Ten-year-old Allied Wallet provides online payment processing services to “thousands of globally scattered merchants,” with several offices spread across the globe (Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, e.g.). In May, the company elected to ramp up its growth efforts in Europe by hiring a Visa veteran: Steve Wilson, who worked for the world’s largest payment network for 12 years, ending with a stint as its Vice President and Head of Acceptance and Third Party Risk for Visa Europe.
We spoke to Wilson about the key points of his plan for helping Allied grow its online services in Europe. Among them:
• Key markets? Allied can’t afford not to go after business in major markets like the U.K., Germany and France. But Wilson sees equally interesting opportunities in two other European nations: Poland and Turkey, where merchants and consumers are “internet aware”; the population is diverse; and the existing commerce market is underserved.
• Which clients? Rather than aim to bring offline merchants onto the web, Wilson says Allied will pitch existing online merchants on the premise that its services are superior. To that end, price competitiveness isn’t enough; Wilson says other variables like processing speed and confidence in security and reliability are important as well.
• Why Allied? What drew Wilson to the processing industry, he says, was a broken status quo: “A lot of things were going wrong,” he explains, mostly referring to the way processors were treating their clients. Instead, Wilson’s vision for an ideal processing relationship sounds a lot like something Jack Dorsey might say: the service should be “in the background,” decidedly “unnoticed” by the client.
In addition to those specific comments, we asked Wilson for a larger overview of his new role, the challenges he foresees on the road ahead, and what the future of the industry might look like. His responses are presented below.
Introduce us to Allied Wallet. What role do you play in the payments industry?
Allied Wallet is one of the world’s leading providers of e-commerce payment solutions. We provide secure and innovative payment solutions for thousands of merchants, and over 36 million consumers using our wallet all over the world. We have been established for over seven years, which is a lifetime in this industry, and this gives us a wealth of experience to draw upon. We have established local offices around the world – LA, Arizona, London, Frankfurt, Beijing, Tokyo and Hong Kong – so that we can be part of the communities we work in, and can provide local support and presence to complement our global reach.
Your new role is a leadership position in Europe. What is Allied Wallet doing differently there?
I joined Allied Wallet following a long career (over twelve years) at Visa, in a variety of marketing and risk roles. When I left I was Head of Acceptance and Third Party Risk. I will bring all that experience, and the contacts I have made, to further establish Allied Wallet as a solid, reliable partner in Europe. Allied Wallet prides itself in establishing strong, long-term relationships with other industry leaders to deliver powerful solutions to its end customers. Allied Wallet already has a strong brand presence in the US and Asia, and I will be bringing that awareness over to Europe.
Tell us about the path you took to get to this current position.
The opportunity that Allied Wallet provided me with was too good to miss. I feel that both Allied Wallet, and the payment industry are at a significant tipping point. The continued development of technology and applications relating to payment, from the internet to mobile devices give rise to a wealth of potential. However, the fundamentals of service, quality, speed and reliability remain a constant. Consumers and retailers alike want to be able to navigate this ‘new world’ with confidence, to make the most of the opportunities. Allied Wallet’s track record of service and innovation, our fantastically committed staff and leading edge systems make us uniquely placed to provide solutions which exceed expectations in this evolving environment.
What are the biggest responsibilities, tasks, goals for the new role?
As with any significant new role, the first challenge is to understand the existing culture and direction of the organisation and my colleagues. From there I can begin to bring in my own ideas to complement and enhance our existing offerings. In addition, I will be developing new partner relations and building awareness of Allied Wallet and its payment solutions around Europe, which is likely to involve a lot of travel.
What challenges and obstacles will get in the way?
Aside from the competition, of course, I do not see any limitations, other than those which we define ourselves. We are keen to demonstrate our credentials for long-term, sustainable success. Too many competitors have tried to take the ‘fast-track’ and have short-changed their customers through inadequate and poorly constructed solutions. Allied Wallet has invested significantly in its infrastructure, security (full PCI DSS compliance and fully customisable fraud screening), 24 hour customer support, speedy and smooth integration. All this, combined with our competitive pricing and commitment to quality will give us all the tools we need to delight our customers. Our continued success can only be measured as a reflection of the profitability and happiness of our customers and stakeholders.
How will your niche of payments be different a year from now?
Allied Wallet recognises the importance of new technology, and the opportunities it provides in replicating the advantages of ‘face to face’ relations in the online environment. Whilst continuing to provide leading edge payment solutions for our growing customer base, Allied Wallet will be building the world’s leading online retail community – which will bring together buyers and sellers from all over the globe in a way never seen before. The dynamics of the ‘real world’ – community, opinion sharing, one-to-one service, value – will be replicated and enhanced, bringing a new way of interacting between retailers and potential shoppers on a truly global scale.
Steve Wilson is an industry veteran with over sixteen years of experience in the payment industry. Formerly titled as Vice President of Acquiring and Third Party Risk at Visa, Wilson offers the company a wealth of knowledge in of security, risk, and acquiring. Wilson is committed to growing the Allied Wallet brand and business in Europe.
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