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Know your customers enough to create customisable solutions

Several payment service providers are on a mission to empower online businesses through creating simple, affordable, and trusted payment experiences

A company that is extremely attuned to the needs of its customers will have a distinct advantage over its competitors, says Peter George, managing director of Amazon Payment Services.

Speaking at the Step 2022 Conference in Dubai, George highlighted the wave of digital transformation that has swept across the UAE and Mena region, and how service providers will need to work together with several key players to create customisable solutions for startups in the region.

“The environment around us right now is amazing and we have seen a surge in startups and innovation,” George said. “It is also a super exciting time for investments into the region’s startups sector; as the pace of digital transformation accelerates across the region, it is up to us as service providers to enable what startups are doing.”

Innovation, he explained, often springs when there are gaps in customer offerings, and for many startups this gap revolves around payment services. Amazon Payment Services (APS) is on a mission to empower online businesses through a simple, affordable, and trusted payment experience. Designed to enable businesses to unlock and optimise their online presence, APS provides secure digital payment services and solutions that are easy to use and customisable.

“We started out as a startup ourselves all those years ago, and it is important for us to leverage our expertise and experience along with the international technology that we have to help startups,” George said. “The governments in the region have also been very supportive of our mission to develop tech that is based on the trends that customers need and are looking for.”

Insights from consumers will continue to be very important, he added, especially when it comes to creating solutions that cater to a diverse audience and their needs. “Know your customers enough to create customisable solutions for them which you can then scale accordingly.”

Mo Ali Yusuf, regional manager for the Menap region at Checkout.com, also noted how payments remain a complex subject for many merchants who are running payments across multiple markets. “We’re focused on changing that by offering businesses the flexibility to provide multiple local currencies and alternative payment methods through a single platform. One thing that has remained the same is the need for businesses to remain agile – be that from the pandemic, changing consumer preference, international trade changes, or regulation.”

Ultimately, Checkout.com is on a mission to enable businesses and their communities to thrive in the digital economy, he said. “Fundamentally, we’re still at chapter zero, operating in a near infinitely expanding global market. Moreover, the Mena region is outpacing larger regions with its adoption of digital commerce, fueled in part by a young, tech-savvy population. At the same time, we’ve seen forward-thinking regulators take a very constructive approach to enabling innovation in digital commerce and the fintech space overall.”

rohma@khaleejtimes.com