Does your Retail Finance journey inspire confidence?

‘Home’ as a concept is usually associated with security, familiarity, and a space that changes and grows to fit your needs. You update the décor, maybe add an extension, or give it a fresh coat of paint here and there. A home is always improving, and that’s exactly how we approach our Retail Finance offering. 

 

At Zopa Bank, we don’t just offer financial products; we want customers to feel as confident and comfortable using our services as they do in their own homes. 

 

A good Retail Finance provider should always be refining processes to make things smoother and more effective for you and your customers. It’s really important that every improvement services both of those groups in the short or long term.

 

From an Operations perspective, tasks like helping complete a finance order, resolving payment issues or assisting with changing circumstances are all areas where if we can make enhancements, we will. 

 

Does your Retail Finance journey inspire confidence? 

 

When you partner with a Retail Finance provider, you (the merchant) become their customer. If they don’t view the partnership through that lens, you’ve got some thinking to do. 

 

If I were a merchant offering finance options, I’d want to know for sure that the payment journey I was providing inspired confidence, built loyalty, and made customers want to come back for more.

 

Your Retail Finance journey needs to engage your shoppers before, during, and after their purchase. It’s not just about the transaction. It needs to create trust, convenience, and, obviously, a reason to shop again. 

 

For me, Retail Finance needs to be a two-way street, with a focus on collaborative relationships between merchants and service provider. Our definition of ‘customer’ is broader than most and includes both the merchant AND their shoppers. 

 

One thing that makes my job easier is that we don’t believe only customer service teams should care about outcomes. At Zopa Bank, the entire business is geared towards constantly improving the experience for merchants and customers. It’s everyone’s responsibility, and every goal and project, whatever the department, has that focus at heart. 

 

Retailers: Communication is everything 

 

If I could offer one key piece of advice to merchants looking to maximise their Retail Finance solution, it’s this: communicate with your provider. 

 

Retail Finance has exploded in popularity and is becoming a core part of modern banking products. But with rapid growth comes challenges like new regulations, shifting product mixes and customer expectations.  

 

The financial landscape is bending to AI and automation like every other industry. This is great in many ways, but it will come with issues, and neither merchants nor service providers can tackle them in a vacuum. 

 

The best way to navigate these changes is by building a strong, transparent relationship with your Retail Finance provider. Own mistakes together, tackle issues as partners, and shape the future of split payments collaboratively. Partnerships like these that work successfully will change the narrative around Retail Finance options – so you want to be leading that conversation.