Chris Gilderson, Head of Retail and Hospitality at PXP Financial recently shared his views and insights with Crowdfund Insider.
The retail payments landscape is dynamic and fast-paced, and innovation is snowballing. From cryptocurrencies to buy now, pay later, disruptive tech is transforming consumer experiences and business operations—shaping not just fortunes but the future.
To learn more about the latest developments, we spoke to Gilderson. Our conversation with Chris is shared below.
Crowdfund Insider: Can you tell us a bit about PXP Financial as well as your role and background?
Chris Gilderson: PXP Financial is a complete, end-to-end payments provider and we predominantly work across the retail, hospitality, entertainment, travel and gaming sectors, which we have a long heritage with. We have 200 employees working across offices in the UK, Austria, Bulgaria, India, and the US.
My role is Head of Hospitality and Retail, and I’ve been at PXP Financial for 25 years now – I actually joined straight out of college.
In that time, I’ve held many roles which have allowed me to specialise in the operational side of customer service and onboarding, including Head of Customer Services. I’ve forged a lot of strong relationships along the way, which have spurred me on in my trajectory at PXP, as working closely with our key customers has positioned me to take on greater formal responsibilities over the past seven to eight years.
I moved into PXP Financial’s commercial team in 2022. We are a close-knit team responsible for account management and new business partner management, focusing on hospitality and retail, as well as cruise and travel.
Crowdfund Insider: In your view, what is the standout trend in retail payments right now?
Chris Gilderson: The most notable trend is definitely contactless payments and their adoption, which I anticipate will continue to soar over the next decade.
Retail is in the midst of a contactless revolution which is showing no signs of slowing down. Looking back at just 12 to 18 months ago, adoption has significantly increased. Our statistics show 96% of transactions were contactless in one of our customer’s Austrian stores last year. Similarly, at the beginning of 2023, the volume of contactless transactions in the US was hovering around 30%, now it’s somewhere around 45%.
What really fascinates me in this space in the growing number of ways to make a contactless payment. Wearables are growing in popularity, particularly watches, rings and keyrings, but also quirkier forms such as hats and even shirts. This move into the mainstream for wearables of course comes with a range of challenges and opportunities. Investment and resources are required to embed a wearable solution in an existing technology ecosystem, however, businesses prepared for the undertaking can ultimately offer their customers the most seamless integration with their lifestyles yet.
Confidence in wearable payments technology is increasing. Privacy and security concerns have been an obstacle to adoption among some customers, however, rapid advances in biometrics and geolocation are set to generate even greater trust.
Crowdfund Insider: What payment strategies are major retailers implementing to stay ahead of the innovation curve?
Chris Gilderson: Point of sale technology is changing fast, and retailers absolutely need to keep up with this pace. We are supporting some of our largest customers to respond to this with solutions that may seem futuristic, significantly changing the look of stores, daily operations and the shopping experience.
I believe we will see more retailers move away from stores with obvious fixed points of sale. If you look at a fashion retailer, typically, a store will have between four to six fixed points of sale. However, when opening a new store today, the retailer might opt to implement something quite different, such a mobile payment app. Operators in-store can then use it for assisted selling, as well as stock, inventory, click and collect, and more.
Major retailers will be looking to turn connected devices into full-blown points of sale, with far fewer registers. This shift won’t happen overnight, of course, but we’ll certainly see this kind of concept model tried and tested in the very near future.
This switch to mobile payment apps for in-store purchases means checkout experiences will become much more personalised, a more tangible and valuable touchpoint with the customer that is about far more than simply facilitating a transaction. It means convenience for the customer, and more capacity for data-driven insight than ever before for the retailer.
Crowdfund Insider: What do these changes mean for PXP Financial and how are you responding to them?
Chris Gilderson: I think there are a lot of opportunities. The way to respond to them is absolutely to invest in emerging technologies and find intuitive solutions which respond to the increase in contactless payments.
It’s really important to engage with disruptive technologies, there’s no ignoring the rise of things like wearables or cryptocurrencies, they are firmly a part of our reality now. We need to work with them, ensure that they are secure and work smoothly.
Providing the most expansive service possible is key and partnerships are a vital part of that. For example, we have gone live with GooglePay as a Payment Service Provider in the US, UK and Europe, which means we can manage a GooglePay integration in both web and native applications, as well as securely process transactions by decrypting the payment data and authorising with the acquirer directly.
It’s not just about jumping on the bandwagon with new technologies or offering as many options as possible, though. Solutions have got to run smoothly, which requires the human touch and the right expertise to work with customer to implement the tech. You can’t overstate how much comfort it gives retailers to know they don’t have to worry about payments.