A Payment Is Just a Payment, the Trick Is to Turn It into a Service
There is no shortage of payment platforms that can move money from A to B. Fintech companies are therefore taking simple payments to the next level, by connecting other services to the payment that meet particular needs in the market or make the payment experience even better.
If a payment startup is to survive in such a saturated market, it needs to be able to do more than simply move money from one account to the other. That’s why the newest payment platforms use at least as many resources on the services surrounding the payment as on the payment itself.
These include services such as “buy now, pay later”, payment of bills directly through the accounting program, and scanning of receipts, so that all the information is automatically added to the payment platform. The goal is to connect other services to the payment platform so that it solves other and more tasks than just transferring money.
They say the least sexy thing about a shopping experience is the payment itself. We are of the opinion that, yes, of course, you have to pay, but it is just one part of the process. We want to make the whole process as smooth as possible,
Anders Riis, CEO and founder of the payment platform Swiipe.
In August 2021, Swiipe added a new feature to their payment service: Swiipe Plus-sell. It allows webshop customers to add more items to their order on the ‘Thank you’ confirmation page after they’ve paid.
Imagine, for example, that you’ve ordered some paint but forgotten to buy brushes. With a single click, you can add the forgotten item to your order, and your order will be updated and paid for. No need to place a new order, pay for shipping, and go through the payment process all over again.
“It’s a great customer experience because, as a customer, you have all the possibilities, but we also expect that it will increase the average order size for the webshop,” says Riis.
According to Riis, there are no other services like Swiipe Plus-sell currently available in the market. The company expects that the service will increase order sizes by up to 10 percent.
Risk-free repayments
Mxney is one of the many companies that make use of the payment platforms’ new services every day. Mxney finances growth in small and medium-sized webshops, and gets the loan repaid on an ongoing basis as part of the online store’s turnover – for example as five percent of each order – in a so-called split payment.
Mxney serves as a good example of how fintech companies are using the latest technology to offer financial solutions to smaller companies and startups, who have historically had difficulty obtaining financing via the bank.
Because we build structural security into the webshop’s cash flow, we can give our customers a higher credit rating based on their live transaction and marketing data. In doing this, we also minimise our own credit risk and this enables us to help companies obtain the necessary capital, which is crucial for growth in the early stages,
Morten Askekilde, co-founder of Mxney.
He adds that the alternative for most webshops is either higher interest rates and higher personal risk, or to not get any financing at all. There is often a great deal of risk involved in starting a new business so many entrepreneurs are reluctant to take on additional risk.
Mxney makes use of several payment platforms in order to provide flexibility for their webshop owners. Their main requirement is that the payment platform must be able to process a split payment so that the webshop owner only pays back the loan when it earns money from an order.
“This makes things significantly easier for the webshop owner, as the repayment takes place automatically whenever they make a sale, and the rate at which they pay us back matches the rate at which they generate revenue. We also want to help webshop owners use the capital we provide on growth initiatives such as digital marketing so that they get the most out of the investment,” says Askekilde.
One-click payments
While the surrounding services will separate the payment platforms from their competitors, Riis and the rest of Swiipe have cut the payment experience right down to the bone, as they have made payment possible with just a single click.
“It’s odd that in 2021 we still have a relatively long payment process when it comes to shopping online. It’s the equivalent of buying something in a supermarket and being asked for your address, telephone number, and what the numbers on your credit card are,” says Riis.
