Keep Recurring Payments Flowing with Account Updater

At AffiniPay for Associations, we are constantly on the lookout for ways we can better support our customers and the associations industry as a whole.

That’s why over the past year we’ve introduced an updated mobile app, a new Bluetooth reader/swiper, and QR code payment functionality.

Now we are excited to announce the launch of our latest feature: Account Updater.

What is Account Updater?

Account Updater is a behind-the-scenes feature that helps prevent failed transactions on recurring payments.

Each week our system submits an electronic request to have Visa and Mastercard review the account information for stored credit cards and cards added to recurring payment profiles that have been successfully charged in the past to determine if the card data is still valid.

The cardholder data from our system is then compared to the account information in Visa and Mastercard’s databases, which is provided by the issuing banks. If the account data in our platform is no longer current (due to things like card expiration, new account numbers, account closures, or cards being reported as lost or stolen), then Account Updater automatically updates the card details using the information from Visa and Mastercard.

In short, Account Updater ensures stored cardholder data is always up-to-date so you don’t have to contend with authorization declines and the resulting fallout.

Why is Account Updater Important?

Manually keeping payment information up to date is cumbersome, time-consuming, and costly.

It requires dedicating several hours each month exclusively to contacting members for updated payment credentials. And depending on the size of your organization, it could be downright impossible to stay on top of changes to account information for every member and supporter.

Outdated card data leads to declined transactions, and declined transactions lead to a host of problems—both for your association and your members. Essentially, when the cardholder data attached to your recurring payment profiles is outdated, it can not only impact a considerable percentage of your annual revenue, it can also negatively affect the member experience.

When authorization for a recurring dues payment fails, it means part of the revenue that your organization was expecting is at least temporarily, if not permanently, lost. In addition, authorization declines can stall revenue from recurring donations.

For your members, a declined dues payment can lead to an inactive membership, which affects their ability to engage with your association, including registering for events, signing up for seminars, and purchasing educational resources. If not resolved quickly, this can lead to an increase in member attrition.

What Can Account Updater Do for My Association?

Account Updater benefits both you and your members. In the most basic sense, Account Updater keeps your revenue flowing and contributes to a positive member experience.

More specifically, it allows you to do the following:

• Boost collection rates by preventing payment authorization failures due to card expiration, account closures, and lost/stolen cards
• Maintain a healthy, reliable cash flow by avoiding delays in recurring dues payments and recurring donations
• Minimize time and costs associated with contacting cardholders to obtain updated payment information (which is especially important during dues renewal season)
• Extend the life of revenue-generating relationships by proactively keeping recurring payment profiles and saved credit card tokens active and up-to-date
• Increase retention rates and reduce involuntary churn by helping members avoid membership lapses resulting from non-payment of dues
• Eliminate (or at least substantially reduce) the need to manually update dozens or hundreds of recurring payment profiles

Account Updater can also increase member satisfaction by ensuring members can continue to reap the benefits of membership without interruption.

It also supports a better member experience by taking the onus of maintaining up-to-date payment information off of your members. Rather than being one more phone call that a member has to make to update their credit card information, your organization can just take care of it.

It’s small things like this that can inspire greater loyalty to your association.

Account Updater is truly a game-changer when it comes to recurring revenue, and we are so excited to be able to offer this feature. Currently, Account Updater applies to cards issued by Visa and Mastercard, with plans to incorporate other card brands like American Express coming soon.