Shoppers

Understand the key differences between merchant customers and Safepay users

Types of shoppers

In Safepay, there are two types of shoppers: those with a Safepay account and those with a merchant account. Understanding the differences between these two types of shoppers is crucial for managing user experiences and payment processes effectively.

Shoppers with a Safepay Account

Shoppers with a Safepay account are managed by Safepay. These users benefit from the ability to tokenize their payment method details, allowing for faster checkouts across all merchants that use Safepay. Here's how it works:

A shopper creates a Safepay account and saves their payment methods with a merchant.
The saved payment methods are securely tokenized by Safepay.
When the shopper visits a different merchant that uses Safepay, they can log in with the same Safepay credentials.
The shopper can complete their purchase using the saved payment method details, ensuring a seamless and quick checkout experience.

This cross-merchant functionality enhances convenience for shoppers, making it easier for them to make purchases without re-entering payment details.

Shoppers with a Merchant Account

Shoppers with a merchant account, known as customers, are managed by the merchant themselves. While these customers can also tokenize their payment methods, the tokens are restricted to the merchant that issued them. Key points include:

Customers create accounts directly with the merchant.
Payment methods are tokenized, but the tokens cannot be used across different merchants.
Merchants are responsible for handling customer lifecycle events, such as account creation, updates, and deletions.
Merchants also manage payment method lifecycle events, ensuring that payment details are up-to-date and secure.

This approach gives merchants greater control over their customer data and interactions but requires additional management of customer and payment method lifecycles.

Key Differences

Feature	Shoppers with Safepay Account	Shoppers with Merchant Account
Managed by	Safepay	Merchant
Tokenization	Yes	Yes
Cross-Merchant Token Use	Yes	No
Account Creation	With Safepay	With Merchant
Payment Method Management	Safepay	Merchant
Lifecycle Event Handling	Managed by Safepay	Managed by Merchant
Checkout Speed	Faster due to token reuse across merchants	Merchant-specific tokens only

Understanding these two types of shoppers helps in designing better integration and user experiences within the Safepay ecosystem.