When you hear the term ‘payments modernization,’ you are also most likely hearing the term ‘integrated payments.’ So, what does integrated payments mean?
What are integrated payments?
Integrated payments refer to a system in which payment processing is built directly into the business software a company already uses—such as an ERP, accounting system, customer relationship management (CRM) system, or point-of-sale (POS) platform. Rather than operating as a separate tool, the means to accept payments is embedded within the workflow, allowing users to complete transactions without switching between systems.
Unlike traditional payment methods that require manual data entry or reconciliation across disconnected platforms, integrated payments allow critical systems to work together. This eliminates duplicate steps and reduces the need for businesses to stitch together products from multiple vendors.
These seamless experiences are enabled through integrated payment solutions, which use APIs or SDKs to establish two-way communication between the software and the payment processor. This allows for real-time payment initiation, authorization, and confirmation within a single interface.
Integrated solutions for payments are widely adopted in industries like retail, healthcare, legal, and field services—anywhere payments need to happen quickly and smoothly inside existing business ecosystems. Because the user doesn’t have to switch between platforms during a transaction, these integrated systems help enhance the customer experience. They also boost operational efficiency by reducing errors, speeding up reconciliation, and minimizing manual tasks.
This kind of system-level integration also supports business growth, making it easier to scale operations, automate workflows, and adapt to customer expectations for fast, digital-first service. It also gives businesses greater visibility into payment data and customer behavior—insights that can inform financial planning, marketing, and customer engagement strategies.
As more companies adopt cloud-based and SaaS platforms, integrated payments have become a standard—not a nice-to-have—for delivering secure, seamless, and scalable payment experiences.
Ways integrated payments benefit your business
Integrated payment systems offer a range of benefits that improve operational efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance the overall customer experience. Here’s how businesses benefit from adopting modern payment integration strategies:
Reduce manual work and lower operational costs
Integrated payment systems eliminate the need for manual data entry by automatically syncing transaction data with your ERP, CRM, or accounting software. Since all information is updated automatically, you reduce instances of human error. This automation streamlines reconciliation and saves time for finance and operations teams.
Integrating your payment gateway into core business systems also minimizes reliance on multiple tools. That, in turn, helps lower administrative overhead and the total cost of ownership.
Accelerate payment processing and cash flow
At the point of sale, integrated solutions can instantly process payments while updating inventory, receipts, and customer records in real time. Automated posting of credit card and ACH transactions improves cash flow by giving businesses faster access to funds, especially valuable for high-volume or recurring billing environments.
Improve the customer experience across channels
A seamless and consistent payment experience—whether in-store, online, or mobile—reduces friction and enables more personalized service. Customers can complete a transaction more quickly. Meanwhile, the staff benefits from instant access to the sale details and customer history, improving service speed and satisfaction.
Secure sensitive personal information of your customers
An integrated payment platform is integrated into the website or mobile app, which means any card payment or customer information it collects stays within that environment. It’s stored in one place that can be secured and isn’t sent to third parties. Since everything stays within one system, and more importantly, isn’t moved through various providers, it’s easier to protect. This is especially important because 75% of customers say they won’t do business with a company that doesn’t protect their data.
Gain visibility and control over payment information
Having integrated payments means open communication between all of your systems. Consolidating payment information in one system allows marketing, customer service, and finance teams to access up-to-date transaction data. This improves financial reporting, supports customer insight analysis, simplifies tax preparation, and enhances internal decision-making across departments.
The principle behind what makes integrated payments successful is similar to the advantages of open APIs. Open APIs make payment modernization possible with legacy infrastructure, as new payment products can easily ‘talk’ to traditional core and online banking systems.
This visibility also translates into more accurate information about the customers’ buying habits. This data can be used to refine marketing strategies to improve product or service offerings and improve sales.
Maintain flexibility with modern technology and multiple providers
Using an integrated solution lets businesses adopt modern payment technology, such as real-time payments or API-based services, without replacing legacy systems. It also supports businesses working with multiple payment providers, creating a unified view of all transactions across channels and payment methods for improved transparency and easier financial management.
How integrated payment systems work
Integrated payment systems rely on APIs or SDKs to establish real-time communication between a business’s core software and an integrated payment processor.
When a customer initiates a transaction, the system automatically:
- Collects sensitive payment information securely within the platform (no need to redirect to an external payment page)
- Routes the transaction through a connected hosted payment gateway or payment service
- Authorizes and completes the payment in real time
- Instantly updates relevant systems—like inventory, accounting, or billing
- Logs the transaction data for reporting, analysis, and reconciliation
This streamlined flow eliminates the need for separate payment tools or manual processes across multiple systems. By integrating your payment processing into the applications you already use, businesses can significantly reduce data entry and payment reconciliation work, while gaining faster, more secure control over transactions.
Integrated payment systems can help businesses process payments across a variety of payment methods, including credit or debit cards, ACH, and digital wallets, all within a single interface. They also support advanced use cases like recurring payments and real-time reporting at the time of the transaction.
Use case: How healthcare merchants use integrated payment solutions to improve service
In 2021, Sphere announced the launch of a new iteration of its Health iPASS platform, which integrates patient intake and engagement software with its payment acceptance functionality and security. The combined system has an array of services, allowing patients to check in, make payments, edit their insurance, etc. By integrating all of the systems, hospitals can accelerate payments and provide better service.
Today, the Health iPASS platform remains successful and has resulted in multiple partnerships with leading healthcare providers, including Azalea Health, DJO, and many others.
Integrated payment processing with Alacriti
Many financial institutions do not have the capability to have 24x7x365 availability, which is required by real-time payments. The advantages of real-time payments are vast to both the institution and its account holders. However, they can’t implement real-time payments without help. Alacriti, for example, can connect these financial institutions with The Clearing House RTP® network, making it possible for them to offer real-time payments even though their core processor does not have 24x7x365 availability.
Learn more about payments terms in our Microservices and API Architecture blog series.
Alacriti’s centralized payment platform, Orbipay Payments Hub, provides innovation opportunities and the ability to make smart routing decisions at the financial institution to meet their individual needs. Financial institutions can take full ownership of their payments and control their evolution with TCH’s RTP® network, the FedNow® Service, Zelle®, Fedwire, ACH, and Visa Direct, all on one cloud-based platform. To speak with an Alacriti payments expert, please contact us at (908) 791-2916 or info@alacriti.com.
