Customers pay for goods or services via the channel of their choice. Transaction Junction’s omnichannel payment platform enables this, while affording retailers a holistic view of their clients.
The convergence of the physical and digital worlds means that geographic monopoly is playing an increasingly smaller role in selling products and services. Moreover, competing on price alone is no longer an effective way to succeed in business, which is why customer experience (CX) has become increasingly important.
Payment is a crucial part of CX, but with the introduction of multiple eCommerce channels, the advancement of payment technologies and the abundance of digital customer engagements, it is even more important now than ever.
There is a reason why eCommerce sites now take cash at distribution centres, or why food delivery services now accept physical card payments on delivery. Successful businesses understand that sales increase when payments are made simple and convenient because the customer’s payment preference is catered for. The simple fact is that a customer’s payment experience is the last critical step whereby you either deliver a good CX, or you end up losing a customer.
Explains Craig Duggan, Commercial Head at Transaction Junction, a fintech company specialising in digital payment solutions for the future, when a customer seeks to make a payment, it is imperative that their experience is seamless. At the same time, the process needs to be as accurate and secure as possible for the merchant.
“Every step in the buying journey is an opportunity to create a good experience, or risk losing a sale. A seamless payment process that gives the customer the choices and experience they want, ultimately leads to a measurable increase in conversion. Payment service providers like ourselves should not merely enable payment acceptance, but rather always view the end-customers’ experience as a primary focus and a true measurement of our success or failure,” he says.
In today’s digital world, says Duggan, a seamless experience for the customer includes access to multiple value-added services that enhance the experience further, from making a payment with either a credit card or a cell phone, to being able to purchase digital goods like airtime, electricity, or gift cards at the till point.
Transaction Junction takes a multi- or omnichannel approach to payment acceptance. “We have developed expertise in all physical payment channels, enabling integrated payment acceptance from multi-lane FMCG environments and forecourts, to a table in a restaurant or from the back of a delivery van. Our focus on creating expertise and innovations across physical channels has allowed TJ to add real value to its customers in retail and hospitality.”
A true omnichannel approach allows retailers to interact with their customers across all types of physical and digital channels, while at the same time obtaining a single view of the customer and the process across these disparate options. “We have the experience in and knowledge of the physical processing space, as well as a deep understanding of the technology being used and the importance of CX to deliver this.”
Of course, he continues, to deliver true omnichannel payment acceptance, Transaction Junction knows that eCommerce is needed. Therefore, TJ experts spent a lot of time and energy this year adding a stable and feature-rich eCommerce offering to its existing payments platform.
“We are hugely proud of the result. With Transaction Junction, our customers can now accept payments through literally any physical or digital channel. They can offer payment methods like SnapScan or Zapper, as well as cashless or contactless payments like tap-and-go or instant EFT online and in-store – truly catering for a customer journey that we now know exists across digital and physical environments.”
An effective omnichannel payment service provides a consistent and seamless CX across both the eCommerce and physical payment channels, indicates Duggan. It should be obvious that every additional action a customer performs – such as having to re-submit billing or address data – provides a new opportunity for sales conversion failure.
“With the company’s technology backbone, multiple payment methods, strong integration and seamless switching, Transaction Junction is able to significantly reduce the friction experienced by customers, thereby ensuring that the CX is as fantastic and comprehensive as possible.”
Bringing all payments across all channels together through a single payment platform allows TJ to eliminate the need for its clients’ end-customers to carry a multiplicity of cards and cash to settle their bills.
“Further, it also creates cost and operational efficiencies for our own clients, while also allowing us to start providing true omnichannel analytics and insights to them. Turning omnichannel payment data into insights that have actual business value for our customers is the next step in our omnichannel journey, and we are thrilled to have an engaged and growing customer base who are ready to walk this road with Transaction Junction,” concludes Duggan.
