Spotify to Use Checkout.com’s Global Acquiring Services

Spotify will use Checkout.com’s global acquiring services to facilitate payments for the users of its audio streaming subscription service.

The companies’ new partnership will see Spotify use Checkout.com’s Intelligent Acceptance, which routes transactions, reduces failures and improves performance, along with its Network Tokens and Authentication services, which provide security and handle recurring payments, according to a Tuesday (Feb. 3) press release.

Checkout.com’s local presence and global expertise will optimize the payment experience for Spotify’s audience across more than 180 countries, including 700 million monthly active users and 280 million paying subscribers, according to the release.

“Our aim is to deliver a seamless, simple and safe payment experience so that our users can focus on enjoying the music, podcasts and audiobooks they find on Spotify,” Sandra Alzetta, vice president, global head of payments and customer service at Spotify, said of the partnership.

Payments are increasingly a competitive differentiator, Alzetta told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster in an interview posted in September.

“Our philosophy is very much to start with user choice,” Alzetta said. “We want to make sure that our users are able to pay in the way that feels natural to them and that best meets their needs.”

As Spotify expands beyond music into audiobooks, podcasts and merchandise, the role of payments becomes more complex because each new vertical introduces new expectations, Alzetta said.

Checkout.com CEO and founder Guillaume Pousaz said in the Tuesday press release that payments play a critical role in delivering the digital experience demanded by creators and fans.

“By combining our global acquiring network with Intelligent Acceptance — which performs 87 million real-time optimizations daily — we’re helping maximize acceptance rates, reduce costs and deliver the best possible payment experience for Spotify’s global audience, today and in the future.”

In another recent move, Checkout.com said in January that it secured approval for a Georgia bank charter that will allow the company to accelerate its plans to operate as its own acquirer in the United States market. Direct U.S. card network integration will provide Checkout.com with greater control, enhancing innovation, acceptance rates and performance, the company said at the time.