Payment before dispatch
Tell the customer their order is ready to dispatch and take payment there and then.
Overview
Some orders cannot leave the warehouse until they have been paid for — proforma customers, accounts that are over their credit limit, or one-off trade orders. Traditionally that means the order sits on hold while your team phones and emails for payment.
The payment before dispatch message tells the customer their order is picked, packed, and ready to go, and lets them pay on the spot so the order can be released without a single call.
Early access
Automated WhatsApp messaging is launching as an early access programme — see Automated WhatsApp Messaging for how it works and how to register your interest.
What the customer receives
When your system reports that an order is ready to dispatch and payment is required, the customer's opted-in contacts receive a WhatsApp message like this:
The message includes:
- The order number, so the customer knows exactly which order it covers
- The amount due before the order can be dispatched
- A Pay now button that opens a secure Open Banking payment, pre-filled with the exact amount
- A Call us button that puts the customer straight through to your customer service team
How it works
- Your ERP or back-office system triggers the payment before dispatch event through the ProConnect API, passing the order reference, the customer reference, and the amount due.
- ProConnect matches the customer reference to the customer and sends the pre-approved template to their opted-in contacts.
- The customer taps Pay now and pays through their own banking app. The payment is pre-filled with the exact amount, so there is nothing to type and nothing to get wrong.
- Once payment is received, your team can dispatch the order as normal.
If the customer would rather speak to someone first, the Call us button connects them to your customer service team.
Benefits
- Dispatch faster. Orders stop sitting on hold waiting for payment to be chased.
- Protect cash flow. Payment is collected before the goods leave, without slowing the order down.
- Fewer chasing calls. The request goes out the moment the order is ready, automatically.
- Remove payment friction. A few taps in the customer's own banking app, with the exact amount already filled in.