Companies that remain focused on cost reduction and pay little attention to what the consumer asks of them will find it difficult to stay in the competitive race and, consequently, their growth prospects may be compromised. Juan José Llorente, Country Manager of Adyen for Portugal and Spain, explains
Many companies have already realized the importance of optimizing payment processes, especially online, so as not to lose customers”, but “not all companies do it
In his words, “those who are in a more competitive sector or who compete internationally, or even those who are focused on growth, tend to do it especially”, and this is because “they have better understood this need and want the payment flow to be optimized. for the consumer”. On the other hand, he acknowledges that “other companies are still waiting a little longer or are more focused on ways to minimize costs, not realizing that, at this time, it is important to focus on the consumer and on growth.”
Among the relevant aspects for companies that want to position themselves at the forefront of digital payments, the official highlights the importance of optimization considering the various devices used by the consumer, but also navigation (whether on the business or in a native application). ), the inclusion of relevant local payment methods and good risk management, which includes compliance with the European directive that regulates payment services, the Payment Services Directive 2.
understand the consumer
For any business to respond to the needs of its consumers, it must first understand them.
If you are a consumer who uses more than one channel, you have to offer all means of payment on all channels and know that it is always the same consumer, this is essential,” he says, stressing that “the entire industry is to go in that direction, above all because consumers themselves demand it more and more
On the other hand, the Country Manager also considers that “companies are obliged, in some way, to be up to date with regard to the new requirements for means of payment”. In this sense, he highlights that “digital wallets are growing significantly”, to which are added other trends “of which there is also a lot of talk, such as buy now pay later”, a method that allows payment to be divided. online shopping. And considering that
Companies must continue to offer what consumers ask for, so they must trust their partners who can help with innovation.
But there are still other dimensions that companies need to pay attention to if they don’t want to lose the customer at the last click. Juan José Llorente points out that “the final pages are a bit of a time of truth”, that is why “when you have already selected the product you want and placed it in the cart, then it is important that the forms have an adequate size, not be excessively long. In addition, “we see many benefits in not having to create a user profile to make the purchase” and “the options and delivery times are also quite relevant, taking into account the business in question.” For example, for grocery delivery, “it makes a difference if the delivery slots are two hours, a half day or a full day,” he recalls. In relation to payment methods, he points out that the possibility of having card data already registered also has “a significant impact on conversion, especially if a consumer uses more than one device to make purchases.”
An ever-expanding reality
Electronic commerce and digital payments in their various forms, whether through online platforms, digital wallets, cryptocurrencies or the Internet of Things, is an increasingly present reality throughout the world. Portugal does not escape the rule and, according to data from the Marktest E-Commerce Barometer, more than 5.2 million Portuguese have already surrendered to online shopping, which corresponds to around 61% of residents in mainland Portugal. over 15 years of age, a value that grew by 4.2% in relation to 2001.
Similar conclusions can be found in the “Adyen Report on Retail 2021”, according to which, after the pandemic, 44% of the Portuguese preferred to pay by card or digital wallets instead of cash. In this sense, Juan José Llorente highlights that “before Covid there were people who did not dare to make digital payments, but then they were forced to do so”, which ended up contributing to this growth. On the other hand, it also recognizes that “there are sectors that are helping a lot in the spread of digital payments, such as transport, since solutions such as Cabify or Uber have not only changed the way we travel a little, but also to pay for these services, as well as subscriptions to platforms such as Netflix or Spotify”. Other changes that have been observed recently, and that are also contributing to the increase in the number of people using digital payments, are related, for example, to the “rental of cars, bicycles or motorcycles”, so there is no doubt that “we will see more and more services associated with digital payments in the coming years.”
Adyen helps accelerate and innovate
Since the speed of innovation and changes in consumer habits do not slow down, on the contrary, Adyen presents itself as a financial technology platform that helps the world’s leading companies achieve their goals quickly and safely, integrating the payment and attending to customer preferences. It currently has a unified trading platform that is the same for everyone online.
In order to innovate at the speed that consumers -and therefore companies- demand, it is very important to have the technological capacity to innovate quickly”
says the official, explaining that, to achieve this, Adyen “develops its own technology from start to finish, that is, without any dependence on external companies.” “This means that we do not depend on whether or not an external company has priority to develop something,” he justifies, adding that this work is carried out based on feedback from companies, Adyen’s clients, about their real needs.
In addition to the development center located at Adyen’s headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the company now also has development centers in Madrid, Spain, and Chicago, USA. The reason for this expansion is clear: “To provide greater agility and to be closer to the needs of the business, and also to attract talent, that is, developers that allow us to continue growing on the scale that the business asks of us. and what we need.”
For the future, the promise is to continue satisfying the demand. “When a company gives you the answer to many needs, you don’t want to have ten different solutions, since that requires a lot of effort, maintenance, integration, time and knowledge,” he lists, so Adyen’s proposal is “to continue working with these platforms to provide an integrated service and, within that, offer financial services, such as issuing cards, payouts or credits”.
Source: Observadora
