Brite Announces Full Coverage Across the Baltic Region
Stockholm – 15 November, 2022 – Brite Payments today announced further expansion to offer full product coverage across the Baltic region, following the successful launch of its instant pay-ins solution in Estonia earlier this year. Utilising the Open Banking framework, Brite Payments facilitates account-to-account (A2A) payments without the need for customers to input cumbersome card and personal data. The Stockholm-based instant payments specialist now offers its innovative instant pay-ins and pay-outs products in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The quick, simple and secure pay-ins solution enables customers to pay straight from their bank account with a single authentication step (except for cases with applicable regulation). Additionally, the convenient pay-outs solution facilitates the rapid receipt of funds from merchants to consumers in fields such as insurance, financial investment, and gig economy wages. The Baltic region, with a population of more than six million, has become a fintech hotspot and is at the forefront of digitalisation and developing technical infrastructure. Brite’s expansion presents an opportunity for the company to offer A2A payment products with which consumers are already familiar and ready to adopt. Brite’s announcement follows a period of strong demand for its innovative solutions with several milestones achieved in 2022, including the launch of its convenience-driven Single Sign product and a much-celebrated partnership with European’s payments giant, SOFORT. The business is on a growth trajectory with several recent strategic hires to support its ambitious upcoming market expansion plans. With local operations already established in the Baltics and existing customers trading within the region, Brite is primed for further growth and is excited to offer its solutions to local customers. “We are really proud to announce that we now offer full coverage across the Baltic region, and are able to impactfully serve both local and Nordic merchants. This move represents another big stride forward in our mission to bring quick, easy and secure instant payments to customers and merchants across Europe,” said Lena Hackelöer, CEO & Founder, Brite Payments. “The Baltics have been on our radar since our inception in 2019 and we have been really pleased to see the population’s adoption of digital payments.” In addition to this regional expansion, Brite Payments is continuing to expand its product portfolio, with upcoming developments built on PSD2 APIs. Brite has more than doubled transaction volumes processed over the past year, with the full launch across the Baltic region expected to drive further user growth. “Customer convenience is at the forefront of what we have created at Brite, and now with full product coverage in the Baltics, we will allow users to authenticate and pay instantly, as efficiently as possible,” she continued. ABOUT BRITE Brite Payments is a second-generation fintech based in Stockholm. The instant payments provider is leveraging Open Banking technology to process A2A payments in real-time between consumers and online merchants. With Brite, no signup or credit card details are required as consumers authenticate themselves with top-of-mind details using their bank’s usual identification method. The company currently operates across 21 markets in Europe and is connected to more than 3,800 banks within the EU. To find out more, please visit: https://britepayments.com
Your Future With a Payment Provider: Interview with Bawer Calli
Founded in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2019, Brite Payments is now a leading provider of instant payments and payouts, powered by open banking. Brite is on a mission to provide the next generation of payment solutions – creating smarter, faster, more financially sustainable ways to pay and be paid. We sat down with Brite Product Owner Bawer Calli to discuss the rise in popularity of Open Banking-enabled account-to-account (A2A) payments. How are modern instant payment solutions affecting the payment landscape for merchants? And how does Bawer see the role of Brite Instant Payments in leading global acceptance of this new payment method, and fuelling innovation in the market? Why is it important for businesses to start offering instant payments? The trend away from traditional payments is already shifting towards faster, more secure Open Banking-enabled payments. Card payments in European e-commerce will decline from 42% today, to 37% by 2025. While A2A payments will have a 20% share by 2025, according to FIS Worldpay. This is a global trend – with 60 markets now operating a live, real-time payments infrastructure. Canada, Peru, New Zealand, and Indonesia are the latest markets to launch their own A2A infrastructures in 2022. In Europe, 20 countries are already part of the centralised instant SEPA credit transfer (SCT) scheme, which enables individuals or businesses to easily make instant A2A payments. Given how the payment landscape is changing, Calli believes now is the time for businesses to get on board: “Businesses are going to have to react to demand. If there’s an uptake in A2A payments across a local market or globally, businesses will have to listen. If Open Banking methods grow and people want to pay that way, they’ll lose customers if they don’t. It’s very simple.” What is the current payment infrastructure like globally? The continued use of outdated ‘legacy’ payment methods means current infrastructures make things more difficult for merchants. Legacy systems constrain many large financial service providers from innovating. As Calli explains, “If you built a big platform years ago, it’s really hard to adjust to modern demand. So what makes Brite different? “We’re young and agile”, Calli continues. Brite is built from the ground up, on the latest infrastructure, he goes on, “so we can easily react to demand.” Of course, there are still regions where cash is king, such as LATAM or even European cities like Berlin. And, in regions where card payments are most popular, there is little competition (Visa, Mastercard and AMEX dominate). Hence little motivation to improve services – while commissions are kept high. But payment gateways can be troublesome for merchants – they’re not always secure, and charges can rise steeply as businesses expand globally. For customers, there’s often a poor user experience, and it can be slow to get money to their bank account. A2A payments have the potential to revolutionise customer journeys – streamlining the existing cumbersome process and cutting hours off waiting times. They deliver added convenience for customers and businesses because most of the tools required are already in place. All you need is a bank account and a smartphone: 83.3% of people have a smartphone, while 76% have a bank account (this figure does not vary regionally as much as you might think – still a significant 71% in developing countries). How do businesses benefit from instant payments? This question is a no-brainer for Calli: “Lower commission is the obvious one, right? Instant payments can provide the service more cost-effectively.” But there’s more. “The next one is risk.” continues Calli, “There’s a lot of risk with card payments – including chargebacks. A2A payment brings that risk down significantly.” Globally, the prediction is that merchants face almost $79 billion in chargebacks in 2023. Thirdly, Instant payments also help businesses with their cash flow. As Calli explains, “Transactions settle instantly, almost in real time. Really nice for consumers. And it’s nice for merchants to get their money instantly, then they can then settle the money back to their bank account whenever they want to.” Consequently, merchants looking for a competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace should also be asking themselves whether instant payments could help them win new customers – and maintain their loyalty long term. How does Brite fit into the changing payments landscape? Brite has been operating for just over three years. A big advantage, says Calli. “We’re not built on legacy technology, which means we are very fast paced. We can build new features and react to market demand very, very quickly.” Brite’s chosen home is no accident. Stockholm is a hub of tech talent. It’s the home of Spotify and Klarna – where many in the team contributed to the first wave of fintech growth in Europe. The team at Brite has a wealth of experience in other financial services and fintech organisations. They know the market inside-out. And all that previous knowledge is used to innovate, and overcome today’s the challenges. The team’s shared mission is well communicated, from Lena Hackelöer, founder and CEO, all the way down. As Calli puts it, “The team is experienced, they’re talented, and they’re full of integrity”. Constantly working to improve Brite’s product offering and grow the business, the team has plans to expand to new locations in the near future. Snapshot: what does the future hold for instant payments? So, what are Brite’s Product Owner’s takeaways on the future of instant payments? We’ll let Calli summarise in his own words. The Next Generation of Payment Solutions With Brite Instant Payments, you can instantly receive money from your customers with one click – removing risk, improving cash flow and reducing commission fees. If your business needs to transfer money faster, with less waiting… let’s talk.
Reduce Churn With Open Banking-Enabled Recurring Payments
Traditional methods of processing recurring payments – usually a direct debit or credit card – are slow and prone to payment failures. Now, thanks to a new recurring payments service from Brite Payments, your company can harness the power of Open Banking to make recurring payments faster, easier and more secure. With this new method, consumers no longer have to update their card details for subscription-based services every time their current card expires. So businesses using Open Banking to process recurring payments are able to benefit from a significant reduction in churn. And more stability in their cash flow. Direct Debit vs Card vs Open Banking Recurring Payments Direct Debit Payments Since the first direct debits began operation as a paper-based system in 1964, it has remained a longstanding and popular way of processing recurring payments. They are a familiar example of a ‘pull’ payment, where the payer gives the payee permission to regularly take money from their bank account. The payee initiates each payment, and decides how much to ‘pull’ and where it should go. But despite its popularity, the direct debit process is slow – payments don’t happen in real-time – and open to misuse. Indeed, because of the potential danger of unscrupulous payees having complete control over how much money they take, the direct debit requires more guarantees and checks than any other method of recurrent transaction. Card Payments Cards are still the most popular way of making recurring payments, but they are also the most prone to churn. All cards have a limited lifespan and eventually expire, and many payments fail because users haven’t updated their card details. Recurring card payments have a failure rate of about 5%. To pay with a card, users need to remember a long string of numbers, store their card details in a browser or, insecurely, at a merchant, or carry the physical card with them. These restrictions make card payments inconvenient, and negatively affect conversion rates. Open Banking Payments Open Banking is rapidly transforming how recurring payments are made. These Open Banking-enabled recurrent transactions require no cards, apps, or sign-ups. Users just choose their bank account and pay. The world is beginning to recognise that the traditional systems of cards and direct debits are far from future-proof. In fact, Sweden plans to overhaul its entire payment infrastructure by the end of 2024. Primarily because of this very reason. This is a significant shift, and goes to show how great the demand is for a modern, faster, more secure method of payment. What Can Open Banking Recurring Payments Do for Your Company? Real-time recurring payments are not only faster and more convenient for customers. They offer significant advantages to the merchants collecting the funds. Here’s how they can benefit your business. An Open Banking-enabled recurring payments solution can be combined with Brite Payments’ Know Your Customer (KYC) product ‘Brite Data Solutions’, which can automatically collect customer details and use them to register an account directly with merchants. In combining these products with the subscription payments model in mind, Brite Payments has created an automated onboarding process that requires minimal manual input from the customer, optimising the consumer experience and reducing manual input errors. What Makes Open Banking Better for Business? In 2020, failed payments alone are estimated to have cost the global economy $118.5 billion in fees, labour and lost business. No cards means Open Banking payments have fewer payment failures. And with no card processing cost, they’re cheaper per transaction for merchants. There’s also less waiting around. Open Banking settlements are made daily, so you don’t need to wait three- to five-days for funds as with traditional payment methods. Finally, Open Banking-enabled payments have a higher conversion rate. They include automated collection of customer details to quickly register an account. And are designed with modern digital and mobile consumers in mind. All this ensures that payments are less manual and complex, leading to a 40% higher payment success rate. And the easy sign-up process for Open Banking payments means a smoother payment process, with less dropout. Open Banking Puts Consumers in Control The whole idea behind Open Banking is that consumers should have ownership over their financial data, instead of the financial institutions that manage their accounts and assets. Open Banking turns the traditional payment authorisation model used by direct debit on its head, so funds traditionally ‘pulled’ from accounts are ‘pushed’ by consumers. Putting payment authorisation in the hands of the bank account holder gives consumers far greater control. Recurring Payments on Time, Every Time For online businesses that get paid on a recurring basis, Brite Recurring Payments is a payment method that makes it easy to sign-up and reduces churn because it works without cards that can expire. It’s the smartest way to set up a standing payment order without the need of any direct debit mandating registration. Since it doesn’t rely on cards that can expire, you can rest assured payments will go through.If your business needs to take recurring payments… let’s talk
Open Conversations: The Briter Way to Pay and Get Paid: Interview With Bo Liljefors
Legacy systems used for taking payments – the most popular being direct debit and credit card – are slow, manual and outdated. These old methods rely on slow batch payments, and are also prone to human error and payment failure, and costly for businesses. Brite Instant Payments are different. Powered by Open Banking for faster payments in real-time, they also make taking payment more cost-effective – greatly reducing fraud and with practically zero chargebacks. We sat down with Brite’s Chief Product Officer, Bo Liljefors, for his insights into the fast-changing payments landscape. The Problem With Legacy Payment Methods There are a number of pain points for businesses of taking payments using traditional, non-Open Banking, methods. Particularly credit cards. As Liljefors explains, the most widely-used way to take payment is actually costly and inefficient for businesses: “With card payments, you get higher payment fees because you have so many middlemen involved in one transaction. You have the issuer, you have the acquirer, you have the payment gateway. So as a merchant, you pay a very high cost per transaction for accepting card payments.” Card settlements are also slow. The batch processing system relies on ‘next business day’ timings and it can take three to five days or more to actually settle the funds which a business collects at point of sale. Although slow and inconvenient batch payments are still the standard used by most businesses, as Liljefors points out, “it makes liquidity management much trickier”. What Makes Brite Instant Payments Different? Unlike legacy payment methods, Brite Payments’ product is only three years old, and built on the latest PSD2 infrastructure, enabling them to deliver a faster and more convenient experience. Other account-to-account (A2A) instant payment providers are more than 10 years old and built on older technology. Brite Payments’ youth is key to their being able to take advantage of the very latest instant payment technologies. Its own internal technology platform is entirely built in the cloud, which is a huge advantage, enabling Brite Payments to scale at the pace required. “It makes us very flexible and fast-paced,” says Liljefors, “especially when it comes to delivering new products or features and building our capacity.” Open Banking technology has enabled Brite Payments to build products that deliver several crucial advantages for merchants: Cost “The foremost advantage,” according to Liljefors, “is the efficiency of the actual payment infrastructure and what that means in terms of costs.” Speed With Brite Instant Payments, transactions happen in real-time and are fully automated – so there’s no need for human input. This is what makes instant payments instant. “The customer gets paid, whether it’s Christmas Eve or Sunday or any day of the year.” explains Liljefors. “You know you’ll have the funds in your account within seconds, as opposed to the next banking day, which is the standard when a merchant does batch payments.” Convenience “Everything is automated,” says Liljefors. “So you, as a merchant, get everything packaged in terms of reporting and reconciliation.” Brite Instant Payments offer all-in-one convenience you won’t get with legacy payment methods. “There’s no need for any manual input to reconcile all your transactions,” Liljefors continues, “it’s all handled automatically. And you can have it presented in whatever file format you’d like.” Availability Instant payments can be used by almost everyone. “As long as the customer has a bank account, they can use Brite Payments to pay – with no signup or download needed.” points out Liljefors. “The same can’t be said for some credit cards, for example, which aren’t accepted everywhere.” Security Brite Instant Payments are built on the latest PSD2 infrastructure, which was implemented to make payments safer and more secure. “When you have instant payments, you also reduce the risk of unsettled payments,” explains Liljefors. “So you reduce the risk of fraudulent and suspicious activity or people tampering with transactions, preventing them from actually reaching the merchant or whoever the recipient is.” He goes on: “Overall, the fraud rate is very, very low. All payments are executed via at least one, strong customer authentication – a bank app or similar. For anyone to hack those apps or methods is virtually impossible.” Low Barrier to Entry Brite Instant Payments work very intuitively, so onboarding is simple. “Anyone who’s used internet banking will understand the flow”, says Liljefors. Brite Features That Make Things Easier Single-Sign Authentication “Historically, with A2A payments, you had to authenticate at least twice – once to log into your bank and once to confirm the payment.” Liljefors explains, “But with Brite Payments, you only have to authenticate once. That’s a huge benefit.” Know Your Customer Brite Data Solutions collects name, address, and date of birth data for all users. This product performs all necessary background checks automatically. Brite Payments Back-Office Application This easy-to-use app gives all Brite merchants everything they need, from transactions to customer information, and all reconciliation and reporting (using the built-in reporting tool). It also allows merchants to customise their settings, including configuring risk settings and imposing business rules for customers. Time2Money This unique feature was developed in-house by Brite Payments. It’s a timestamp included with each payout requested and accepted. “We’re still the only one offering this service,” Liljefors proudly asserts. “It creates value because it adds transparency to the payment process. You will always know when you’ll receive the funds. And it reduces the number of errands because the end user will not contact you asking ‘where’s my money?’” How taking Brite Instant Payments costs your business less The main cost saving for merchants accepting instant payments is a result of lower per-transaction costs. A2A payments bypass card transaction fees, which are typically around 3%. Brite Instant Payments also have “practically zero chargebacks”, according to Liljefors. Chargebacks can be something of a “hidden” cost, but were responsible for 2% of merchants’ lost revenue in 2021. As Liljefors explains, “When a card user requests a pause in payments, they usually incur a one-off fee: €10, or sometimes up to €20, per chargeback request. I don’t think Brite has
E-Commerce Trends: Increase Loyalty With Instant Payouts
E-commerce trends have been rapidly evolving. Consumer trends and merchantpriorities are quickly changing to keep pace with the new retail landscape they are operating in. With the high market saturation in the e-commerce industry, instant payouts offer brands a way to differentiate themselves and increase customer loyalty. In this blog, we will explore how consumer demands for instant payments have grown, and the benefits offering instant payouts brings to e-commerce businesses. The Appeal of Instant Payouts COVID-19 has majorly impacted many areas of day-to-day life, but none more so than consumers’ shopping behaviour and preferences. Continuous lockdowns, social distancing, and other regulations have all impacted how and where people shop, what they buy, and how they want to pay. Restrictions have been lifted in many locations, but it has become clear that many of the behaviours consumers formed over the course of the pandemic are here to stay. E-commerce businesses have been forced to change their operations and strategy to keep pace with changing consumer behaviour. Closure of brick-and-mortar stores and restrictions on the number of people allowed to gather in one location during lockdowns pushed a shift to online shopping. Businesses that operated in brick-and-mortar locations had to upscale their e-commerce and logistics capabilities.In this rapidly changing landscape, the key to e-commerce success has been meeting the demands of their audiences. But this is a tough challenge. However, this challenge has also presented an opportunity. Fast-reacting e-commerce businesses have been able to appeal to modern shoppers and increase loyalty by offering a seamless online shopping experience through digital payments. Brite Payments consumer research shows that 43% of Gen Z, 31% of Millennials, and 33% of Gen X found instant refunds important when shopping within the e-commerce industry. With more people shopping online, e-commerce retailers must appeal to customers and differentiate themselves at every touchpoint. This especially important when it comes to payments and returns. Why Offer Instant Refunds to Your Customers? There is high market saturation in the e-commerce industry. While a saturated e-commerce market can present challenges, it also implies increased demands, opening the doors for more brand opportunities. As brands look for ways to stand out among their competitors, offering free returns is important in fostering customer loyalty. Strong refund policies are becoming increasingly important to online shoppers. Walker Sands found that 54% of consumers cite free returns or exchanges as key for where and how to shop. This implies that many consumers intend to use the refund or exchange policy when they do their online shopping. E-commerce businesses need to have robust and seamless returns and payout processes in place to deal with the growing volume of returns and exchanges that are happening. Increases in returns do not necessarily present a problem for e-commerce retailers. It simply observes a change in the way consumers shop. For example, where previously a consumer may have gone to a brick-and-mortar store to try multiple pairs of jeans to find the right size, they may now order them to their home and return the pairs that do not fit. Retailers need to be able to cater to this new way of shopping, guaranteeing that refunds will be processed fast. How Often Do Consumers Return Items? According to the NRF, retail return rates soared to an average of 16.6% in 2021 compared with 10.6% from the previous year. Shoppers regularly return items they have purchased online. It should come as no surprise that instant payouts are an essential business tool. Waiting three to five banking days for a refund will not ensure a returning customer anymore. Shopify research shows that consumers ranked ease of returns highly when they are considering where to do online shopping. 62% Of customers expect an exchange or refund within 30 days of purchase. Thirty day refunds have now become an industry standard with almost two-thirds of consumers expecting them. This presents an opportunity for strategic e-commerce businesses to differentiate themselves. It willdelight their customers by offering a faster and more reliable returns experience with instant payouts. With the changing landscape of online shopping, consumers are focusing more on merchants’ refund and return processes. Retailers have legal responsibilities, but it is the way that businesses put these regulations into practice at the checkout that matters to shoppers. Having a free 30-day return policy is not enough, that policy needs to be implemented seamlessly. Consumers want to see their refunds back in their bank accounts quickly. Without friction from having to deal with clunky and difficult-to-use platforms. Creating a Seamless Instant Refund Experience As many businesses expand their online shopping operations, you also need to ensure that you can handle increased online sales along with increased refunds and returns. As the volume of returns increases, you need to optimise your systems. This to be able to automatically handle the processing and settling of refunds. You need to look at your returns process from a customer perspective. This way you can identify the bottlenecks in your current policy. For example, to increase customer loyalty and speed up settlements, you may want to consider refunding returns for lower value items from loyal customers instantly. Rather than slow and clunky processes that take 30 days and leave customers to deal with your customer support or chase you for their payout, you can offer an instant alternative. But this requires retailers to remove their reliance on legacy systems and laborious internal processes. Instant Refunds With Brite Payments Offering instant payouts presents a clear competitive advantage for online retailers and a strong way of capturing customer loyalty. Consumers are more focused than ever on returns policies when they are making decisions about where to shop. As returns are increasing across the e-commerce industry, the speed at which consumer behaviour is changing means that there is no time for merchants to be complacent when it comes to offering instant refunds. Make instant payouts simply and securely with Brite Payments – the next generation of payment solutions. Let’s talk.
60% of Generation X Want Instant Payouts for Trading
The payment and payout methods that your business accepts aren’t about jumping on the latest tech trend or sticking to the legacy system that’s simple for you. Choosing the right payment and payout tools requires an understanding of your customers and how they want to pay and be paid. Every industry and every audience will be different. Many finance leaders need to overcome outdated assumptions about how various generations prefer to make and receive payments. In this post, we will look at Gen Xers’ digital payment preferences within the trading and investment industry. We will review Brite Payments’ consumer research. This research that shows a generation that is typically ignored when it comes to tech innovation. Actually, they are demanding instant payments and value them more than any other generation when it comes to this industry. Who Are Gen X and Why Do They Care About Instant Payouts? Gen X are those who are around thirty to fifty years of age and were born between the mid-1960s and the late 1970s. Gen X is unique in comparison to those generations that came before and afterward. They have a higher level of education than the previous generation but they don’t have as many financial resources available. While they are high earners, they make more frequent use of credit. With many having mortgages, car loans, student debt (for themselves and children) along with credit card debt. This generation remembers what analogue means. Unlike those who came afterward, they have not grown up with smartphones. They have adapted and embraced digital devices into their lives, with many making use of computers, smartphones, and tablets. These devices are now their go-to shopping tools with Gen X making more online purchases than any other age group. The payment methods most used by Gen X are digital. They don’t use cheques and they only make bank transfers if necessary but almost always online. Gen X may have been born in an analogue world, but they are fully integrated into the digital era. They expect businesses to deliver them all of the convenience that comes with digital payments. An industry that needs to focus on its Gen X audience and their demand for digital payments is trading and investment. Gen X is increasingly turning to trading and investment apps as a way to make micro-investments. So, how can institutions in the trading industry offer Gen X the seamless digital payment experiences they are looking for? Brite Research Finds 60% of Gen-Xers Say Instant Payouts are Important to Trading A recent report conducted by Brite Payments (April 2022) shows that 60% of Gen X consumers believe instant payouts are important in the trading industry. This was higher than any other generation surveyed, showing that the trading industry needs to start leveraging instant payouts as a way to increase user satisfaction among Gen X as well as increase payment frequency. Instant is becoming the new normal. If financial institutions want to attract and retain a Gen X audience they need to offer instant payouts through a frictionless experience that is available 24/7/365. Why Trading Needs to Embrace Instant Payouts Trading and investment platforms that offer instant payouts offer several advantages over their competitors who don’t. With instant payouts, you can enable your customers to swiftly make a trade before the market moves and access their invested funds quickly when they need it. Instant payouts provide a seamless experience to quickly transfer funds to their bank account. Brokers can experience high drop-off rates between registration and first trade. An instant payment and payout option makes it possible for your customers to fund their accounts with a frictionless experience. Customers will notice how quickly they can access their funds or add additional funds. This will increase customer loyalty and build trust with them. This in turn can lead to increased activity and higher deposits as the consumers are aware that the funds can turn around quicker. A possible explanation for why instant payouts are important for Gen Xers is that in comparison to the previous generation they have less money saved and greater debt. Fast access to their finances is of greater importance to them than other generations when managing their cash flow. Choose Brite Payments to Offer Your Customers Instant Payouts Being able to offer instant payouts will position your brokerage or trading and investment platform to capitalise on the demand for fast withdrawals. Trading and investment platforms offering instant payouts provide a tangible benefit to consumers. You can quickly differentiate yourself from competitors and increase consumer satisfaction.Make instant payouts simply and securely with Brite – the next generation of payment solutions. Let’s talk.
How to Win Customer Loyalty in the Instant Economy
In the instant economy, e-commerce retailers looking for a competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace should be asking themselves whether their customer experience could be better. Perhaps it’s time to leverage instant payments as a means to win new customers – and maintain their loyalty long term. Instant payments and instant payouts require no sign-up and no card details. Consumers need nothing more than a bank account to pay and get paid, creating a golden opportunity for merchants to simplify the payment and refund process. Seamless payments and payouts are not only an operational consideration. They’re a driver of consumer loyalty, revenue, and a matter of significant competitive advantage. An Opportunity to Win Customer Loyalty With day’s instant economy, modern shoppers present an opportunity for increased loyalty. According to our consumer research (performed in April 2022), 43% of Gen Z, 31% of Millennials, and 33% of Gen X found instant refunds to be an important feature within the e-commerce industry. Due to high market saturation, brands are looking for ways to stand out from competitors, such as offering free shipping and returns as a way of garnering customer loyalty. Brite Payments’ consumer research concludes that instant payouts are the next step in offering a superior customer experience – instant refunds mean happier customers and more repeat business, particularly as the money is already in their account ready to spend. And the option of instant payouts is more than just a nice-to-have for consumers. Four in five (81%) consumers say choosing how they receive their payments is very important. Keeping customers happy and loyal requires businesses to look beyond legacy payout methods and prioritise real-time refunds. How Can Businesses Make the Most of Seamless Payments? Whatever payments customers are looking for, they want them faster and more convenient. And fast open banking payments makes it possible to pay out funds into their bank accounts in real-time. Offering instant payments and instant payouts to consumers can boost your reputation, improve customer experiences, and reduce complaints. Here are some of the most popular ways they can make a difference in your business. Refunds Offering instant payouts for returns could be a clear point of competitive advantage for online businesses, and a strong way of capturing customer loyalty. Instant refunds could have a big impact on customer retention and repeat purchases. Rewards and Incentives Rewards and incentives are proven to increase loyalty. But traditional discounts or points schemes can take time to process. The instant gratification of a real-time payout is more effective as it links the thrill of the reward directly to the action that earned it. Seamless Payment Process Whatever industry you’re in, faster, fuss-free payments can vastly improve the customer experience and keep them coming back. There’s nothing to sign up for, no card details required and nothing to download – just a bank account is needed. Give Consumers What They Want Brite Payments’ consumer research shows that customers want instant payouts – particularly in the trading industry, where half of respondents said it was either ‘important’ or ‘very important’ to have instant payouts. And it’s easy to see why they would appeal to those customers. Unlike traditional bank transfers, instant payouts often have a much higher limit on the value of the payout – something that could be especially appealing to investors in today’s unpredictable markets. This means trading and investment platforms that offer instant payouts can provide a tangible benefit to their customers – differentiating from competitors, and increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. And, because customers know funds can turn around quickly, this leads to more trading activity and higher deposits. But their appeal isn’t limited to the trading industry. Awareness of instant payouts is growing consistently. Brite’s consumer research shows that people want to be paid instantly regardless of the amount in question, and across numerous industries. Consumers are more inclined to spend with merchants that offer their preferred payment methods. So there’s a strong opportunity for businesses to appeal to a wider consumer base by implementing instant payouts. But those that lag behind in offering alternative payment methods risk losing customers. The Next Generation of Payment Solutions Brite Payments is a payment method where money flows instantly from one bank account to another. Only top-of-mind information is needed to make a payment. With Brite Instant Payouts, you can instantly pay your customers, instead of having them waiting days for the money to come through. The best thing? Your customers can see exactly when their money will arrive. If your business needs to pay out money fast, or if you want to make paying for your customers seamless… let’s talk.
How are Different Industries Impacted by Instant Payouts?
Instant bank payments have transformed the payment landscape. By looking closer at the Trading, Travel and E-commerce trends in 2022 for instant payouts, what can we learn about the reasons behind their rise in popularity? And what can this tell us about the opportunities available for businesses in those industries where demand for real-time payments is high? Recent consumer research from Brite Payments shows that the convenience and speed of instant payouts are particularly valued by consumers within the E-commerce, Trading and Travel industries. So, how can embracing instant payouts help operators in those industries build better customer experiences and increase loyalty? Is Your Industry Impacted by the Popularity of Instant Payouts? Continued digitalisation means instant business bank accounts are growing rapidly in popularity worldwide. The global transaction volume for all instant bank payments reached 70.4 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 30% by 2024. Big numbers, but put simply in terms of potential customers, this means there will be 65m open banking users in Europe by 2024. According to the whitepaper Instant Payments – Reshaping the Payments Ecosystem by Juniper Research, the transaction value of instant payments will exceed $27.7 trillion in 2026, a 470% rise from $4.8 trillion in 2021. With the overall rise of instant bank payments, instant payouts – often in the form of seamless refunds – are also proving increasingly important to customers across all industries, having tripled in 2021. But, according to consumer research carried out by Brite Payments, it’s within the industries of E-commerce, Trading, and Travel where instant payouts are deemed most important by the key generations: Gen X (born 1965–1976), Millennials (born 1977–1995), and Gen Z (born 1996–2015). E-commerce According to Brite’s consumer research, younger customers most valued instant payouts in the E-commerce industry, with 43% of Gen Z saying they’re important. Trading Some 52% of Millennials and a huge 60% of Gen X respondents said instant payouts were important to them within the Trading industry. Travel In the Travel industry, instant payouts were popular among all three generations, with 44% of both Millennials and Gen Xers showing their approval. But Gen Z showed the most love again with 55% valuing instant payouts. Source: The Instant Economy: Delivering faster, simpler, and superior B2C payments across Sweden What’s Behind the Growing Trend for Instant Payouts? Recent drastic changes to the global economy – including steeply rising interest rates and inflation – mean it’s more important than ever for businesses to manage their cash flow closely. Particularly those operating on already tight margins. There’s also the continued rise of the gig economy, where payout is connected to performance. In the UK alone, the percentage of workers paid by platforms like Uber and Deliveroo jumped from 6% to 15% in just five years. And instant payments and payouts are also a huge part of marketplace selling, with clear benefits for both consumers and businesses operating in this area. It’s another growth industry, with around 60% of Amazon sales now made by third-party sellers. And let’s not forget that COVID-19 has accelerated the already present trend towards instant payments with real-time payments increasing during the pandemic. A Big Opportunity for Your Business When it comes specifically to instant payouts to customers, these three generations – Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z – are today more impatient than ever. Waiting three to five working days for a refund is simply not going to guarantee a repeat customer any more. Conversely, the near-instantaneous speeds available for today’s customer-facing operations, such as the rapid handling of refunds and disbursements, are a great way to build customer loyalty and a superior customer experience. They’re capable of making a real competitive difference in already saturated markets like e-commerce. Likewise, immediate money transfers are now available 24/7/365 to refund travel purchases – which are usually on the more expensive side. Knowing this gives customers more security, a better overall experience, and the trust and confidence to part with their money in the first place. Within the E-commerce, Trading, and Travel industries, the consumer research carried out by Brite Payments reveals that it’s Gen Z customers that show the highest consistent demand for instant payouts. But with demand also high among Gen X and Millennials consumers, particularly in certain industries, there’s no doubt that businesses operating in these industries should seriously consider implementing instant payouts. Not only to attract new customers but to keep their existing customers happy. The Next Generation of Payment Solutions With Brite Instant Payouts you can pay your customers 365 days 24/7, using an automatic API setup based on Open Banking. The Brite platform is totally secure eliminates the risk for human error by removing the need for any user input. Plus, our fully transparent model builds trust with your customers by showing them exactly when their money will arrive. With quicker payouts, your customers will repurchase from you more often, which is great for business! We verify the account holder to ensure funds are always paid to the right person. If your business needs to pay out money, fast… let’s talk.
The next wave of fintech is here
Lisa Edström Appointed Compliance Director at Brite Payments
Following on from 12 months of hyper growth, Brite Payments has appointed Lisa Edström, formerly Chief Compliance Officer at Zettle by PayPal, as its new Compliance Director. The recruitment underpins the company’s compliance-first approach to payments innovation. Brite Payments is a large-scale payment provider with a strong merchant and consumer brand proposition. The second-generation fintech is committed to swift, impactful response to consumer preference; with an approach that both satisfies consumer needs and strengthens the merchant offering. The recruitment of Lisa Edström shows Brite’s commitment to regulatory compliance. Prior to joining Brite Payments, Lisa has held senior compliance positions at payments and financial services businesses including GE Capital, Klarna and most recently at Zettle (ex-iZettle). Lisa’s move highlights her strong belief in Brite’s brand and its unique ability to satisfy varied needs of modern payments solutions. Backed by her comprehensive experience, Lisa will lead Brite’s global compliance function throughout its ambitious growth strategy. Lisa joins the Brite team while the business explores new use case development and the establishment of local bases in its markets to deepen relationships and better understand the product needs. Lisa’s arrival will be instrumental in Brite’s plans to broaden its product range and in the ambitious plans for market expansion. To support these plans, Lisa will focus on the development of a comprehensive compliance program and building a team of knowledgeable, proactive compliance officers. Speaking on her new position, Lisa Edström commented: “I’m excited to join the Brite team and to support its continued focus on regulation and compliance throughout its ambitious plans. Brite Payments was created for both merchants and consumers, and I am pleased to be joining a business that is so aware of the role that compliance plays in merchants’ and consumers’ adoption of its products.” Commenting on the company’s latest arrival, Lena Hackelöer, Founder and CEO at Brite Payments shares: “I first met Lisa when we worked together at Klarna, and I am so pleased that she is joining our team at Brite. Lisa’s arrival is crucial to our expansion plans, to ensure that our solutions adhere to all regulation and compliance requirements. Her move is a testimony to Brite’s second-generation approach, as she contributes a wealth of highly relevant experience in international payments giants.” Lisa continued: “Open banking is an ever-evolving area, especially now and here in Stockholm. Having seen the development of open banking mainly from the ASPSPs’ perspective, I look forward to seeing the Third-Party Provider perspective and dive into Payment Initiation and Account Information Services.” For more information about Brite Payments products, please visit our business page. ABOUT BRITE: Brite Payments is a second generation FinTech based in Stockholm. The instant payments provider is leveraging Open Banking technology to process A2A payments in real-time between consumers and online merchants. With Brite, no signup or credit card details are required as consumers authenticate themselves with top-of-mind details using their bank’s usual identification method. The company currently operates across 21 markets in Europe and is connected to more than 3,800 banks within the EU.
