Franchise organization Haco makes payment flows efficient and secure thanks to Online Payment Platform

• Payments from webshop arrive automatically at correct branch
• Haco complies with PSD2 directive with Online Payment Platform payment solution
• Payment terminals used for furniture delivery replaced by iDEAL QR
  
  

With 29 branches, Haco is one of the largest home furnishing stores in the Netherlands. In addition, the family business also has 6 furniture stores in Spain. Haco is organized according to a franchise formula where different family members own one or more branches. With the strong growth in ecommerce, the company was looking for a smart and secure way to set up payments for orders from the webshop so that sales automatically reach the right branch. In addition, it wanted to offer customers a more user-friendly payment option when delivering furniture. For this, Haco enlisted the expertise of Online Payment Platform.    

"It is important to be able to serve customers both in-store and online. Therefore, it was a natural step to also offer our furniture online. However, with this came the challenge of properly handling the payment flows of the orders coming in through this channel for the various branches," says Jan Lancee, director at Haco. "With a regular webshop and physical stores with one owner you simply divide this turnover proportionally, with a franchise organization this is not an option. For example, it makes sense that if customers first come to the store in Zoetermeer and then order online, the turnover from this order is allocated to the Zoetermeer branch. After all, this is where time has been spent with this customer."

PSD2 directive requirements

Customers can choose online which branch they want their orders to be handled by. This branch is also responsible for delivery and assembly. Before Haco chose Online Payment Platform's franchise solution, all online orders and payments came in at one place. The central organization then had to forward these to the branches. This was cumbersome and not desirable given the requirements imposed on payment service providers from the PSD2 directive.  

Online Payment Platform has a special payment solution for franchise organizations and linked it to Haco's furniture order system. When a customer orders from the webshop, the payment is now deposited directly into the bank account of the appropriate franchisee. This not only means that an administrative task is taken away from the head office, but payment services are no longer provided from here. "Because payments for the webshop are set up this way, we save a lot of time on manual tasks and we can be sure that all payments are handled correctly and following the applicable PSD2 guidelines," says Lancee.

Besides handling webshop payments more efficiently, Online Payment Platform's specialists also saw an opportunity to set up payments for furniture delivery in a smarter way. Often a down payment is made in the store and the final installment is paid upon delivery. Because one delivery driver delivers orders for several branches of Haco, he had a separate payment terminal in the truck for each branch. This is cumbersome and there is always the risk of things going wrong. For example, a terminal's battery may not be charged, there may be malfunctions or people may accidentally use the wrong terminal resulting in a manual correction having to be done afterwards.  

iDEAL QR solution for paying on delivery

"The idea of saying goodbye to our payment terminals was initially received with mild criticism. But after a proof of concept from Online Payment Platform, everyone was immediately enthusiastic," said Lancee. By using an iDEAL QR solution, the payment terminals in the trucks are a thing of the past. Customers receive an e-mail from the branch with a payment request before the order is delivered. Another option is to pay on the delivery driver's tablet or phone using an iDEAL QR code. By simply scanning the code, payment is made directly from one's banking app. The delivery driver also sees whether the payment was successful. Setting up payments in this way saves the delivery driver time and Haco costs because no payment terminals need to be maintained or replaced.  

Lancee: "We mainly want to be busy selling furniture and expanding our organization. With the knowledge of Online Payment Platform, all branches are completely unburdened for online payments and payments when delivering our furniture. By removing the bottleneck in these areas, we not only work more efficiently and cheaply, but our customers also benefit from a pleasant payment experience. We are making a difference with innovations like these. Moreover, there is much more overview, which also makes the work for the accountant easier."