From dull to dazzling: the transformation of the enterprise payment infrastructure

‘Over the last half-decade, modernisation has shifted from being 'nice to have' to becoming mission-critical at the enterprise level.’

The following narrative is based on a fireside chat I had with Eileen at the beginning of this summer in Amsterdam. Some highlights of our conversation include the points made by Eileen about why modernising financial infrastructure at the enterprise level is now imperative, the benefits associated with this modernisation, and how can Chief Digital Officers or CFOs get prepared to spearhead this journey within their enterprise. To make her plea more convincing, Eileen revealed real-world examples of enterprises reinventing themselves and provided insightful advice on how traditional businesses can forge closer customer relationships, cut costs, and boost revenue.

Source: Money 20/20

Without further ado, let's delve into Eileen's story; ignoring her advice could be at your own peril.

Once upon a time … one decade ago, companies running traditional systems ceded control over their pace of innovation. Their ambitions and options were constrained by outdated technology vendors, organisational structures built for an offline world, and uncertainty about the future. Every day, these constraints made transformation a significant risk.

‘Many companies I talk to say things like, 'Oh my goodness, I have 22 PSPs, two ERPs, and three CSMs.' It's really difficult to navigate your way out of that mess’, Eileen explained.

Besides the tech debt within companies, other challenges are related to company culture. Large companies often take time to align culturally and fully commit to a transformational journey. Champions are crucial in these scenarios.

‘When it comes to discussions and engagements, we always look for the sponsor and the champion’ she added.

Digital-native companies and startups have excelled in modelling faster ROI, time to revenue, and time to serve, which can be more complex for big organisations.

Eileen noted, ‘At Stripe, we invest considerable time helping these companies define their goals. We ask questions like, 'What's the value of this proposition? What are your immediate objectives? What metrics define success in the short term—30, 60, 90 days?' This approach ensures clarity and accountability in understanding the investment and ROI required to drive meaningful change.’

As a result, enterprises needed strategic partners to help them leap into the future.

One day … disruption swept across every pocket of the economy, shaking traditional enterprises to their core. Industries from automotive to media or travel faced new competitors leveraging cutting-edge technologies and innovative business models. Car makers contended with Tesla, media giants faced off against Google and Meta, and the travel industry grappled with the likes of Booking.com and Airbnb. Every sector was undergoing systemic shifts, requiring constant reinvention to stay relevant.

Enterprises recognised the urgency to modernise, driven by four primary goals: building closer relationships with their customers, leapfrogging tech innovation to offer the best online and in-person experiences, reducing costs, and growing revenue. The transformation of global enterprises was well underway, with many leaders enthusiastically embracing the internet economy and beginning to build truly digital business models. Forty percent of global CEOs believed their organisations would no longer be economically viable in ten years if they continued their current course. Most of these CEOs felt it was critically important to reinvent their businesses for the future. Investment in digital transformation was on the rise, with global spending reaching nearly USD 3 trillion in 2023.

When comparing these stats with the activity from tech-forward startups, which boast seamless, integrated payment systems, it becomes clear why enterprises must join the modernisation cohort.

The need to modernise became increasingly clear. As enterprises embarked on this journey, they faced a crucial question: How should they prioritise which products, services, or areas to focus on first? The answer depended on where each company was positioned in its digital transformation journey.

Eileen continued her story by sharing real-life examples of how enterprises reinvented themselves:

• Creating new channels via the Internet: Ford is developing a marketplace between customers and dealers to assist with oil changes and part replacements. Similarly, Lotus Cars launched a direct-to-consumer sales strategy across Europe, allowing customers to buy a new Lotus directly through its website.

• Building distribution platforms: MAN Trucks introduced SimplePay, a product that manages payments between MAN truck fleet owners and their service partners. They are also exploring how to turn their trucks into digital wallets, enabling drivers to pay for gas without manual transactions. Le Monde launched its digital newspaper in English-speaking markets for the first time, expanding its reach.

• Exploring new revenue streams: Maersk now offers an intuitive dashboard for customers to pay using previously unavailable methods like credit cards, which helps sell more container space and simplify the global supply chain. La Redoute's transformation allows it to accept diverse payment types, from bank cards to digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay, as well as regional options like Bancontact in Belgium and iDeal in the Netherlands.

• Unifying commerce solutions: In the retail sector, enterprises are unifying their commerce systems. URBN has streamlined all revenue intake points to provide a real-time view of revenue flow. River Island has integrated all online and offline payments, giving it a unified, omnichannel view of its revenue streams, regardless of where the transaction occurred.

Some enterprises have been stuck with outdated systems, but the world is evolving, and companies are becoming more adaptable with their technology stacks. Stripe, for example, has made their payments processing modular, allowing companies to use only the parts that are most beneficial to them. Many enterprise leaders are hesitant to undertake what they perceive as massive transformation projects. However, the traditional approach of lengthy ‘rip and replace’ projects is becoming a thing of the past. Today, companies can achieve significant changes with smaller teams and within shorter timeframes.

As we approached our discussion, I was eager to delve deeper into the conclusion of the story and seek advice on the next steps enterprises should take to leverage their financial infrastructure.

As enterprises continue their modernisation journeys, they seek best practices to guide their efforts. The first piece of advice Eileen shared with them was to engage with ecosystem partners.

‘If you're not in the mix of that conversation, you may not understand how easy some of these things are to turn on. Being in the ecosystem here at Money 2020, we see amazing partners—various types doing various things.’

By inviting innovators to pitch their solutions, businesses can gain insights into new use cases and business models. Starting small with viable pilots allows enterprises to test and scale solutions without significant risk. Securing support from top-level executives ensures that transformation efforts receive the attention and resources needed for success.

Successful modernisation requires a mix of top-down and bottom-up approaches. Innovations can grow organically within companies or be driven by top-level recognition of the financial infrastructure as a growth driver.

Either way, the goal is to leverage the financial infrastructure as an opportunity to gain market share and enhance competitiveness.

About Eileen O'Mara

Eileen O’Mara is chief revenue officer at Stripe, where she is responsible for the go-to-market function. Based in Dublin—Stripe’s dual HQ—Eileen leads a global team that helps millions of companies, from the world’s largest enterprises to the most ambitious startups, use Stripe to accept payments, grow their revenue, and accelerate new business opportunities.

Prior to joining Stripe, Eileen held a number of roles at Salesforce, including International CMO and head of commercial revenue for APAC & EMEA, where she led large teams across diverse markets. Eileen also held senior leadership roles at Oracle.

About Mirela Ciobanu

Mirela Ciobanu is Lead Editor at The Paypers, specialising in the Banking and Fintech domain. With a keen eye for industry trends, she is constantly on the lookout for the latest developments in digital assets, regtech, payment innovation, and fraud prevention. Mirela is particularly passionate about crypto, blockchain, DeFi, and fincrime investigations, and is a strong advocate for online data privacy and protection. As a skilled writer, Mirela strives to deliver accurate and informative insights to her readers, always in pursuit of the most compelling version of the truth. Connect with Mirela on LinkedIn or reach out via email at mirelac@thepaypers.com.