The competitive value of investing in payment portals

Having a payment portal that links to your legal technology platform is the big ticket to competitiveness, according to Accesspoint Media Services’ managing director, Scott Brown.

Acting fast, thinking outside of the box and striving to achieve a client-centric presence is pivotal if you want your firm to thrive under the conditions that have defined the past few years.

Firms that have made the most out of remote working have done so by adapting to changes and delivering flexible legal services. It was reported last year that firms are 37% more likely to be using online payment solutions, 41% more likely to use client portals, and 46% more likely to use client intake and client relationship management (CRM) solutions.

Perhaps one of the ways in which your firm can keep up with its competitors is to build a resourceful nest of integrations that can, in turn, provide a culture of effective client engagement, as well as delivering fruitful new business opportunities for your firm. As more firms start to develop this approach, it’s more important than ever to harness this opportunity.

Look closely at payment methods, as it is an area that could be transformed into an efficiency maximising machine for your firm, and is now quickly becoming a must have amongst many. It’s time to start thinking about the future and embrace the many advantages that a payment portal can offer your firm and your clients.

Today, your firm can benefit from investing in a standalone payment portal that allows your firm to connect with a wide range of commonly used payment gateways such as Barclaycard, Stripe and WorldPay  – making transactions across the world convenient for everyone. Your firm can also go one step further and have a sleek and efficient payment portal that is fully integrated into a much-needed, secure, cloud based legal platform, where the possibilities become endless.

One of the problems many firms face is ease and transparency of client payments, which is why a payment portal is perfect for any firm looking to stay organised. Consider having the payment portal now linked to a smart legal platform where clients could view a list of their active matters and any associated unpaid bills, and can also securely pay their balance and pay money on account if they need to. It won’t end there, as the platform could also potentially facilitate an administration zone to create extensive financial reports of all transactions made, and guarantee maximum efficiency when it comes to billing and understanding financial case reports – as a wealth of valuable data opens up to your firm on income and expenses, all recorded within your PMS.

In addition to adapting to the times by ensuring a streamlined process for clients, one of the biggest benefits to consider when looking at a payment portal is that it is linked within a secure, cloud based legal platform and can provide your firm with new and much better levels of security measures. As we all know, hackers and possible breaches will always be watching over the workplace if there are paper trails that can be interrogated by anyone. Digitalising the process is by far the best way to reduce the likelihood of client details entering the wrong hands and possibly causing costly or even irreversible data breaches within your firm or at your client’s expense. The need for a high level of security when handling sensitive client payment information is essential, and it is something clients look for when choosing a service.

Payment portals that are worth looking into will use secure payment gateways to provide you with a PCI-compliant experience that works across all browsers and devices, as well as ensuring the payment details of the transaction are logged safely into the legal platform where only the client themselves and designated solicitors can get hold of it. Moreover, no payment card details should remain on the portal, sensitive data should be tokenised and integrated directly into the payment provider without passing through your servers, so you remain PCI-DSS compliant at all times.

Perhaps now is the time to delve deeper into how a payment portal can support the ongoing growth of your firm. With it on your side, especially as legal platforms are on the rise, maximising it’s potential could easily take your firm up the client rankings.