IBS Intelligence: Mollie provides payments that drive growth
Earlier this month, Chief Commercial Officer at Mollie Ken Serdons spoke to Sunniva Kolostyak, FinTech Reporter for IBS Intelligence about Mollie’s:
– Growth Mindset research findings from a survey of 2,500 EU merchants
– Plans to diversify product offering
– Observations of trends in consumer behaviour during and post pandemic.
Listen to the interview – or read an outline of the discussion below:
1. Mollie is one of the fastest growing online PSPs in Europe, currently serving over 100,000 merchants with payments in Europe. The simple solution allows small to medium businesses to accept all major payment methods in minutes, integrates with other tools SMEs use, and comes with all the support they need to grow.
2. Due to the global pandemic, 2020 was a very busy year for many of Mollie’s customers due to increased consumer demands for online offerings. The year saw traditional and physical stores shifting to digital and in sudden need for online payments and an ability to compete online – sometimes without a team or department dedicated to ecommerce. Mollie’s SME-friendly and accessible offering enabled thousands of businesses to make the transition, including getting set up fast, selecting the right methods, and accessing simple reports that highlight growth opportunities.
3. As a result of COVID-19, Mollie saw an influx of new customers: “Each time a new lockdown was announced, new customer inquiries would spike.” shares Serdons. For many, it was their first-time dealing with the world of ecommerce and online payments and they needed guidance. Mollie’s fast and paperless onboarding and multi-language support was a key differentiator here. Top-notch integrations with ecommerce platforms make it possible to get payments set up in a few clicks. Mollie helped many offline merchants to start selling online and survive a very difficult time.
4. During the pandemic, many consumers moved to shopping online and discovered the ease of doing so. This led to a significant spike in trade for many online sellers – like Refurbished.nl. As restrictions lift, this trend in consumer behaviour is sticking. Alongside this there is a desire for in-person shopping experiences and for some sectors that really had to shut down – travel, hospitality, retail – there is an exciting upward trend again.
5. Mollie’s mission is to be the most loved PSP in Europe – and understanding how to support merchants’ growth is a key part thereof. At the end of 2020, Mollie commissioned research with 2,500 merchants to understand the impact of various factors on growth and through this identified that businesses with a growth mindset grow faster on average than those with a fixed mindset. When it comes to payments, those with a growth mindset adopted more payment methods and saw an increase in conversions as a result. Where fixed mindset merchants tend to stay local, growth mindset merchants are more willing to give international expansion a go. A lot starts with the mindset of the business owner.
6. Whatever their mindset, Mollie is invested in helping customers think about growth and has a customer success management team for medium-sized businesses dedicated to this – from proactive suggestions on how to optimise checkout, white papers and content on growth, and advice on best practice to close the excellence gap. Due to our large customer base, we have data that enables us to provide insights at scale.
7. Earlier this year, Mollie announced UK expansion plans: “Something that we observe is that UK merchants don’t rave about their payment service providers.” comments Serdons. “For example, pricing is complex and not transparent and to put it frankly, there is a better experience to be had for merchants of all sizes.” Mollie’s current focus in the UK is to help businesses that sell to Europe – something that has become more complex due to Brexit. This includes supporting them to offer the right payment methods to sell successfully to European merchants that want to pay with methods unfamiliar to the UK merchant (for example, iDEAL in the Netherlands). This optimization of the payment step removes friction to doing business with consumers in Europe.
8. From the very beginning, Mollie’s approach has been product-first with an emphasis on localisation. For example, ensuring high quality integrations that SMEs in any given region or sector need to grow their online businesses. It is critical that merchants offer the right solutions for their customers. Mollie enables merchants to switch on additional gateways and methods fast to stay competitive. A customer-centric approach means no lock-in contract, transparent pricing, and no increasing fees and margins as volume grows.
9. Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) options have become very successful indeed. What’s really good about these options is that they solve a need for both the consumer and the merchants. Payment option that reduces friction and gives consumers a more flexible way to pay. These solutions are well regulated in markets outside the UK – it’s in the interests for consumers, merchants and providers to cover risks and offer protected ways to pay.
10. Mollie is growing in all markets including existing markets – where there is a trend of larger merchants signing up – and new markets like Germany – where thousands of customers sign up weekly. “While payment methods are the core of what we do, we would like to help our customers with all of their payments needs and growing to be a full financial services provider for b2b customers is on the horizon.” says Serdons.
We hope these insights serve to tell you a little more about what’s been happening at Mollie. If you enjoyed them, listen to the full interview.