Today’s consumers often use multiple channels to initiate, modify, and complete retail transactions, expecting all previous interactions to be considered at each subsequent step. Seamless omnichannel experience is valued by shoppers of any age, notes Forbes Technology Council. Among Boomers, 78% are frustrated by having to restart their customer journey, while for tech-savvy Millennials and Gen Z this percentage is even higher.
Not all merchants have access to such acquiring services that contribute to a smooth, personalised experience across all channels. What does it take for acquirers to make their offering truly omnichannel? We have collected insights from omnichannel players that use OpenWay’s Way4 acquiring software platform – Nexi, Shift4, Halyk Bank, SmartPay, Banesco, Equity Bank Kenya, and others.
Managing disparate technological platforms undermines an acquirer's ability to consistently launch new services for POS, ecommerce, MOTO, marketplace, and other merchant types. To address this challenge, Nexi, Europe's largest omnichannel acquirer by the number of clients, replaced multiple legacy acquiring systems with a unified Way4 platform. Amidst the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic constraints, the migration was completed in just nine months. Among the most sought-after services, Nexi is now able to offer personalised dynamic pricing across all channels. By now, it has expanded its portfolio from one to two million merchants.
Accommodating emerging payment trends is essential to retaining leadership. For example, Pay By Link and ecommerce QR code checkout are rapidly gaining traction even in late-adopter markets. Integrating these solutions on the same platform alongside existing channels and methods gives acquirers an additional competitive advantage — a lower TCO.
Even in largely unbanked countries, leading payment providers support more than one payment channel. In Vietnam, SmartPay started with C2B payments as transfers within its mobile wallet ecosystem, and later introduced QR code payments for both old and new merchants. Today, SmartPay’s mPOS and e-wallet channels are embraced by over 700,000 SMEs and 40 million consumers.
A similar business model might prove successful in Latin America too. Banesco Panama, the country’s largest POS acquirer, is exploring digital wallet solutions, planning to secure merchant loyalty with a seamless experience across multiple channels.
When it comes to a seamless payment experience, some verticals are more demanding than others. In the hotel industry, an acquiring platform handles multiple T&E rules – online versus on-site payment options, deposit requirements, group rates, and more. These parameters vary not just from one hotel brand to another, but even within the same chain. For example, Hilton's empire includes 8,000 properties, and Shift4 is its trusted acquirer because it provides flexible and personalised omnichannel service.
Shift4 also provides high approval rates for CNP transactions. Its unique methodology involves monitoring of approval rate spikes and drops, analysing rejection patterns per channel, card type, merchant, and other parameters, and making timely adjustments in the processing system.
Sophisticated payment pathways also apply to fleet acquiring. Some drivers pay for fuel directly at the pump and then make POS payments for additional goods inside the station. Others skip the pump payment and use the POS for both fuel and snacks. Furthermore, the pump payment workflows can vary significantly – some stations need the pump screens to promote the store goods and the car wash service, while at fuel-only stations drivers prefer minimal information on the screen.
A crucial functionality in fleet acquiring is capturing line items and conducting real-time Level 2 and 3 data analysis. If drivers aren’t authorised to purchase certain items with the card provided by their fleet company, such transactions should be rejected instantly.
Acquirers use OpenWay’s Way4 platform to collect diverse channel and transaction data and stream it to merchant portals and other systems. Merchants appreciate a real-time comprehensive view of each cardholder’s transaction history across all channels, including transaction amounts and itemised purchases.
Possessing rich payment data also makes the acquirer a valuable participant of ESG projects. For instance, one of our clients implemented contactless payments on railway lines, enabling the passengers to pay transit fares not only on POS terminals but also on turnstiles. In such endeavours, the transaction data captured by the acquiring platform, including details on the channel, location, amount, and frequency per passenger, allows railway companies and public transport authorities to improve their decision-making.
Acquirers can also rely on Way4 to maximise the benefits of GenAI in two key areas. Firstly, our platform can provide real-time, consolidated data from its online front and back office to the integrated GenAI engine. Secondly, when GenAI suggests enhancements to pricing, loyalty programmes, risk assessment, and other acquiring service components, Way4 can leverage its unique flexible parameterisation and implement the new service conditions instantly, across all relevant channels and merchant segments. According to EY analysts, GenAI’s hyper-personalisation of offerings drives customer satisfaction and retention.
Ricardo Contreras Arcos is OpenWay’s Regional Sales Manager for LAC. With 14+ years of diverse experience in business and technology, Ricardo excels in project management, sales, and strong client relations across Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Drawing from his tenure at the Central Bank of Chile and BancoEstado, Ricardo possesses keen insights into the needs of financial institutions in issuing, acquiring, process optimisation, data management, and more.
Sophocles Ioannou is OpenWay’s Regional Director, Business Development Europe and Latin America. He has 25+ years of experience in managing some of the most complex customer solutions for card issuing, merchant acquiring, payment switching, and digital wallets. This involves managing various lines of interest, multiple decision layers and complex commercial models, and making sound decisions in a fast-paced and complex environment.
OpenWay provides the Way4 digital payments software platform for tier-1, mid-size, and startup players – including card issuers, acquirers, processors, telcos, payment switches, fleet companies, BNPL providers, and digital wallet providers. Gartner, Omdia, Juniper, and Aite (now Datos Insights) have ranked OpenWay as the best digital payments software provider and payment solution in the cloud.
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