Aurora Payments

Payment Processing When and Where You Need It

The Opportunity

Finding Comprehensive Payment Solutions In an Increasingly Cashless World

Since 2018, credit and debit cards have been the most prominent form of payment for retailers across the globe. The Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically accelerated that trend, placing electronic payments and point-of-sale systems (POS) at the heart of the global retail economy.

A recent report found that, since the onset of the global pandemic, cashless payments have more than doubled in the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK. In the UK specifically, cash was used in only 17% of transactions in 2020 (down from 45% the previous year), while researchers from securities firm Deloitte found that more than half of consumers surveyed had reduced or entirely eliminated payments using physical tender in 2021.

This growing reliance upon credit, charge, and debit cards has put payment processors at the forefront of modern retail, with ResearchAndMarkets estimating that the payment processing market could exceed a valuation of $147 billion by 2027. As such, there is growing demand for simple custom payment solutions that can cover hardware and software needs, and empower retailers to make the most of their operations with an eye toward scaling in the future.

“When dealing with people’s money, security is a must. Soracom provides that extra layer of security we need to keep our customers’ data from falling into the wrong hands.”

Derek Maxwell Aurora Payments

The Solution

Making Payment Processing More Accessible

The evolution of the payment processing industry is what drives Aurora Payments to continually innovate and expand its offerings to address the needs of its customers. The company offers a broad range of hardware and software solutions designed to help retail outlets operate at peak efficiency or to integrate easily with a vendor’s existing equipment.

Solutions can range from something as simple as a credit card terminal or POS system to more backend services like eCommerce and online payment capabilities as well as ACH and check processing.

Recent years have seen the company focus on strategic partnerships with developers to create vertical-specific solutions that address the challenges unique to a particular business or industry. This involves designing solutions that work with industry professionals that can take advantage of their existing infrastructure via BYOD, seamless integration of payments technologies, and support staffing to help manage solution setup and maintenance.

“Our aim is to be best-in-class for vertical markets, bringing to them a solution that actually will help them run their business and do more than just payments,” said Derek Maxwell, CTO of Aurora Payments. “Where it used to be credit card terminals that did payments, now the expectation of those merchants who run those businesses is that you’re going to bring to them a more complete solution.”

Why Soracom

Secure Connectivity that Scales

For a company with an eye on partnerships, Aurora Payments was very particular when selecting a connectivity provider. Payment solutions require strong, consistent connection to the internet, real-time data visualization, and secure pathways for the data to travel – qualifications that made Soracom a natural fit.

In addition to the strong suite of connectivity options, which allow for consistent connections nearly anywhere in the world, Soracom’s Virtual Private Gateway (VPG) helps ensure the security demanded by the kinds of sensitive data that payment solutions require. Because of Soracom’s unique architecture, Aurora Payments can leverage the Soracom VPG to take control of the communication channel between devices in the field and the backend.

To this end, Aurora Payments has configured Soracom VPG with two fixed global IP addresses, which allows the upstream payment processors to more easily verify the source of any incoming traffic since the Aurora Payments traffic will only ever originate from one of these two defined IP addresses. The upstream payment processor adds these two IP addresses to their allowed sources of data and denies all other traffic ensuring the authenticity of the traffic.

“When dealing with people’s money, security is a must,” said Maxwell. “Soracom provides that extra layer of security we need to keep our customers’ data from falling into the wrong hands.”

The Outcome

A Full-Service Solution for Retail Outlets

Aurora Payments’ reliability and record of strong service have seen the organization grow exponentially over the years. The company currently serves more than 25,000 merchants throughout the United States, processing an estimated $12 billion in transactions each year. The company looks forward to embracing new verticals and new merchants, bringing comprehensive payment solutions to a broader spectrum of retailers looking to keep up with the modern workplace.