# The role of invisible, real-time payments in fueling the future of CX in business Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2022-05-16 Category: BUSINESS Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/business Meta Title: How to Improve Customer Experience at Checkout Meta Description: Discover how businesses can enhance the payment experience for consumers by making payments invisible, simple, seamless and scalable, and using real-time URL: https://financedigest.com/the-role-of-invisible-real-time-payments-in-fueling-the-future-of-cx-in-businesshtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/istock-1319801196-1736815720322-compressed.webp) _![](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/017-1736815720218-compressed.jpg)_ _By **Frederick Crosby,** Chief Revenue Officer,_ [_Nium_](https://www.nium.com/) Customer experience (CX) is paramount for any business, but few may realise that it can be heavily influenced by the experience customers receive at checkout. Whether paying for a product or service, basket abandonment is a significant problem – according to a [survey by Barclaycard](https://home.barclaycard/press-releases/2018/04/Retailers-losing-out-on-18bn-each-year-through-Surf-and-Turf-online-shopping-trend/), the UK’s inclination to website window-shop leads to retailers losing more than £18 billion in sales each year. Concerningly, the survey also highlights that retailers and merchants are often unaware of the reason behind the abandonment, with six-in-ten unable to identify the average abandonment rate on their website. Fueled by inaction or a lack of supportive data, the problem is often left to compound itself until customers neglect the brand entirely. [Research](https://www.thedrum.com/news/2020/10/14/1-3-customers-would-ditch-brand-after-just-one-bad-experience) shows that one-in-three customers would walk away from a brand after just one bad experience, while as many as 90% would do so after multiple bad experiences. Conversely, a Forbes Insights [report](https://www.forbes.com/sites/insights-treasuredata/2020/03/10/7-steps-for-creating-an-ideal-customer-experience-strategy/?sh=6509866d1b62) highlights the importance of CX, with almost three-quarters (74%) of consumers saying they are likely to buy based on experience alone. In this highly competitive market, no [business can afford to wait to improve](https://www.financedigest.com/5-ways-to-improve-your-business-finances.html "5 Ways to Improve Your Business Finances") their CX. Their bottom line depends on it, and with so much riding on the [payment](https://www.financedigest.com/stay-ahead-of-the-curve-and-meet-your-customers-payments-needs.html "STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE AND MEET YOUR CUSTOMERS PAYMENTS NEEDS") experience, enterprises need a modern payment solution that satisfies consumers’ needs right now. Here’s how they can get started. **Make payments invisible to consumers** The first step toward building a better [payment experience](https://www.financedigest.com/curating-a-fully-contactless-customer-experience-for-payments.html "Curating A Fully Contactless Customer Experience for Payments ") is invisibility. In other words, consumers [don’t want to be bogged down by a lengthy or complex process](https://www.financedigest.com/companies-that-dont-upgrade-their-financial-processes-this-year-will-get-left-behind.html "Companies that don’t upgrade their financial processes this year will get left behind"). They want to get in and out as quickly as possible – and with any [payment method](https://www.financedigest.com/freelancer-payments-methods-what-you-should-know.html "Freelancer Payments Methods: What You Should Know") they choose. This is especially important as consumers [switch from using just one centralised bank account](https://www.financedigest.com/new-legislation-makes-switching-bank-accounts-simples.html "New legislation makes switching bank accounts “simples”") to several best-in-class fintech solutions to manage their needs. [Businesses can offer what consumers want by providing a frictionless payment](https://www.financedigest.com/technology-is-a-tonic-for-late-business-payments.html "TECHNOLOGY IS A TONIC FOR LATE BUSINESS PAYMENTS") experience that is driven by three core principles: simple, seamless and scalable. First and foremost, payment [experiences should be simple enough to deploy that when consumers](https://www.financedigest.com/experiences-new-currency-capturing-hearts-wallets-consumers.html "Experiences are the new currency for capturing the hearts (and wallets) of consumers") finally encounter it, they don’t need to think twice or have any complaints. They should also run seamlessly on the backend, incorporating all necessary aspects, such as identity verification, [regulatory risk](https://www.financedigest.com/is-regtechs-rise-one-way-tackle-the-international-regulatory-game-of-risk.html "Is Regtech’s rise one way tackle the international regulatory game of Risk?") and compliance, without issue. Lastly, frictionless payments should be easy to grow, with real-time APIs and new payment rails serving as critical components to unlock new [business use-cases and innovation](https://www.financedigest.com/disruption-and-innovation-four-predictions-for-the-business-landscape-in-2016.html "DISRUPTION AND INNOVATION – FOUR PREDICTIONS FOR THE BUSINESS LANDSCAPE IN 2016") at scale. **Use real-time insights to drive superior results** [Businesses that rely on legacy systems are struggling to keep](https://www.financedigest.com/keeping-an-eye-on-company-purse-strings-where-do-businesses-go-wrong.html "Keeping an eye on company purse strings – where do businesses go wrong?") up with today’s increasingly digitised marketplaces. But in addition to the [risks that come with using outdated solutions](https://www.financedigest.com/jaywing-releases-horizon-a-new-ifrs-9-modelling-solution-that-encapsulates-its-extensive-credit-risk-expertise.html "Jaywing releases Horizon, a new IFRS 9 modelling solution that encapsulates its extensive credit risk expertise"), enterprises are overlooking an added benefit of upgrading to a more modern alternative: real-time payment insights. This is no longer a nice-to-have feature – it is a must-have innovation that allows businesses to [see how customers interact with their platforms](https://www.financedigest.com/twitter-social-platforms-could-see-spike-in-election-misinformation.html "Twitter, social platforms could see spike in election misinformation"). As a result, organisations can better satisfy [customer needs](https://www.financedigest.com/why-empathy-needs-to-sit-at-the-heart-of-bbls-and-cbils-customer-service.html "Why empathy needs to sit at the heart of BBLS and CBILS customer service") and help ensure day-to-day liquidity. For example, payment insights can help [businesses understand the potential increase in credit](https://www.financedigest.com/5-ways-to-grow-your-business-despite-a-bad-credit-score.html "5 Ways to Grow Your Business despite a Bad Credit Score") days and potential delays in payments. This, in turn, makes it easier to [manage their supplier payments and liquidity](https://www.financedigest.com/britains-post-brexit-asset-management-revamp-eyes-liquidity-tokenisation.html "Britain’s post-Brexit asset management revamp eyes liquidity, tokenisation"). [Payment insights can also provide a deeper understanding of customer](https://www.financedigest.com/2019-year-customers-take-control-payments.html "2019: The year customers take control of payments") spending patterns to optimise sales and marketing efforts, like offering timely discounts, and can help spot anomalies including fraud and performance issues. **Embed [payments to keep](https://www.financedigest.com/the-late-payments-toolkit-how-to-keep-the-cash-flow-strong.html "THE LATE PAYMENTS TOOLKIT – HOW TO KEEP THE CASH-FLOW STRONG") consumers in one place** Embedded [payments are the way of the future](https://www.financedigest.com/the-future-of-biometrics-in-payments.html "The Future of Biometrics in Payments"). Considering that many services already offer them – the one-click user experience of the Uber app, for example – it’s hard to believe there are still [businesses that require outside support](https://www.financedigest.com/uks-sunak-to-halve-support-that-helps-businesses-pay-fuel-bills-the-times.html "UK’s Sunak to halve support that helps businesses pay fuel bills -The Times"). This forces consumers to temporarily leave the platform they’re shopping with to confirm their order before returning to finalise the purchase. To say that this is a clunky and cumbersome process would be an understatement. By embedding payments, [businesses can allow their customers to do everything they need](https://www.financedigest.com/4-kinds-of-software-your-new-business-needs.html "4 Kinds of Software Your New Business Needs") in one place. **A great payment experience is** [integral to any CX strategy](https://www.financedigest.com/integrating-twitter-with-your-mobile-marketing-strategy.html "Integrating Twitter With Your Mobile Marketing Strategy") E-commerce has made shopping easy at any time and from any location. As a result, consumers no longer have to stick to one particular platform. They can and will switch as desired, so it’s important that retailers and merchants recognize the [value a superior payments](https://www.financedigest.com/2021-predictions-realising-the-value-of-payments-transformation.html "2021 Predictions: Realising the Value of Payments Transformation") experience brings to loyalty and sales conversion. The aforementioned Forbes Insights report noted that the [top three qualitative benefits](https://www.financedigest.com/top-4-unexpected-benefits-of-remittances.html "Top 4 (Unexpected) Benefits of Remittances") of CX are improvements in customer satisfaction, loyalty and brand awareness. Each of these [attributes are vital to future success](https://www.financedigest.com/acca-sets-out-magnificent-seven-attributes-vital-to-success-in-modern-business.html "ACCA Sets Out ‘Magnificent Seven’ Attributes Vital to Success in Modern Business"). By providing consumers with a payment experience that is embedded and invisible, and by obtaining the insights to learn and improve, brands can [deliver superior results](https://www.financedigest.com/uk-pm-sunak-election-results-show-people-want-us-to-deliver-for-them.html "UK PM Sunak: Election results show people want us to deliver for them"). --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---