Fliss Berridge, professional trombonist turned co-founder of Ordo, talks about the importance of UX and how Ordo is challenging the Payments Industry.
So, Fliss, what does ‘great’ look like to you in terms of UX?
A great user experience is when our customer, techy or otherwise, can intuitively click through a simple, straightforward payment journey without any ‘how to’ videos, or tutorials and feel like they’re in control. At the same time, it’s ensuring clarity and transparency of the process, so the customer feels secure about who they are paying, how much and when. And for those that do want more information, they’re signposted to where they can read about our robust security and FCA authorisation and so on….it’s a constant tightrope we walk between giving enough information during a journey and not overwhelming users with a cluttered journey.
What is the core focus for Ordo in terms of UX for the business customer?
In a nutshell, we want to make it easier, instant, and lower cost for businesses to get paid.
Our charging model centres around a low, fixed fee rather than charging a percentage of the transaction, like other payment providers. We want the experience of doing business with Ordo to be not only cost effective, but also simple and straightforward, with our charges clear and transparent.
That means our journeys have to be slick, ensuring that businesses receive their payments in real time, automatically and correctly referenced, and that the payer is confident in who they’re paying and how much.
So, firstly, the low fixed fee Ordo charges could cut a business’ payment costs by up to 80%. With the cost of living rising for everyone, this could mean make or break for any business, small or large.
Secondly, we also want to make it easy for businesses to collect payment. When we asked businesses owners what they didn’t like about running a business, 42% of our respondents cited managing accounts and payments as being right up there as the worst part of the job. On top of this, 45% said they regularly put in an extra 10 hours per week reconciling payments and doing business or accounting admin….that’s a lot of hours businesses could spend in better ways, like growing the business instead of just treading water.
Ordo’s automatic reconciliation and real time payment transfers, available 24/7, can crunch through much of that work, leaving those precious extra hours free for really matters, like helping the kids with their homework or just switching off over dinner after a hectic day.
And thirdly, around a fifth of businesses said they didn’t know how much their payment providers were charging them. In times of financial squeeze, we don’t think that’s an acceptable situation. We want to make sure that businesses are being charged in a way that’s clear and transparent, so they can feel confident that they know exactly where they are with their costs, and it doesn’t take an afternoon of calling your payment provider or reading the small print to find out.
How does Ordo’s solution support UX for the end user?
Whilst we want to make it easy and lower cost for businesses to collect payment, we equally want to make sure our service is fit for purpose for everyone, which means our end users too – the payers.
When we first set about building Ordo from scratch, we undertook extensive user experience trials, putting all our customer journeys through independent, ‘no holds barred’ testing.
It gave us some great insights into how people view finances; from those that pay as soon as a bill comes in, to those that tightly manage their cash flow and hold off paying until the final red demand arrives.
This led us to create frictionless ‘Guest Checkout’ payment functionality. There’s no need for a payer to register or sign up with Ordo, or download our app, to be able to pay, which means zero barriers to making payment. Plus, Ordo shows payers at a glance, exactly who they’re paying and how much. They can then choose to complete the transaction whenever or wherever they are, be it on the move, waiting for the bus or during any micro moments in the day. No more need to carve out precious hours in the day just to stay on top of life’s admin.
When you consider some 70% of baskets are abandoned due to complicated checkout processes, you can see the value in making sure convenience and efficiency are integral to the Ordo solution.
What are the upcoming trends in UX? Is there anything Ordo is currently doing to further enhance UX?
When COVID hit, 80% of individuals gave themselves a ‘financial MOT’. As a result of this exercise, 40% of people with direct debits planned to cancel at least one of them. And once a direct debit is cancelled, it tends not to be re-instated.
Open Banking, which is enabling real time single bank transfers, has been boosting the cash flow of thousands of business during a crucial time, and has saved businesses both direct and indirect costs. Looking forward to the future, Open Banking will also help those repeated payments become less costly and burdensome. This initiative is called Variable Recurring Payments (VRP), and one version of it is essentially a ‘smart direct debit’.
With VRP, businesses can set up both regular and irregular, same and changing amount, repeated payments within seconds, rather than 3 working days. And equally, consumers can set their own parameters tailoring their consents to each retailer. No more waiting weeks for your streaming service to go online or having to make confusing ad hoc additional payments whilst the direct debit is set up, VRP will be set up in minutes, payment is guaranteed and irrevocable in a business’ bank account once the VRP mandate is approved by the payer, and goods or services can immediately be provided, with the business knowing and certain they’ve been paid. And for the payer, they have up to the second oversight and control of the money going out of their account, which is how it should be.
Any last thoughts?
If you ever make or receive payments, then Ordo can make a difference to you in terms of saving time and money, and delighting your customers. Ordo will get you paid quicker, and work in tune with your business, instead of the discord that payments are for businesses today, and that is music to my ears!
If you would like to discuss any of what has been covered in this article, in further detail, please reach out to us via email at info@ordopay.com to find out more.