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Leaders In Payments
Leaders In Payments
Special Series: The World of Ecommerce: Thriving Online with Chintan Gandhi & Gordon Barclay from Worldpay | Episode 357
Unlock the secrets to safeguarding your e-commerce business from the pitfalls of card-not-present fraud and boost your checkout conversion rates with insights from industry experts Chintan Gandhi, Director of Strategic Planning and Go-To-Market, and Gordon Barclay, Director of Business Development at Worldpay. You'll discover how pervasive fraud can cost small and medium businesses dearly, and why chargebacks are more than just a financial setback—they can cripple your ability to process future payments. Chintan and Gordon share their extensive experience and strategies to mitigate these risks effectively.
Struggling with high rates of cart abandonment? You're not alone—54% of digital shoppers leave transactions unfinished due to repeated payment retries. Gordon Barclay explains how Worldpay's innovative solutions, including the integration of Apple Pay and Google Pay, can provide a seamless checkout experience that keeps customers coming back. By adopting a consultative approach, Worldpay aligns merchant needs with current consumer trends, ensuring that businesses remain competitive and customer-centric. Tune in to discover actionable strategies and flexible payment integration solutions designed specifically for small business owners in the UK looking to thrive in the ever-evolving e-commerce landscape.
Thank you at the heart of great e-commerce experiences globally, whether you are just starting out or upscaling your business, we'll discuss current and future trends in the UK e-commerce landscape and dive into merchant pain points and world pay solutions. Additionally, our experts will touch on actionable strategies and tips to help your business thrive online.
Greg Myers:Hi everyone. This is Greg Myers, the host of the Leaders in Payments podcast. Today we have two special guests joining the show Chintan Gandhi, director of Strategic Planning and Go-To-Market, and Gordon Barclay, director of Business Development, both from WorldPay. So welcome to the show and especially welcome to this special collaboration between the Leaders in Payments and WorldPay. So this is a five-part series that we're doing, and in the first episode we talked about e-commerce for small businesses at a very high level. So in this episode the second one in our series we're going to dive deeper into the pain points that merchants feel related to e-commerce. So thank you both so much for being here today.
Chintan Gandhi:Thank you, greg, and it's great to be here.
Gordon Barclay:Yeah, thanks, greg, great to be here.
Greg Myers:Great, so let's go ahead and dive in Chintan. If you don't mind, we'll start with you. Tell our audience a little bit about yourself, maybe where you grew up, where you went to school, where you currently live, a few things like that.
Chintan Gandhi:And if you don't mind, touching on your professional journey as well. Yeah, sure, I grew up and did my schooling in India and then moved to the UK to pursue my master's MBA. I currently live in Hertfordshire, on the outskirts of London, with my family. On the professional front, I've been working in the payment space for almost 15 years now, specifically within payments processing, merchant acquiring and cards issuing. Over the years, I've had many roles across business strategy partnerships, isvs, integrated payments to business development and, more recently, in my current role, I've been leading on the go-to-market and commercialization of our strategic solutions for the global SMB segment.
Greg Myers:Okay, great, so Gordon, over to you. Same question, hi Svig, yeah, I.
Gordon Barclay:So, gordon, over to you. Same question, hi, stig. Yeah, I slightly less traveled than Chintan. I grew up in the north of Scotland, my schooling here and I still currently live slightly further along the east coast in the islands of Scotland and being with WorldPay. Now, I had a bit of a banking background, but being with WorldPay for around 12 years and half of those 12 years was actually spent specifically out with our customers as a business development sales representative, and the last six years have kind of been split up in a regional director role, whereas first line management looking after a sales channel, and in the last three years specifically a more senior leadership role where I'm responsible for quite a large part of the UK and our go-to-market strategy there.
Greg Myers:Awesome. Well, thank you both for sharing that. So, chintan, let's go to you, and I think most of our audience will know who WorldPay is. But if you don't mind, tell our audience, maybe in your own words, a little about WorldPay.
Chintan Gandhi:Yeah, sure, I'd love to give a quick overview to our audience. Worldpay is actually a global player in payments, powering businesses of all sizes, from small and medium businesses to large global enterprises, enabling them to process payments in a seamless, reliable way. Whether it comes to payments processing online, in-store or through mobile, WorldPay sits at the heart of many great commerce experiences that we encounter in our day-to-day life today. What really stands out about WorldPay is our ability to meet our customers' business needs when it comes to payments processing with solutions that are designed to support each stage of their growth. For small and medium-sized businesses, WorldPay offers innovative and easy-to-use payment solutions that help them thrive. But beyond the technology and the solutions, what really makes WorldPay special is our global reach and a diverse team of experts behind the scenes who bring a wide variety of perspectives to solve payment challenges and create seamless commerce experiences for everyone.
Greg Myers:Okay, great Thanks for doing that. So, gordon, this is going to be a question for you and let's go ahead and dive into the topic. In the first episode, we talked at a very high level about the four main pain points that merchants have related to e-commerce and, at a high level, the solutions that WorldPay has. So let's unpack each of those, go a little bit deeper on the pain points and the solutions. So, putting ourselves in the shoes of an SMB in the UK, as we is potentially looking for a payment provider. So the first one that we want to talk about is fraud. So, obviously, fraud comes in many shapes and colors, so to speak. So, gordon, can you talk about fraud specific to e-commerce for small businesses? Yeah, greg.
Gordon Barclay:Look, fraud is always at the top of any research list that certainly we've conducted and other lists that we see across the whole market, and it's been reported previously that total card fraud for example, in 2022, was actually at over £556 million in the UK alone, and if you look at that, 6% increase year on year.
Gordon Barclay:Specifically, card not present, Greg predominantly in e-commerce what we're talking about today that made up 81% of all UK card fraud and if you drill down to those numbers, that's nearly £400 million worth of losses, and projections show that retailers in the UK, specifically with Cardinal present, are at risk of losing over £130 billion of revenues over the next five years, which is quite a sobering number. But, as we see with the stats that I've chucked at you there, above all, we look at the major issues that any business needs to consider when selecting a payment provider. If we talk about chargebacks just as one example, this can actually lead to the merchant themselves being blocked by the schemes rules and being able to even process future card payments. So not only are they facing losses potentially, but they're also facing restrictions and even transacting. So it's a huge topic and it's something that's always been here and something we have to evolve and actually get better as we go in the future years.
Greg Myers:Okay, chintan, anything you'd like to add to that?
Chintan Gandhi:Yeah, the only thing I'd like to add to that is fraud for SMBs actually goes way beyond just losing a sale. Fraud can severely affect the bottom line for these businesses through chargebacks which can eat into their revenue and profits. Even worse, repetitive fraud incidents could result in a merchant being blocked by card schemes, preventing them from processing payments, which is a devastating outcome for any small and medium sized business.
Greg Myers:Okay, Gordon, so related to fraud, can you speak to the solutions that WorldPay offers?
Gordon Barclay:Yeah, sure, greg. So here at WorldPay we have a fair to say, a relentless focus on our clients and their needs. So what we offer is market leading insights. Alongside our technology, there's an element of being if we're honest with each other here socially responsible as a business to help reduce the impact of fraud. As Chintan just said there, it can be quite devastating for business owners, for, for their employees, the whole cycle of fraud, and not just in those businesses but as society as a whole. So one example of what we offer our customers to help manage and reduce fraud is something called fraud site. So we add a layer of machine learning through the payment cycle. So we build on our own data-driven insights. Having processed over 40 billion transactions each year, we add in that technology piece with a real-time authorization process. So think of it like that extra span and layer of protection. And with WorldPay having over 40 years' experience and a team of data scientists and fraud specialists, we have the expertise to help advise businesses when it comes to the reduction of fraud.
Greg Myers:So, chintan, we're going to move on to the second main pain point, which is cash flow. So can you speak in detail to the importance of this to small business owners? So can you speak in detail to the importance of this to small business owners? Yeah, sure I would say.
Chintan Gandhi:Cash flow is absolutely critical for SMBs and its importance cannot be overstated, especially for an e-commerce business. As a business owner, managing day-to-day operations, inventory, payroll and unexpected expenses requires having quick and reliable access to funds. Delays in settlement can create cash flow gaps, impacting the ability to restock, inventory, invest in marketing. No-transcript. Margins in e-commerce are often tight and having a consistent flow ensures the businesses can remain agile, seize opportunities and avoid disruptions. The key pain points include slow settlements, unclear payment reconciliation and challenges with forecasting, all of which can create uncertainty and limit growth and limit growth. Having a payment provider that prioritizes fast and predictable settlements, like next business day transfers, and make all the difference for staying competitive and sustainable is important.
Greg Myers:Chintan. So what solutions does WorldPay offer that helps with cash flow for these businesses?
Chintan Gandhi:At WorldPay, we offer T plus one settlement, which means our SMB merchants receive their funds into their bank account the next business day. That's a huge advantage in helping small businesses maintain a steady cash flow to stay on top of their day-to-day business operations. Another important element is clear reporting and easy reconciliation. Smb owners need to know exactly what they've been paid and when. World-based reporting tools within our WorldPay dashboard makes this process simple and efficient, helping merchants easily track their payments and avoid any cash flow challenges. In addition, we also offer merchant cash advance solutions that are integrated to our SMB offering, providing an easy way for merchants to access the capital they need to grow their business. This flexibility helps drive better cash flow management, allowing business owners to focus on scaling their operations rather than worrying about cash flow.
Greg Myers:Okay, great, so let's move on to the third main pain point. Okay, great, so let's move on to the third main pain point. So, gordon, we're going to come back to you which is conversion. Or said another way, these businesses spend all this money, time and effort to get a consumer to the website, and now they've got to get them to actually buy or pay once they're on the website. So how do you see payments playing a part of this conversion at checkout?
Gordon Barclay:Yes, greg, you're right. Your payment provider plays a crucial role when it comes to checkout dropout rates. In fact, when we look behind that, there's actually high dropout rates before customers even get to the checkout. However, let's focus a little bit on that checkout piece and we recently shared our global payments report with the industry and the wider industry and, interestingly, greg, we see that 54% of digital customers would actually abandon a transaction if they had to retry multiple times. Probably one of those people myself.
Gordon Barclay:Time is money. Time is a commodity these days. Do you stick with it? You probably go somewhere else and look for the same product. The customers they want a streamlined payment process and, ultimately, a seamless user experience, and this will only become more of a demand as we see future generational purchasing trends evolve. Also, we understand that customers like we just said at the top here, craig, that customers spend a lot of time and a lot of money on their website to help drive that demand, that interaction with new customers and existing loyal ones and, as you've discussed there, it can be costly across time and finances for them.
Greg Myers:Okay, chintan, anything you'd like to add to that?
Chintan Gandhi:Yeah, I mean, as Gordon said, payments play a huge role in improving shopper conversion, so the only thing I'd like to add that is, having a simple and seamless checkout experience with a set of payment options is really crucial, and shoppers today expect choice flexibility, whether they want to pay with credit cards, mobile wallets or any other payment method of their choice.
Greg Myers:So, Gordon, specifically, what solutions does WorldPay offer that helps to increase that number of conversions at checkout?
Gordon Barclay:Yeah, just off the back of what Jintan mentioned there, greg, here at WorldPay we've made sure to offer our customers the right set of payment methods at the right payment, that kind of right part of a payment cycle which will support a smooth checkout where possible. For example, we've got mobile wallets with Apple Pay, google Pay and actually when you experience that WorldPay gateway, it can take literally seconds to get that checkout process completed. It can take literally seconds to get that checkout process completed. So I believe we're kind of honing in on the right areas that our customers are asking for and we'll continue to evolve that, as I said earlier, with the next generational way of paying and automation.
Greg Myers:So I'm going to ask a little follow-on question here because it kind of hit me as you were speaking. You know you have consumers who have certain ways they want to pay and you have merchants who need to figure out how to accept those payments. So how often, like, how does that, when you're in discussion and kind of the biz dev role and the sales role, that discussion with a merchant, like what drives that? Do the merchants say, hey, we want to be able to offer all these things, or is it more? You guys already know consumers have these things and want more choices, so you're already offering those.
Gordon Barclay:We have a very consultative approach here in the UK SME, as you call it, biz, dev community and what we do is we combine our insights of like you say there, greg, the industry telling us what consumers are looking for and how they wish to purchase, but also combining that when we're doing really good in-depth backfinds with our potential clients and our existing clients.
Gordon Barclay:By the way, to say, well, actually within your sector or just generalizing it, consumers are telling us this and going forward. We see the trends evolving to here and that really helps build trust with our potential clients and existing clients. You know what we're all paying on here, just trying to sell as a product that may or may not fit our business. They're actually thinking of pain points that we've got now working with them, and also ones that we might get two, three, four, five years down the line and future-proofing that. So I think really having that consultative approach, using our insights and doubling it down with a really strong fact-finding with the customer, we're able to align both of them together and kind of, where possible, come up with the right solution.
Greg Myers:Okay, that makes a lot of sense. So, chintan, over to you on the last pain point that we talked about last time we kind of briefly mentioned it which is really the complexity of payment integration. So that sounds like you know some tech jargon. So can you put yourself in the shoes of a merchant and explain what does that really mean to the business?
Chintan Gandhi:When we talk about the complexity of payment integration, it's really about how smoothly a merchant can get their payment set up up and running for their e-commerce website. For small businesses, ease of integration is crucial because these business owners often don't have the time or technical expertise to deal with complicated setups. What they need is a payment integration that is simple, flexible and one that involves minimal effort to get started and complete the implementation.
Greg Myers:Okay, Gordon, anything you'd like to add to that?
Gordon Barclay:complete the implementation. Okay, gordon, anything you'd like to add to that? So, just as Chintan said there, greg, setting up an e-commerce card acceptance in the UK market can sometimes be a complex process for customers. We see that a lot in the business development side here With e-com solutions, specifically in SME markets. So we see many business owners looking for guidance not only on how to take payments but how to build a website and how to integrate with their payments partner, and I believe we've got the right combination here on collaborations internally and externally to help make this an easier journey for our customers.
Greg Myers:So, chintan, what does WorldPay offer that helps to reduce this complexity that you're talking about?
Chintan Gandhi:At WorldPay, we make the payment integration process for merchants and their developers as seamless as possible. We offer a variety of integration options, including plugins to popular e-commerce platforms and shopping carts that are essentially plug-and-play, which means it requires very minimal effort on merchants' part and their developers' part to complete the payment integration. For merchants working with developers, we offer easy, accessible, commonly used JSON API with comprehensive documentation and dedicated support with integration. This gives their developers the tools and flexibility to create customized checkout experiences that match the business's specific needs via hosted payment pages. In both cases, our goal is the same reducing complexity, saving time and allowing our merchants to focus on growing their business.
Greg Myers:Okay. So, Chintan, as we wrap up the show, I thought it would be important if we kind of bring all of these pain points and solutions together and talk about WorldPay's go-to-market approach. So how do you market to small businesses, specifically in the UK?
Chintan Gandhi:Our go-to-market approach for SMBs in the UK is multifaceted, ensuring we meet the businesses where they are in their growth cycle and offer solutions that are tailored to that need, earlier understanding their goals and challenges and offer solutions that address the pain points that we discussed earlier, like fraud, shopper conversion, cash flow issues, etc. We empower our sales and partner channels with the targeted go-to-market motions. That provides our merchants with a clear understanding of our value proposition and the benefits it can offer to that business. In addition, our digital channels connect us with the SMBs across various platforms, making our solutions easily accessible for those customers. As part of the go-to-market assets, we provide a comprehensive set of collateral covering product sheets, value proposition, key benefits, step-by-step guides that is supported by a holistic marketing plan and execution, which clearly supports our merchants with an understanding of what the proposition is all about, the key benefits it can bring to their businesses.
Gordon Barclay:So I'm going to echo Chintan's sentiments there around our go-to-market strategy as to build on the 40 years experience that we've got in this marketplace. It's to be with our customers and listen to them, whether it's face-to-face, virtually and our ultimate goal here which is some complex subjects that we've talked through today and there are many more out there our ultimate goal is to support our customers and help them develop and advance their way of serving their customers right, because that's the super important part for them. And when we know that our customers have future goals, we find that out. They tell us They've got aspirations and we understand what a crucial part that we play. Worldplay plays a huge part in helping making a lot of those aspirations reality, because their customers are at the heart of what they do and our customers are at the heart of what we do.
Greg Myers:Okay, well, chintan Gordon, thank you so much for being on the show today. I feel like it was a great episode diving into these pain points. I think we often don't think about customers and what they do every day and payments always isn't the most important thing, but at the end of the day, they have to get paid, and being able to discuss those pain points and then how WorldPay offers great solutions, I think is a great episode and people are going to really appreciate that. So I know your time is very valuable, so thank you both so much for being on the show today. I really appreciate it. Thanks, greg.
Chintan Gandhi:Thank you, Greg.
Greg Myers:And to all you listeners out there. I thank you for your time as well, and until the next story.
Speaker 1:Thank you for tuning in today to this special series on e-commerce brought to you by WorldPay. To learn more about WorldPay and their e-commerce solutions, please visit wwwworldpaycom. Slash en-gb. Slash worldpay-ecommerce.