We are currently in a phase where we are integrating new payment methods and building our overall future payment portfolio. Kiwi.com is a global travel tech player selling more than 70,000 seats daily, and we strive to offer the best service to our customers along with their preferred payment methods. The most important aspects of the entire process of integrating a new payment method are preparation, testing, and monitoring.
If you are considering a payment method that enjoys overall popularity, always take into account the basis of the data behind its rankings – whether it is success, popularity, or adoption. Consider the benchmarks used, the target markets, business products, and companies. What works for online travel agencies or airlines may not work for retail, as every industry is different when it comes to payments. This can often be deceptive, as companies complain that a particular payment method doesn't perform as well for them online or fails to meet their financial expectations.
From an implementation perspective, testing comes right after a thorough selection of the product (i.e., product and technical discovery) and implies properly displaying the integrated new payment method to customers. The placement and promotion of the payment method on the merchant's checkout page are crucial. We aim to target combinations of customers from different countries, paying in different currencies, and using attributes that will best cater to those who prefer this method, thus ensuring customer satisfaction with the payment process. This shows exactly the necessity of the UX/UI view.
If you fail to display payment methods correctly, customers will be disappointed by the unsuccessful, complicated, or overwhelming selection and payment process. Ultimately, they will abandon the checkout page, and merchants will lose revenue from their sale.
Post-integration monitoring is the final and most important phase. Here, we should monitor the adoption of the payment method, cannibalisation compared to other methods, and the overall success of the implementation. It is particularly useful for future business planning and calculating ROIs to see if we measure it correctly or if our predictability is accurate enough. The customer journey from the initial product search to the final payment step must be as easy as possible in today's ecommerce era.
The younger generation is propelling us forward. In the world of payments, this means innovation, innovation, and more innovation! Everything must be fast, flawless, simple, and incredibly user-friendly. Millennials and Gen Z assist merchants in realising that offering payments only through cards would be backward. As a result, we have heavily integrated new payment types into ecommerce. This trend will continue in the coming years as innovation and technology move in proportion to the demands of young people, as a response to buyers’ requests. Apple Pay and Google Pay, pioneers of convenience, have become widely used, and the younger generation demands even greater comfort, faster transactions, and a completely seamless experience.
The question is how far can we push these payment innovations in the future without exposing ourselves to risks, especially concerning fraud? The fact that the younger generation is driving payment advancements is an excellent challenge for the digital world, but it also brings a higher risk of sensitive payment data misuse. It's a reality that if the younger generation doesn't directly encounter negative experiences, we cannot expect them to be cautious. Their primary demands are speed and simplicity with minimal effort, which places greater emphasis on security. So, as merchants, we should keep up with modernisation while focusing more on payment security.
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