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It’s a year past the start of the pandemic and its impact is still being felt. Pandemic precautions have changed the way we all work, learn, and socialize. One of the biggest changes to society? The way people spend money, and the way businesses accept it.

Over the past year, many businesses and nonprofits saw a decrease in revenue – especially those who didn’t have online payments or donations set up. Even though many businesses were hurting, people still spent money, but the way they went about it changed.

Customers have begun to expect a new level of convenience when it comes to making payments. Whether transactions take place in person or online, they need to be quick, seamless, and contactless. And although businesses are starting to open up and more people begin to revisit their favorite restaurants and stores, things have changed – perhaps permanently.

People are more comfortable buying online (think about how much you’ve spent on delivery since 2020). Everything from general shopping and donations, to food ordering and grocery pickup – more and more payments are online. A method of spending that was already popular is gaining traction like never before. That should show businesses and nonprofits the importance of having a reliable way to process payments online.

While consumers are all about speed and convenience, they also want to know their payment information is safe. If you’re a business owner or nonprofit leader, you’ll want to make sure any third-party processors or in-house systems offer things like:

TSL protocols that increase the security and credibility of your website.
PCI compliance, which is required by credit card companies to protect online payments.
Tokenization and encryption, two behind-the-scenes methods of protecting customer information.

The pandemic has changed expectations in the payments industry – if your business or nonprofit still needs to meet them, we’re happy to help. With our powerful (and simple to use) payment processing solutions, you’ll be able to meet your consumers/donors where they are spending the most time – online.

AUTHOR

Angela Nielsen

Manager of Product Development, Nelnet Payment Services

Angela is an Accredited ACH Professional, Accredited Payments Risk Professional, and a Certified Payments Professional, with over a decade of experience serving the education and nonprofit space. For Nelnet, she works to define and realize the product roadmap, focusing on the development of integrated payment and billing systems serving customers in the US and internationally. She is an active member of the NACHA Payments Innovation Alliance, a participant in the EPCOR Third Party Sender Committee, and has a passion for powering the payments that help organizations serve their mission. Based in Omaha, she enjoys spending free time with family and friends, cooking with her husband, and spoiling their pets.