Where platforms are losing (and winning) merchants: Inside switching triggers

Retailers are no longer sticking with payment platforms out of habit. New data shows that merchants are increasingly willing to switch providers if their current setup feels like a bottleneck. For your business, this means the 'all-in-one' promise of legacy processors is losing its shine compared to platforms that offer specialized financial tools. If your current provider makes it difficult to integrate new consumer financing options or buy now, pay later (BNPL) features, you are likely losing revenue to competitors with more flexible stacks. The biggest triggers for switching include high processing costs, clunky user interfaces, and poor data reporting. Merchants want a unified view of their customers. They are moving toward platforms that act as a 'growth partner' rather than just a utility. This shift is particularly important for high-ticket industries like home improvement or automotive, where the ability to toggle between different lending partners can be the difference between a closed sale and a lost customer. If your platform doesn't offer seamless API integrations for the latest financing products, it might be time to look at the market. Loyalty is now earned through technical agility and the ability to help you offer more credit options to your customers at the point of sale.

Source: Payments Dive

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