Plaid: 4 out of 5 clients abandon purchases if payment experience is poor

A positive payment experience may be an integral part of how customers view online merchants. 62% of consumers would avoid merchants that offer a ‘poor’ payment experience and 22% would even avoid the merchant even if they needed their goods or services, as per Plaid. Inversely, 6% of UK adults will continue to shop as normal with a company if they experience a poor payment experience with them.

It is not only the quality of the payment experience that matters. 81% of people feel it’s also important for companies to offer a wide variety of payment options, whether that be buy now pay later (BNPL), or digital payments. Payment flexibility is so significant that 22% of people see a lack of choice as a reason to abandon a transaction altogether.

The survey has also found that consumers also increasingly have clear payment preferences. 36% cited methods that required customers to enter in their personal financial information, such as the long card number on a credit or debit card, as a reason they would abandon a purchase from an online business. 30% would abandon the purchase due to overly complex identity checks or verifications.

Younger generations, however, have even stronger views over their preferred payment methods. Of those aged 18 – 34, 32% would change their payment method to avoid having to repeatedly enter personal information, 37% for lower fees, 38% for faster transactions, and 34% for fast refund times.