Sweden is one of the world’s digital payment leaders, and reports suggest that the country could become the first cashless society on Earth by 2023. It’s therefore, surprising that only 34% of businesses in this Scandinavian nation are satisfied with payment-related efficiencies, according to emerchantpay’s research. Read our latest blog on the race to a cashless society.
Before looking at how to address problems related to the above, it’s important to understand why the percentage is so low. So, let’s start there.
How can this lack of satisfaction be explained?
Decisions could be improved by maximising the use of available information. At the moment, 83% of professionals feel that improvement in this respect is needed for better system optimisation. Moreover, evolving customer demands was one of the top three payment challenges for Swedish brands. Not a good mix, as you can imagine.
We should also discuss how operators are monitoring their gateways. As it stands, fewer than half (44%) of merchants perform checks on their system at least once per month. The correlation between this and revenue being lost to shortcomings is, therefore, unsurprising. Since KPIs are generally aligned to broader commercial objectives, the issue seemingly lies with companies not keeping up with change.
Where can gaps be plugged?
One suggested improvement would be more businesses to perform regular gateway audits.
Doing so would make it possible to spot trends while they occur, and possible problems as soon as they arise. Thus, it becomes easier to act on these without delay.
It’s possible that most businesses don’t use payment data to its full potential because they don’t know what to look out for. Our findings reveal that 82% of payments professionals in Sweden find this area challenging. Some of the key metrics to look out for include conversion rate, customer behaviour and each payment method’s level of success. Once these areas are assessed on a more granular level, patterns become clearer and decision-making easier.
Conclusion
The points we’ve discussed appear to lead towards a lack of payment knowledge in certain areas for Swedish merchants. Efficiency and satisfaction rates can be improved by choosing a payment provider that offers detailed analytics, in addition to robust-but-flexible technology. Regular gateway checks are also important since they paint a clearer picture of how you’re performing. The real-time data acquired from these audits are also more reliable since they take less time to gather than customer surveys – where the information could soon expire. By improving analytical knowledge, providing employees with related training and focusing more resources in hiring data analytics specialists, businesses in Sweden can close revenue gaps and thereafter satisfaction rates.
emerchantpay offers a gateway solution that grows with you and provides detailed payment insights. Learn more