2015.

Most online dating websites prevent users from revealing their personal

details, such as email address, phone number, etc. so they feel secure. The

same should occur with online payments on a dating site.

The industry comes with lots of chargebacks and fraud attempts so

providing solutions with the highest level of security is paramount.

We can even say that chargebacks are the nature of the online dating

landscape.

Scammers can use stolen cards to get access to a dating site. Any fraud

attempt results in threats to a business, such as chargebacks or higher

banking fees. To limit any fraud attempts, dating websites need highly-

secure solutions with several security layers and highly accurate anti-

fraud tools.

Chargebacks are the nature of the online #dating landscape. #fintech #fraud

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To prevent and mitigate the risk, choose a payment solution with anti-

fraud tools, based on machine learning technology. It will help you score

every payment and check it against fraud.

You, as a dating business owner, know your customer base best. You

should have the option to decide what to do in order to strike a balance

between conversion rate and account longevity. With proper tools and

information from your payment partner, it will be much easier for you to

keep control of the payment security on your website.

The advanced set of filters and multi-level protection is what every paid

dating website needs. Extra security layers, such as tokenization, 3D

secure, or blacklisting will give both you and your customers the certainty

that payments on your website are well-protected.

For high-risk businesses (online dating could be one of them), it’s better

to have a dedicated merchant account and work with a payment provider

that has experience in this field.

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Smart 3D Secure authentication

Do you think that 3D Secure technology is a conversion killer? What if

we told you that you’re wrong? You can now choose a solution that gives

you a non-invasive 3D Secure i.e. that lets you accept secure payments

without losing customers. Even if the customer’s card is not enrolled, the

transaction will be accepted. It’s up to you how you set up the 3D Secure

solution, so you don’t have to worry about a drop in conversion rate.

You can make a special offer for clients using 3D Secure authentication while

paying. It won’t affect your budget that much, and it could help you save on

chargeback fees. What’s important is that payments on your website will stay safe

without hurting your conversion. Smart enough, don’t you think?

Note that conversion rate shouldn’t be the one and only thing you focus

on. It is, of course, the major goal, and it helps you control your business

performance, but there are other factors you should pay attention to as

well.

Choose a solution with PCI compliance level 1, so

you don’t have to bother with it. Lots of payment

gateways take the PCI burden on themselves, so

you can be sure credit card data will never hit your

servers.

When you choose SecurionPay, the data is sent

to our tokenization server and you are provided

with a token representation of the card.

Also, ask your payment provider for customized anti-

fraud tools based on machine learning technology.

These tools let you manage your payments manually

or automatically by pre-selecting parameters.

With a fraud prevention system, you get the

information about a fraudulent transaction before

things go wrong, so it helps you avoid chargebacks.

What to focus on?

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Dividing transaction volume across multiple merchant accounts

With risk diversification, your online payment transactions are split

between multiple bank processors. This means you can work with one

payment gateway and split transactions across a few acquirers.

Our experience shows that dating websites usually have a large amount

of traffic, so risk diversification is a great solution to prevent technical

failures. It can also help with a sudden increase in sales volume by simply

reducing the risk to your business.

All in all, it helps you to efficiently distribute incoming traffic across a few

merchant accounts under one payment gateway account. The main

benefit is effective transaction monitoring, especially when your service

has high number of transactions. This solution is also a way to mitigate the

risk of fraud and reduce chargebacks.

With a backup and multiple bank partners, it is much easier to mitigate

risk. One payment gateway gives you access to multiple acquirers. All

your stats are kept in one place which makes the entire process easier and

more convenient.

Ask your payment provider if they work with

multiple banks, so they can offer you risk

diversification, especially when you have a high

volume of traffic on your website. It will help you

reduce the risk and mitigate payment technical

errors.

At SecurionPay we are constantly expanding our

list of banking partners to maintain website traffic

and split it to make sure there aren’t any technical

problems.

What to focus on?

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Conversion

Running a business - no matter what kind - comes with the chore

of analyzing major metrics and optimizing activities to improve

performance.

For dating websites, one of the most important things is the number

of registered users converted into paid subscribers. At the same time,

converting visitors into members is one of the biggest challenges for

online dating websites.

The online dating industry is growing larger every day, so it’s crucial to

run a business that converts well. That’s why choosing the right payment

provider to help you reach a goal is more important than you might think.

Since the entire payment process has a huge impact on the conversion

rate on your website, it should be as short and simple as possible.

You have to limit the number of fields in a payment form to those that are

really needed. Actually, only three fields are really necessary - the card

number, expiration date and security code (CVV). Requiring the bare

minimum works great on dating websites because most users don’t want

to share their names.

Wondering how to increase your conversion rate in only two weeks?

Grab an eBook

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Simplified user flow is what your customers expect. Just three input

fields, such as card number, CVV and expiration date, are enough to

complete a payment.

Provide users with a solution that lets them pay on your website

with one click and gives them much more than just a payment option

- a convenience of using your dating service. You can be sure they will

love you for that.

Card number

Expiry date

mm / yy 123

1234 1234 1234 1234

CVC

Online payment providers offer a bunch

of additional features to give both you and

your customers’ convenience. You can offer

users a “Remember me” option which lets them

pay with one click, without having to remember

their credit card details. Each time they go to pay,

they will see a checkout with pre-filled data so they

only need to enter in their CVV. They can pay for

virtual kisses, winks, or buy their match a gift.

You can also set up a one-click cross-sales, which

can be set up between MIDs. This will help maximize

customer lifetime value and grow sales. You can use

it to offer customers related products or services

right after they complete the initial transaction.

Using cross-sales can increase your sales by up to

20%, - definitely a game-changer for your business.

What to focus on?

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False declines can hurt your conversion

Speaking of conversion, there is another huge problem for merchants, one

that costs them $8.6 billion (according to Business Insider 2016 estimates).

This is false declines, also known as false positives that could be more

expensive than a fraud itself and could significantly decrease the conversion

rate on dating websites.

In short, false declines are incorrectly rejected valid transactions. This

happens when a user wants to pay on a dating website (for a membership

or for an item) and then the transaction is declined. A bank may

consider a website high-risk with a bigger number of frauds, and decide

it needs to protect the user. The problem is that the issuer makes its own

decision, without even asking the customer for permission.

This, of course, leads to customer frustration and the conversion drops when

the cardholder is not able to use his or her card due to the issuer’s block.

Note that a payment processor, as well as the acquirer, is helpless in this

situation. It’s the bank’s decision so the only solution is to try to clear it up

for a customer (a card owner).

That’s why it’s better to get a dating MCC code (7273) from an acquirer than

being qualified as a high-risk merchant (5967).

There are about 100 decline codes that issuers may use to flag a transaction, so

it’s better to work with a payment processor that knows how to analyze them.

It’s important to know the reason for a decline, because you may not only lose

growth opportunities, but also waste the cost of customer acquisition.

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Subscription payments

There are basically two types of dating sites: one with a subscription

where a user is billed a certain fee every month, and another when you sign

up for free and buy tokens to use each time you want to do a certain action,

such as sending a message to somebody.

Speaking of a subscription model, charging customers at regular intervals

makes it much easier to predict cash flow. It’s up to you what the frequency

of payments will be. It might be monthly, quarterly or a yearly amount. Note

that most mobile dating apps require payments for certain actions instead of

using a pay-over-time model.

You can use recurring payments to make your own scenario. For instance,

think of providing a 2-weeks free membership before charging people

for using your service. It’s a great chance to get more engaged users.

Online dating first-timers need time to decide whether they are looking

for a relationship in the right place.

The easier the dating service is to use, the more of a chance you have to

convert first-timers into experienced users that will stay on your site longer.

It’s good to first determine which type of payments

your company needs. Do you want to only process

recurring payments or also charge the customers

for one-time payments (e.g. for a specific items)?

Make sure a payment platform gives you the

option of setting up a payment scenario tailored to

your service. Ask for the possibility of making an

unlimited number of plans to improve customer

retention, so you may offer a variety of billing cycles

with flexible time periods and multiple pricing levels.

Consider what is more viable for you and create your

own plans.

Compare your needs with the features the payment

provider offers to make sure that you will have

everything you need in the future.

What to focus on?

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Mobile solution

The online dating industry, as well as other internet industries, are going

mobile. With new technology developing, dating business owners are seeing

their traffic move rapidly to mobile because people are more willing to flirt on

the go. Today it’s easier than ever before, because of larger screens on smart

devices and the improved design for mobile users.

Providing a smooth and seamless experience with mobile users’

habits in mind is a must. It should be also related to additional solutions, such

as payments.

It’s not that easy to insert all the payment information on a small screen,

so only dating websites that provide a perfect design and mobile-friendly

solutions will be successful.

Online businesses that accept payments need to understand that providing

seamless, quick and safe mobile payments is absolutely necessary. Let

your customers pay on the go - when commuting, in a queue, or even

during a lunch break.

The checkout process for mobile has to be as simple as possible. Without

redirections, distractions, misleading links, buttons, etc. You should ask only

for essentials and users of your dating website should be able to pay quickly.

Paying for a transaction with a single

tap is what mobile users want.

There’s nothing pleasant in entering

loads of information on a small

screen. Immediacy is one of the

key drivers that attract mobile

customers. So, purchasing needs to

be reduced to one action.

w User-friendly design, including bigger input fields, without any distractions, needles links and other elements.

w One-click payments to pay on the go in seconds. Don’t make love seekers enter in all the card details every time they want to send a wink

w Simplified user flow and payments without redirections. Text input on mobile should be reduced to a minimum. Fewer clicks mean more sales, it’s as simple as that.

w Ease & convenience of payments, anytime and anywhere.

What to focus on? Choose a payment platform with:

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Costs

For most business owners, thier pricing and fee structure is

particularly important. Remember that price is one of the factors when

choosing a payment provider, but not the most important one. You’ll

find a large number of payment platforms with similar fee structures, but

there are also other things you need to consider to achieve your business

objectives.

Making a price your central focus can lead to disappointment, for

instance, when you hit upon hidden conditions. Find a provider

with a transparent pricing structure and remember that nothing with

value is free. Even if a payment gateway seems to be more expensive, it

could make up for it in the end.

Note that many payment processors require a rolling reserve for

so-called high-risk businesses. This is when a payment processor

withhold a percentage of a certain amount from the merchant for a short

time in the event of chargebacks or some unexpected costs. For instance,

SecurionPay offers a rolling reserve from 5 to 10% for six months,

depending on the volume processed.

Make sure that the payment provider you want

to work with won’t require any extra or hidden

fees in future. Always focus on the REAL cost.

What to focus on?

Even if a #paymentgateway seems to be more expensive, it could make up for it in the end. #dating #payments

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A service for users around the word

It’s obvious that love doesn’t recognize borders so it’s not a good idea to

offer your service for just the local market. Our internal research shows

that lots of dating websites and mobile applications are used on a global

scale.

Even if you run a local business, it’s good to have the option of providing

payments in various currencies. For instance, when choosing the

SecurionPay solution, you can add a checkout (simple pop-up with

payments) to your website which is translated into 23 languages

and detects the user’s country automatically. You can also accept

payments in over 160 currencies around the world.

Ask about the number of currencies you can accept

on your website, including the currencies in which

you want to receive your payouts.

Multi-currency payment processing is what every

dating business should consider. Giving users the

option of paying in their local currency can mitigate

the risk of chargebacks.

Customers often look at the amount, but forget

to check the currency displayed. Then, when they

see a different amount on a bank statement (which

was caused by currency conversion) they are

more likely to contact the bank and ask for their

money back as they simply do not recognize the

transaction amount.

What to focus on? Why?

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Support you can count on

Before you choose a payment provider for your dating website, check

their customer support. Do they have a tech team that can give you

additional tips to maximize the platform’s features? Getting real help

from a payment provider will help you to achieve better results and

improve a service from a user perspective.

It’s also important for you to be certain the support team will be very

responsive, especially when problems with payments occur. You can’t

afford a solution that will cause intervals in accepting payments on your

website.

To make sure there are no problems with a certain

payment gateway and their customer service, give

them a try. Choose one that lets you test their

solution before you go live to make sure it will really

meet your needs.

And last but not least: It’s extremely important to

choose a payment provider that will also be your

PAYMENT PARTNER. One that will always have

you covered, whether you run a successful business

or you struggle with some problems.

What to focus on?

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Make a match with the right payment provider

There you have it. Now you know the most common things your dating

website should provide and what to consider when choosing a dating

payment provider. Now it’s your turn. Choose wisely and make a match

with the right payment platform to provide your users with a unique

experience.

For many love seekers, online dating is more convenient and efficient

than trying to find someone in real life. It allows them to sort out the

people they might have an interest in. Giving them a convenient and

user-friendly solution can do wonders for your business. It’s better to

focus on quality over quantity, in every aspect of your business.

Want to know more? See 10 Reasons To Choose SecurionPay As Your

Dating Payment Provider.

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Why SecurionPay?

SecurionPay is a Swiss-based, cross-device payment platform that

provides credit and debit card payments, focused on flexibility and

security. With 15 years’ experience, we specifically tailored our solution

for online dating industry. We know lots about the expectations, needs

and worries you may have. We were even called the company which is

shaking up dating payments.

Want to ask something? Feel free to contact us at

support@securionpay.com or sales@securionpay.com.

Recurring Payments

Mobile payments

No redirections

Cross sales

160 currencies

Better shopping UX

Sandra

Content Marketing Specialist Tech-savvy personality, experience in writing and passion for reading. Staying up to date with the latest social media trends, in love with GIFs.

Lucas

CEO Lucas is a CEO at SecurionPay. FinTech Innovator, Payment Expert, API Fan, Startup Enthusiast & World Traveller.

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