Irina Ionescu, Senior Editor at The Paypers, uncovers the most important findings from Ecommpay’s recent whitepaper, ‘Making payments a profit centre’, and explains how businesses can unlock the full potential of payments.
As ecommerce businesses struggle with tight margins, an increasingly diverse retail landscape, and economic transformation, payments should be seen as a driver of profit and as central to the customer experience. Ecommpay recently launched a new white paper, ‘Making payments a profit centre: Why online businesses should tap into the profit potential of payments’, which shows direct findings from e-commerce retailers on how to transform internal attitudes to payments to drive profitability and enhance customer experiences. Below you can find the key takeaways from this report:
The transformation of payments
The global economy is experiencing a significant transformation, with ecommerce projected to exceed USD 1 trillion in Europe by 2030, mainly driven by rapid growth in cross-border transactions.
At the same time, online merchants of all sizes must adapt to evolving payment methods, including digital wallets and alternative payment methods such as Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), to remain competitive. Agentic commerce, which will see AI agents find the best deal for shoppers online, execute transactions on their behalf, or compare between hundreds of products instantly, could account for 17% of all ecommerce transactions by 2035.
Finally, consumers expect seamless payment experiences, with 79% of them willing to switch merchants if dissatisfied with online shopping, which adds extra pressure on businesses to enhance their customer experience and retain loyal customers.
Repositioning payments for profitability
According to comments from Ecommpay’s interviewees, payments should be viewed as a profit driver rather than a cost centre. Active participants from C-suite executives is deemed crucial for this shift, facilitating internal support and strategic direction. Successful companies already establish dedicated payments teams that encompass both B2B and retail transactions, thus boosting their visibility and importance within the organisation.
Metrics such as completed payment rates and customer satisfaction related to payment experiences are essential for demonstrating the value of the payments function to the broader business. Simultaneously, tracking the overall performance of payments can also help organisations identify the areas where changes in approach will make a difference, and will reshape how the payments process is perceived internally.
Strategic initiatives and quick wins
To achieve quick wins, companies can optimise payment contracts and implement partnerships with service providers to negotiate better rates and enhance service offerings.
Strategic initiatives may include investing in technology for revenue recovery, automating back-office functions, and optimising transaction routing for efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
According to a 2024 study from Blackhawk Networks cited in Ecommpay’s white paper, outsourcing certain payment functions leads to greater efficiency and cost reduction, with companies saving 12.5% on account-to-account transactions through outsourcing. One of Ecommpay’s merchant interviewees, apparel retailer Finisterre, chose to expand the range of payment options and adopt an omnichannel approach, which proved the right decision for their business model. Thus, partnering with external providers for the best solutions at lower or negotiable costs can optimise business performance in areas such as fraud reduction and currency conversion, and should be considered by merchants of all sizes.
Building a high-performing payments team
As the digital revolution continues and the payments landscape becomes more diverse, the interviewed executives present their advice for teams looking to transform their payments into profit centres:
- Payments leaders should focus on reducing costs and demonstrating value before pursuing innovation. Understanding both internal and external audiences is critical for aligning payment strategies with business goals.
- Leveraging data to train advanced models for fraud detection and dispute resolution can yield significant performance improvements. According to the report, LLMs used in fighting fraud can reduce false positive results and speed up fraud identification by 60%.
- Identifying key performance metrics and continuously tracking them will help solidify the payments function's role as a core driver of profitability and customer satisfaction.
By implementing these strategies, businesses can transform their payments function into a vital component of their growth and competitive advantage.
Want to read more? Make sure to download Ecommpay’s full report, ‘Making payments a profit centre’.
About the author
Irina is a Senior Editor at The Paypers, specialising in fraud and online payments. Leveraging her Ph. D. in Economics and a strong economic academic background, she constantly observes new developments in tech, innovation, and regulation, educating the audience about trends in fraud prevention, chargebacks, scams, social engineering, digital identity, GenAI, and ecommerce. You can reach out to her via LinkedIn or email at irina@thepaypers.com.
About Ecommpay
Ecommpay is an inclusive global payments platform designed to help businesses grow. We make online payments as smooth as possible. We’re more than just a provider, we’re business partners dedicated to keeping our clients’ payments flowing, helping them make the most out of every transaction. We offer global and local acquiring, over 180 payment methods, payments processing and orchestration on one platform and via a single API.
