2020: The Year Of Payments Flexibility

“As companies move into online payments, they are evaluating the cost of payments and the success rates they’re achieving. Others have new demands for immediate diversification of payment gateways or payment types to ensure business continuity.”

Things change, then change some more. That’s how it is with payments tech now, as businesses rapidly digitize and re-digitize. Fortunately, solutions exist. “The global pandemic has accelerated evolution in the payments industry, impacting core trends and creating opportunities for all participants,” said Justin Benson, CEO at Spreedly. “For example, new platforms offering a shortened runway to the customer or easier access to specific goods and services are rapidly becoming necessary. We also see a new generation of innovative startups coming to us, originating from the flux this environment has created.”

The following is an excerpt from How 35 Execs Are Powering The Great Digital Shift Of 2020 (And Beyond), contributed by Justin Benson, CEO at Spreedly.

Payments is central to any business — the true lifeblood of the organization. Today’s market environment highlights the need for organizations to quickly adapt their payments strategies to support changing market conditions and business needs. Companies are building flexibility into their payments strategies by orchestrating services — including leveraging multiple gateways and other payment services – all with an eye on maximizing revenue by improving success rates.

Here are just three of the more important trends developing:

The Changing Customer Experience

Online payments are surging — the month of April alone saw a 23.5 percent increase in online purchasing volume. We know that the customer’s experience with payments is changing. Brands are still tasked with creating an experience that is enjoyable, compelling and keeps people coming back. In many cases, this has shifted to a mostly digital experience. Many customers are having their first exposure to an online payment process with their local grocery store or favorite restaurant for curbside pickup, or are leveraging a totally new platform to access what was once an entirely IRL (in real life) experience. The table stakes is to make these interactions easy, engaging and successful in order to create and maintain loyalty.

A Renewed Focus on Optimization

Alongside the brands that are for the first time venturing into digital payments, there are well-established organizations that now need to step back and re-evaluate their payments strategy in order to make every dollar count. For example, as companies move into online payments, they are evaluating the cost of payments and the success rates they’re achieving. Others have new demands for immediate diversification of payment gateways or payment types to ensure business continuity. Still others are finding themselves with an entirely new and unexpected customer segment that they can serve by connecting to another payment service, such as in a new geographical market. How these companies quickly pivot, limit risk and optimize upside will dictate who survives and thrives in this economy.

Opportunity for Innovation

The global pandemic has accelerated evolution in the payments industry, impacting core trends and creating opportunities for all participants. For example, new platforms offering a shortened runway to the customer or easier access to specific goods and services are rapidly becoming necessary. We also see a new generation of innovative startups coming to us, originating from the flux this environment has created. Many services that grew quickly on the back of mobile technology ran into growth constraints via fast, but inflexible, payment stack creation. Today’s generation of new startups can avoid those pitfalls by future-proofing for rapid expansion from day one, via a payment orchestration layer. Solving this challenge will enable the evolution to occur faster and more efficiently, and will free up resources to focus on customers’ needs.

Read more executives’ insights in How 35 Execs Are Powering The Great Digital Shift Of 2020 (And Beyond).