Winning Checkout Game Requires Demystifying Payments Orchestration, Says Spreedly CEO

The world of payment services is constantly evolving and can be frustrating to navigate.

That’s why payments orchestration is so important.

And for those businesses that find themselves wondering just what exactly payments orchestration is or entails — chances are they might be one of the firms that could use it.

Even “savvy, seasoned professionals” find it challenging to fully grasp the concept, Justin Benson, CEO at payments orchestration platform Spreedly, told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster.

The confusion arises from conflicting messages and misperceptions, as well as the quickly evolving definition of the solution, which provides a unified software layer that acts as an end-to-end payment management process.

Payments orchestration as a solution is not as familiar, or as well-suited to the 15-second elevator pitch as other digital technologies, Benson explained.

“If you’re going out to do a new [enterprise resource planning (ERP)] system or a new [customer relationship management (CRM)] system or even in our space, a new fraud solution, [they come with] a pretty well-defined process and problems,” he said. “People have bought those solutions before, so they know the right questions to ask.”

Benson emphasized that the “newness of orchestration means there’s not really a roadmap” that decision-makers have to educate other executives to think about both framing up the problem and defining the return on investment.

“It’s in that newness where a lot of the questions are,” he added.

Optimizing the Payment Experience

Payments orchestration offers a holistic approach to payments processes, taking into account the entire payment ecosystem and providing a comprehensive solution.

Payments orchestration can help merchants enter new markets quickly, increase payments flexibility, and drive more digital revenue. It can help onboard their merchant customers faster, expand into new markets quickly and offer revenue-generating, value-added payments services to their merchant customers.

By offering the right payment options at the time of checkout, businesses can significantly increase customer conversion and renewal rates, ultimately leading to higher success in a competitive market.

Benson explained that payment orchestration is a horizontal solution that involves multiple providers, and its complexity can cause firms to mistake it for other processes like optimization, which focuses on improvements within existing stacks.

“I think a lot of the questions are: ‘Is that really just an issue you’re having with your [payment service provider (PSP)]?’” he said. “And as it relates to [artificial intelligence (AI)], reporting and dashboards: ‘Is that really an orchestration question, or is that something that’s more along the lines of everyone wanting to collect better data and present data in a better way?’”

“That’s why card present, card not present, optimization versus orchestration, and some of these questions around reporting and tracking [are the bigger education and areas of opportunity for merchants],” Benson added.

Merchants Need Smooth Checkouts

To successfully sell payments orchestration to an enterprise, Benson emphasized the need for a tactical approach that focuses on education, framing the problem, and highlighting the strategic benefits — one of which is the fact that merchants need smooth checkouts to compete and win share in today’s landscape.

More than three-quarters of consumers in a PYMNTS study admitted that a satisfying checkout experience influences their decision of whether to buy again from a given merchant, and a payments orchestration layer capable of routing diverse payments to the correct mix of payment gateways and other tools is essential to ensuring a smooth, payment-agnostic checkout experience.

Efficient routing of transactions is a crucial factor, and by focusing on infrastructure payment methods, runtime transactions and business rules/commercials with partners, businesses can ensure that their transactions are processed seamlessly, increasing the chances of success and customer satisfaction.

Building trust and confidence with merchants is also crucial in the sales process. Benson emphasized the need to sell the right features and benefits that align with their needs and preferences. Things like payments, orchestrating credit card payments, alternative payment methods (APMs), failover redundancy, and integration to fraud systems are all areas where payments orchestration can help.

“That’s the fun part — rolling up your sleeves and getting involved with a merchant on an issue,” Benson said.

As for what the Spreedly CEO is training his eye on for the future?

“It’s the big macro picture of globalization — and what that means for payments,” he said.

Benson explained that as globalization continues, there is the danger of payment fragmentation, “and fragmentation leads to increased costs … How do we integrate payments so they work? There’s a lot of busy work to go to ensuring that plumbing works.”