FORT WORTH, Texas, June 15, 2022 —
Finding the right payment processor is important to the success of your agency. Even more so, finding a payment processor that is responsive when you need them is mission critical. Jason Bergeron shares his thoughts on the state of service in government payment processing.
- What is a common myth in the payments industry, specifically for government?
A common myth is the lowest cost provider is the best option for government. We find our clients choose our payment solutions because of our award-winning support and our attentive national sales team. Whether our clients need in-person or virtual support, we are there for them.
- What should everyone in the payments industry either stop doing or start doing?
The secret sauce to customer satisfaction is providing both support and communication. I’ve seen existing clients leave their processor because someone else is offering a lower cost, but they come back to us because that lower price actually cost them more considering the lack of customer support or the solution not functioning as described.
- As a veteran of the payments industry, is there anything that surprises you?
The lack of regard for solutions that could serve all departments in government. I keep finding situations where payment vendors focus on the department that has the most bills, which is typically tax or utilities. They deliver a solution that works for that individual department without considering solutions for other “lower-volume” departments. Those other departments then call us to process their payments—we don’t have a minimum processing volume and have solutions to serve multiple departments! Each department is a valued client and are all equally important to us.
- What do you think are the top pain points for payments in government?
Support, communication and cost. I’ve heard about a lot of rate increases from competitors recently. Unfortunately, customers aren’t being notified or the paper notices are being lost or misdirected and their processors aren’t following up to confirm receipt or explain the reason for the change.
I would advise those passing a fee to the payer to keep an eye on what’s actually being charged, because it may have changed. For those absorbing their payment processing fees, keep an eye on your merchant statements.
And if you need help reading your statement, contact us. We’re always available to assist and to provide a side-by-side comparison for agencies, even if they don’t choose us as their payment provider.
- What’s different about the Certified Payments approach to sales?
We take a consultative approach to sales. We ask questions to ensure we know what our clients are receiving, and to learn what they want and need. We discuss the software vendors currently in place, how agencies are working with them, and the solutions Certified Payments can offer that provide a superior user experience. With more than 3,500 clients across the U.S., we’ve created project plans and completed integrations for clients in the smallest villages to those in the largest counties, designed solutions for single departments to multiple offices, and executed implementations to fulfill the simplest of needs to the extremely complex implementations.
- Providing superior service is a core value at Certified Payments. How is that translated in the sales process?
We communicate all of the ways that we work to serve our clients, from virtual, email, chat and in-person support options to our highly trained customer service team that’s available 24-7-365 to dedicated account representatives. Our commitment to service doesn’t end when a client signs on the dotted line; that marks the beginning of a shared, long-term and successful partnership. Certified Payments has won numerous awards for our customer service—that tells me we’re doing something right.
- Share a real-life example when our superior service stood out and made a difference for a customer.
Recently, a client was having issues reconciling accounts from previous vendor and it had been weeks with no return phone call. When I asked if they had a support contact, they said the vendor recently had a lot of turnover and they didn’t know their new contact. When I then asked if they had a sales representative since their customer service wasn’t immediately available, they said they hadn’t seen the sales rep since the partnership began years ago. That’s when I described all of the ways our clients can reach us and the lengths that we go to ensure customer satisfaction. But talk is cheap. I demonstrated this commitment to service by visiting them multiple times in person, listening to their challenges and discussing our solutions. They made the switch to Certified Payments. We have a national sales team that can provide local support; that’s something you don’t see very often these days, but it really makes all the difference for our clients.
- What are qualities of a payment provider that should be the top of the list for the public sector?
Security. Experience. Trust. Support. Service. Communication. Cost.
- Why do prospects choose Certified Payments over the competition?
Security. Experience. Trust. Support. Service. Communication. Cost.
Jason Bergeron is our Director of Payment Innovation in the northeastern states. His 15-plus years of experience in sales, product management and development, coupled with his passion for helping others, makes Jason an asset to both Certified Payments and the agencies he serves.
For more information about Certified Payments’ solutions for Tax and Treasury, please reach out to sales@certifiedpayments.net.
