Payment Pulse – Ep. 30

Learn how payments data reveals customer behavior, reduces friction, and helps SaaS teams prioritize smarter product roadmaps that drive revenue growth.

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Episode Transcript

 

Shannon: Welcome back to Payment Pulse, a podcast by Xplor Pay, where we talk about what’s happening in the payments world and how it impacts software platforms and the businesses they serve. I’m Shannon.

Michelle: And I’m Michelle.

Shannon: So let’s start today with a question that might sound simple, but I think most SaaS teams would struggle to answer it. Do you actually know how your customers make money?

Michelle: That’s such a good question, and I already know where you’re going with this!

Shannon: Right. Because most teams would say, “Yes, of course; we serve salons, gyms, or field services.” But that’s not the same as truly understanding how money actually moves through their business.

Michelle: Like when they get paid, how they get paid, what slows things down, what breaks.

Shannon: Mm hmm, exactly. And here’s the thing. So if you have embedded payments, you already have that data, you’re just probably not using it.

Michelle: Yeah, most teams treat payments data like reporting or reconciliation. You know, something that finance looks at once a month.

Shannon: You’re right. But in reality it should be one of the most important inputs into their product roadmap.

Michelle: So why do you think payments data gets overlooked so often?

Shannon: Really, I think it’s a legacy mindset. So payments used to live completely outside of the product, and it was like, “We have a payments provider; they handle it. We don’t need to think about it.”

Michelle: Yeah, so it was just a checkbox.

Shannon: Exactly. But the second you embed payments into your platform, that changes. Now payments are part of the experience, they’re part of the workflow, and they’re part of how your customers actually run their business day to day.

Michelle: That means the data isn’t just operational anymore, it’s behavioral.

Shannon: Yeah, you’re right. So that’s the shift. So you’re not just seeing transactions, you’re seeing patterns, you’re seeing habits, and you’re seeing where people struggle, where they succeed, and where they slow down.

Michelle: That’s way more powerful than just knowing, “Hey, feature ‘X’ gets used a lot.”

Shannon: Right. And because usage doesn’t always equal value, but money movement now that’s real.

Michelle: Okay, so let’s break this down. If I’m a product leader, what should I actually be looking for in payments data?

Shannon: So I think there’s a few big buckets that we should look at. And the first one is customer health.

Michelle: That one is so underrated.

Shannon: Mm-hmm. So if you see a customer’s transaction volume start to drop, that’s a signal and it usually shows up before they churn.

Michelle: …Which is huge because most teams are reacting way too late.

Shannon: Exactly, and by the time someone cancels, it’s already over. But payments data gives you an early warning system.

Michelle: And on the flip side, you can spot your best customers too.

Shannon: Yeah, you’re right. So in the ones growing fast processing more, adopting new payment types, those are the customers that you should be paying attention to.

Michelle: And building for.

Shannon: And honestly just talking to, so those are your roadmap co-creators if you use them. Right.

Michelle: Okay, so what’s the second bucket?

Shannon: The second bucket I’d have to say is friction. So payments data is really good at exposing where things are breaking.

Michelle: Can you give me an example?

Shannon: Yeah, sure. So like, high decline rates- and that could mean a lot of things from a bad UX to wrong payment methods, outdated information. But either way you look at it, it’s friction.

Michelle: Or even something like customers starting a transaction but not finishing it.

Shannon: Mm-hmm. Yeah, exactly. So abandonment or if invoices are sitting unpaid for days.

Michelle: …which is such a real problem for a lot of verticals.

Shannon: And the mistake is that teams try to solve these things with assumptions. They’re like, maybe we should redesign this screen.

Michelle: When the data is literally telling you where to look.

Shannon: Mm-hmm.

Michelle: Alright. How about a third bucket?

Shannon: For the third one, let’s talk about revenue opportunities. And I’d have to say that’s my favorite.

Michelle: I guess because once you understand how money flows, you can start asking better questions.

Shannon: Yeah, exactly. So things like how do we help our customers get paid faster? How do we reduce friction in the process? How do we add value around the transaction itself?

Michelle: And that’s where you start getting into things like faster payouts, automation, even financing.

Shannon: Hmm, exactly. And those aren’t just nice to have features. They’re things that your customers will actually pay for.

Michelle: Okay, so let’s make this real. I feel like this makes more sense when you see it in context.

Shannon: Hmm, absolutely. So let’s say your field services platform like HVAC, plumbing, electrical.

Michelle: And you notice that most payments are happening days after the job is completed. So invoices, delays, and your merchants are probably just, you know, chasing customers down.

Shannon: Right. So instead of just accepting that as normal, you should ask, how do we fix it?

Michelle: And that’s where we introduce things like point-of-service payments.

Shannon: Exactly. Maybe even like Tap to Pay on iPhone, cards on file, and now suddenly your customers are getting paid immediately.

Michelle: …which is a huge shift for their business. Okay, let’s do another one.

Shannon: Okay. So take for example, subscriptions. So if you see a pattern of failed recurring payments…

Michelle: …That’s revenue leakage.

Shannon: Exactly. So what do you build? Better retry logic. Smarter notifications, maybe automated updates for expired cards.

Michelle: And that directly impacts retention.

Shannon: And here’s one I think is really interesting: payout timing.

Michelle: So if your customers are waiting multiple days to access their funds, that is really painful, especially for small businesses.

Shannon: So introducing faster payouts, even shaving off a day or two can be a huge differentiator.

Michelle: And that’s the kind of thing that actually influences platform choice. Okay. So let’s connect this back to product strategy. How should payments data actually change the way teams build?

Shannon: Well, I think it gives you a much clearer way to prioritize. So instead of reacting to future requests or internal opinions, you’re looking at what actually impacts revenue.

Michelle: Which feels obvious, but most teams don’t really operate that way.

Shannon: Yeah, they really don’t. So, I like to think about it in terms of three simple questions. So what’s breaking revenue? What’s driving revenue, and what could unlock new revenue?

Michelle: Those are all really good things to think about.

Shannon: So if something is causing failed payments, that’s obviously urgent. And if something is helping your best customers grow, that’s something that you should be doubling down on. And then if there’s an opportunity to add value around the way that money moves, that’s something that should go on the roadmap.

Michelle: And suddenly your roadmap becomes way more strategic.

Shannon: And it’s way easier to defend because you’re not saying this feels important. You’re saying this is something that directly impacts how our customers make money.

Michelle: All right, so quick reality check. What are the biggest payments, data, mistakes that you see?

Shannon: First I’d have to say data living in silos. So if your payments data isn’t accessible to the product, it’s basically useless.

Michelle: I would say second, treating payments like a one-time launch. Like, “We have payments now. We’re done.”

Shannon: Exactly, when really it should constantly evolve.

Michelle: If I may, I would like to add one more and that’s teams not connecting the dots. They have the data, but they’re not translating it into action.

Shannon: Exactly. Because insight without action, it doesn’t do anything.

Michelle: Alright. So if you take one thing away from this…

Shannon: Your payments data is not just reporting.

Michelle: It’s really insight into your customer’s business.

Shannon: And if you use it right, it can literally tell you what you should build next.

Michelle: Which is kind of the dream, right?

Shannon: Yeah, exactly.

Michelle: Well, thanks for joining us on this episode of Payment Pulse, brought to you by Xplor Pay.

Shannon: If you’ve enjoyed listening to this episode, we have more resources like this on our blog at xplorpay.com. That’s X-P-L-O-R pay dot com.

Michelle: Thanks for listening. See you next time on Payment Pulse.