THE NEW ERA OF TRANSACTIONS

Next-level technology is here – the question is, how do acquirers and merchants use it to their advantage? Chris Kronenthal, President

The stars are finally aligning in the payments space. While there was a vision 20 years ago that shoppers would rapidly digitise with the widespread use of the internet via people’s phones, in reality, the infrastructure wasn’t there for mobile payments, nor was the consumer confidence (or perhaps, even interest).

And while there has been global adoption of mobile payments in all forms, from contactless to buy now, pay later (BNPL), since then, some people still have concerns surrounding its ease of use, personalisation, trust and security.

“The key to all of this is to focus on identity and added services,” says Chris Kronenthal, president of FreedomPay.

“And that’s something you build from scratch. Essentially, we’re entering a new era of payments, so working with the right payments system partner ensures you’re on the right track in meeting your customers’ requirements and that you can unleash the power of pay.”

A ‘CHANNEL AND ACQUIRER AGNOSTIC’ PLATFORM

We currently live in a world of seemingly endless options: when it comes to payments, merchants need to give customers the choice and freedom to pay their way, and this means joining forces with an acquirer who can make that possible, says Kronenthal.

“One of the main reasons FreedomPay is the go-to payments partner, covering 84 per cent of the top 20 acquirers worldwide, including Barclays, Citi, FIS, Global Payments, JPMorgan Chase and Lloyds, is due to it being a single, open, fully agnostic and flexible platform. This allows merchants to unify commerce with solutions of their choice, and across channels and regions, even simplifying cross-border transactions,” he adds. Beyond acquiring choice, being channel agnostic has worked in FreedomPay’s favour and it has superseded omnichannel, according to Kronenthal.

“The key to success is in how you provide differentiation. You may be on multiple channels, but are they implemented in the best practices for you and your customers? Partnering with an experienced payments platform can help merchants offer an enhanced customer experience in ways that make the most sense for their business.”

Engaging Customers

Almost every industry has embraced digitisation, and most businesses are no longer strangers to the abundance of new tech we see today. When COVID hit, everything switched to digital, and the question became: how do you engage customers when they’re not coming in-store?

“This is where FreedomPay stepped in with a focus on a consumer-centric platform,” notes Kronenthal. “There is a customer-focussed problem that merchants need to recognise and solve, so it’s all about engaging the shopper and making them feel valued. And if you want to engage a merchant, as an acquirer or payments platform, it’s all about understanding their needs of demand management of the customer.

“Today, shoppers want to be engaged digitally, so merchants who are empowered to select acquirers that can give them what they need to win over their customers in this new space will be the ones who come out on top. This requires a true understanding of what those needs are [on the part of the acquirer], and this often starts with data.”

GETTING (HYPER) PERSONAL

It’s a new era for merchants and shoppers alike. Companies have the customer data, but many don’t necessarily know how to use it to properly engage people. Merchants need to know how to identify their audience, monitor the way they spend, and create a rich, personalised experience when a customer checks out.

By understanding data around behaviour and analytics, businesses can be presented with opportunities that, if utilised in the right way, guarantee a quality, hyper-personalised experience.

“A platform like ours provides the missing link in terms of data collection,” says Kronenthal. “We have the technology to track customers’ identity and help acquirers get the most out of their partnership with merchants, as well as provide comprehensive business insights on shopper purchasing habits, which can be used to personalise loyalty incentives.

“This lends itself to an individualised, seamless and frictionless payments experience for all involved – acquirers, merchants and customers. Payments is just an interesting intersection of where all that data comes to life.”

While data can be used to create a bespoke customer payments journey, they may worry about what happens to their personal details.

“Working with several of the biggest players in the banking industry has two-way benefits,” Kronenthal continues. “They have a high reputation for trust and security, and we’re the first payments platform to offer PCI-validated, fully functional point-to-point encryption (P2PE) technology in North America, so our customers can rest assured that their information is in safe hands.”

OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE

NEW Payments have become a major tech contender. Gone are the days when payments technology was stuck in the ‘back office’ – it’s now front and centre, and part of a modern front-desk experience.

While there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ blueprint for success, secure transactions and effective personalisation require innovative use of commerce technology. Kronenthal says FreedomPay is uniquely positioned to help acquirers and merchants unleash the power of pay to reach what the company calls Next Level Commerce™.

“It’s our customers’ data that matters most, whether that’s with their merchant or their acquirer,” he adds. “FreedomPay isn’t Google or Facebook – we aren’t selling your data – but rather, we’re providing the machinery necessary for businesses to run the programmes they’ve always wanted to run, and to do so in an efficient and compliant way.”

Digital transformation is here, and it’s primed to enhance the customer experience. The question is, how well prepared are you for what the future of payments holds?