How two organizations modernized payment operations 

What is the payments-as-a-capability model?

In our last blog, we unpacked the different types of digital payments: B2B, B2C, C2B, and P2P. We also touched on some ways to find and tackle the pain points that payment operations might be causing in your organization.

Now let’s look at a couple of real-life examples. Each one illustrates “payments-as-a-capability,” meaning we helped an organization redefine the way its payment model functioned so management could achieve certain operational objectives. Here’s how those scenarios played out.

Modernizing operations with a new payment hub for an insurer

At the time, the insurer had two of the three pain points described in our last blog: aging, expensive legacy systems and inefficient, manual payment processes. The chief operating officer embarked on an ambitious effort to turn this around by modernizing the organization’s operations. Part of the effort involved enabling self-service so customers could manage some of their own payment needs. 

The insurer selected a new payments platform to serve as a hub for payment processes within the organization’s many divisions. After standing up the platform, the insurer consolidated its existing payment capabilities and retired the legacy systems. 

The new platform delivers payment services through all channels, including mobile, web, interactive voice response, and telephone customer service. Meanwhile, the platform has refreshed many of the organization’s payment processes, enriching the data that’s visible to customers and downstream systems.

Today, customers can see their bills, make payments, schedule future payments, and sign up for new products in the channel of their choosing. And the organization? It’s seeing fewer customer service calls, less reliance on printed materials, and—most importantly—greater customer satisfaction.

An online payment model for a global restaurant chain

At this global restaurant chain, the operations chief had a different goal. One of the organization’s brands served the highly competitive quick-service market, and letting customers pay online was a way to make the brand stand out. In other words, the brand’s pain point was like the first example in our last blog: adopt new types of payments that boost customer appeal.

Building a new capability is one thing; setting up a global payments platform is an altogether different level of complexity. The first thing the chain’s project leaders had to do was sit down with stakeholders to find out what they needed from the platform and the business context (such as regional challenges and brand-specific insights). With that information, the team produced architectural diagrams, feature descriptions, and detailed internal design specifications for each micro service of the new platform.

From there, project teams developed each system component and integrated the solution into the organization’s broader e-commerce platform. The new solution was a success, prompting the chain’s other brands to standardize on the platform. It currently supports restaurants around the world. 

Elevating the payments experience

Both of these stories show how organizations can improve the business by modernizing payment operations. Although our examples highlight customer-facing applications, the payments-as-a-capability model also has other operational benefits. It can help businesses improve their cash flow management, qualify for better terms from suppliers, gain insight into individual and enterprise spending habits, and more.

Get in touch

	Conrad Sheehan Managing Director | Operations Transformation csheehan@deloitte.com +1 847 732 6388		Rob Kaye Principal | Operating Model Transformation Leader rkaye@deloitte.com +1 248 762 4517
	Mark Ericksen Senior Manager | Operations Transformation mericksen@deloitte.com +1 303 319 1038