Payment Pulse – Ep. 43

Learn how flexible payment options can reduce checkout friction, meet customer expectations, and create a more convenient payment experience.

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Episode Transcript

Noelle: Welcome back to the Payment Pulse. Think about the last few things you paid for. Maybe you tapped your card at a coffee shop, used your phone to pay for groceries, or paid an invoice through a text link. We have more ways to pay than ever before. As consumers get used to having these options, it’s changing what they expect from businesses.

Today, we’re talking about why offering multiple ways to pay has become such an important part of the customer experience, and Joe is back with me to break it all down. Joe, welcome back!

Joe: Thanks, Noelle. Happy to be here. And you’re right, the way people pay has changed pretty significantly. For a long time, businesses really only had to think about a few options: cash, check, or a physical credit and debit card. Today, customers might wanna tap a card, they might wanna use a mobile wallet, pay online, or complete a payment right from their phone.

The big shift isn’t necessarily that every customer wants to use the newest payment technology. It’s that the new technologies create the opportunity for customers to choose their preferred payment method.

Noelle: Yeah, and that’s a good distinction. So it’s not about a business adopting every payment method out there. It’s more about giving customers options.

Joe: That’s right. Think about how we interact with businesses in general today. We can shop online or in a store. We can order food at a counter, through an app, or from a kiosk. We can schedule appointments online instead of calling. We can communicate through phone, email, chat, or text. Consumers have gotten used to choosing whatever option is easiest for them at that moment, and payments are becoming the same way.

The easier you make it for someone to complete a purchase, the better the overall experience can be.

Noelle: Yeah, and expectations can be different depending on the situation, too. Like for example, the way I want to pay at a coffee shop, it might be completely different than how I want to pay a contractor who’s working at my house.

Joe: Absolutely. That’s really where payment flexibility becomes important. If I’m standing at a checkout counter, I probably want the transaction to be fast. I might want to tap my card or use a mobile wallet there. Or if I’m picking up food, I personally would want to order online in advance so I could just run in, grab my food, and run out.

In some environments, a customer may prefer a self-service kiosk or another option that lets them complete the transaction on their own, giving them time to think more detailed perhaps on what they are ordering or just like the control of the interaction itself. Different situations create different expectations.

Noelle: So let’s talk about one of the biggest changes we’ve seen at checkout, the contactless payments. We’re seeing people tap their cards and phones pretty much everywhere now. What’s driving that?

Joe: Convenience is a huge part of it. NFC payments, which stands for near-field communication, or the more commonly known name contactless payments, are designed to make the checkout experience quick and simple. Instead of inserting a card or sometimes even pulling out a physical wallet, customers can tap a card, phone, or compatible device.

And once someone gets used to that experience, they tend to look for it elsewhere. I personally tend to always use NFC when that’s an option. In addition to convenience, it’s worth mentioning it is also a very secure method of payment. Customer expectations aren’t only shaped by direct competitors anymore.

They’re shaped by all of the experiences customers have throughout their day. If someone can tap to pay at a grocery store, coffee shop, and gas station, they may expect to be able to do the same thing at other businesses, and mobile wallets fit into that same idea. Mobile wallets give customers another way to use cards they already have without necessarily carrying the physical card.

Now again, the important thing isn’t that every customer is going to use a mobile wallet. It’s just that some people love paying with their phone or watch. Other people will pull out the same physical card every single time. When businesses support multiple payment options, customers don’t have to change their habits just to do business with you.

Noelle: Which sounds like a pretty small thing until you’re the customer there and can’t pay the way that you expected to.

Joe: Exactly. Payment is usually the final step in the customer journey. You’ve already done the work to attract the customer, and they’ve decided they want your product or service, and they’re ready to buy. The last thing you want is unnecessary friction right at that moment. And friction doesn’t always mean the payment fails.

It can simply mean the process takes longer than expected, requires extra steps, or doesn’t offer the option the customer assumed would be available.

Noelle: Yeah, and another option that’s become common is paying through link sent by text or email. Where does that all fit into the shift?

Joe: Yeah. Payment links are a great example because they let customers pay when and where it’s convenient for them. Maybe a contractor finishes a job and sends the customer a payment link by text. A service business might email an invoice with a link to pay online, or a business could send a link while they’re speaking with a customer on the phone.

Instead of requiring the customer to be standing in front of a payment terminal or calling back with their card information, they can open the link and complete the payment securely from their own device.

Noelle: That feels pretty natural now because we’re already so used to doing everything from our phones.

Joe: Yep, exactly. For so many customers, getting a text or email and tapping a link is simply easier. It also gives them some control over the experience. They can review the amount, they can choose their preferred payment method, and complete the transaction without having to call or make another trip to the business.

And for the business, it can help simplify the payment process too. Instead of chasing down payments or manually taking card information over the phone, you’re giving the customer a convenient way to take action.

Noelle: So it really just comes back to meeting the customers exactly where they are.

Joe: Yeah, absolutely. Whether someone is standing at your counter or sitting at home with their phone, that expectation is increasingly the same: paying should be simple. The more unnecessary steps you can remove from that process, the easier it is for the customer to complete the transaction.

Noelle: And then there’s self-service. I think good service, that used to mean having someone personally walk you through every step. Now, sometimes good service means I just wanna do it all by myself.

Joe: Yep, exactly. Convenience means different things to different people. One customer might want someone to help them at the counter, and another might want to walk up to a kiosk, place an order, pay, and be finished without waiting. Neither experience is necessarily better. The key is giving customers an easy path to complete what they’re trying to do.

And for businesses, self-service payment options can have operational benefits too. If customers can handle certain transactions themselves, employees have more time to focus on other parts of the customer experience.

Noelle: For a business owner listening to this and thinking, “Do I really need five different ways for people to pay?” Where should they start?

Joe: Start with your customers and how your business operates. Ask yourself a few simple questions: Where do customers typically pay me? Is it at a counter, online, at their home, on a job site? Then think about where there might be friction. Are customers waiting to pay? Are employees manually entering information?

Are customers asking whether you accept mobile wallets or contactless payments? Are you still requiring people to call in where there could be an easier digital option? Those situations can tell you where adding another payment option might actually improve the experience.

Noelle: So don’t just add technology just for the sake of adding more technology.

Joe: Oh, exactly, and that’s right. The goal isn’t to have the longest list of payment methods. It’s to make paying your business as easy as possible. And ideally, those payment options should work together on the business side, too. Offering more flexibility to customers shouldn’t mean creating five separately different processes for your employee.

That’s where having the right payment technology and the right payments partner who will take the time to help you navigate this conversation can really make a difference.

Noelle: Yeah, and I think that’s a really big takeaway here. When we talk about payments, it’s easy to focus on what happens behind the scenes, but for the customer, payment is part of the overall experience with your business.

Joe: Absolutely. Customers remember when something is easy, and they definitely remember when something is difficult. A smooth checkout probably isn’t the reason someone chooses your business in the first place, but a frustrating checkout can absolutely affect how they feel about the experience. Payment choice is really about removing barriers.

Whether someone wants to tap a card, use their phone, pay through a text or email link, or use a more traditional payment method, giving them convenient options makes it easier for them to complete the purchase.

Noelle: I think that sums it up. Convenience at checkout isn’t just a nice extra anymore. Customers are increasingly expecting businesses to give them simple, flexible ways to pay. However, it’s important to remember that you don’t need every payment option available. The important thing is understanding how your customers want to interact with your business and making that final step as easy as possible. Joe, thanks again for joining me.

Joe: Thanks, Noelle. Always a pleasure.Noelle: And thanks to everyone for listening to the Payment Pulse. We will see you next time.

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