Reflecting on 2022 and looking to the year ahead

As we move into 2023, I wanted to share my reflections on the year behind us, as well as what the future holds for Cashflows and the payments industry. 2022 has seen great advancements in technology, with customers being offered more choice of ways to pay then ever before and improvements in omnichannel providing holistic experiences. Having joined Cashflows in May, I have seen the impact of these wider industry changes on the business over a short period. It’s these shifts that make me excited for what is to come over the next year and serve as a reminder of the importance of flexibility in an ever-changing industry such as ours.

At Cashflows, we absolutely believe that people are our strength, and this has resulted in many new appointments across the business over the last year, including four seasoned industry professionals to our C-suite. We also welcomed Marion King in October to our Board of Directors; a woman of truly remarkable experience in financial services, including Director of Payments at NatWest, several roles at Mastercard, Chairperson of the Payments Association, and a passionate advocate of women in leadership.

Over the past year, we have seen new products make significant progress too. Our Embedded Frames solution removes the need for customers to be redirected to a new window to finalise their payments. Embedded Frames provides a sleek user experience as well as complete flexibility and customisation of checkouts. Used well, this can increase conversion and reduce cart abandonment, as well as provide a truly omnichannel payments experience by facilitating payments across all platforms, including in-app. We have several new products launching over 2023 that we’re incredibly excited to be able to share in the coming months. By prioritising purposeful product development, we will be making payments increasingly simple for our customers and partners to understand, integrate, and use.

Looking at the industry going into 2023, it is evident that innovation and creativity in the fintech and payments space won’t be stalled by recession. Not only are payments fundamental to the continued operation of every business, but new technology is increasingly being turned to as a solution in these testing times. Businesses are looking to fintech for additional efficiency and security, as well as a way of ensuring better value for money through smart financial decision making. This offers opportunities for partnership between tech and solution providers as companies look for comprehensive systems to improve their businesses and help them consolidate.

As the Payment System’s Regulator’s (PSR) Card Acquirer Market Review uncovered last year, the main problem facing SME businesses is the difficulty in comparing different providers and technology. Transparency from acquirers and payments companies in 2023 will be key to ensuring these companies get the payment solutions they deserve.

At Cashflows, we will be continuing to focus on educating businesses, helping them understand the payments systems, products, and industry changes that have an impact on their success. Supporting these companies that fuel the UK economy to improve productivity by reducing the inefficiencies created by poorly integrated systems or complex user interfaces will be fundamental to ensuring resilience over the coming year. As the landscape continues to shift, providers will need to empower businesses to be flexible, adapt, and evolve to account for changing business needs and ensure success moving forward.