From first time to long-term player: PayRetailers on a customer-first approach to conversion

Barely a day goes by without a new company entering the igaming space. And with more and more markets embracing gambling regulation, the industry is only going to become even more competitive. In 2024, the pressure is really on for igaming operators to not only stand out from the crowd, but to engage with new audiences and convert these players into long-term customers.

Solving the big challenges: Player acquisition costs

Player acquisition costs have continued to pull on the purse strings of marketing teams across the industry, with operators often choosing to roll out promotional offers and sign-up bonuses in the hope of increasing player conversion. But in the current market that’s demanding more innovation, these tactics do not always work.

Focusing simply on marketing is no longer enough – instead, operators should take a closer look at whether their user experience is up to standard. Losing potential players due to issues with the user experience is a bitter pill to swallow; and once you have lost that player, it is highly unlikely that they will return to your site.

Think global, act local

One of the biggest barriers to customer conversion is a convoluted payment process. For players, it’s frustrating when there are a host of stages to go through before a deposit payment transaction is complete.

More often than not, in this situation, many players will choose to simply move to another site that’s easier to use. And unfortunately, online gaming is one industry which has encountered this problem more times than it would like.

This is the exact issue that Andrade and PayRetailers has seen in the markets it operates in, but has been highlighted in the Latin American market especially. The key reason being the failure to localise.

“We have learned that no market is the same as another, even if they are in the same region. Each country has its peculiarities, and the payment industry’s behaviour is highly dynamic,” Andrade explains. “Constant updating, vigilance regarding innovations and regulations, and, in this line, having personalised transactional profiles become crucial tools for operators and their conversion.”

As a Spanish payment processor operating in Latin America, PayRetailers is well versed in the practice of delivering a localised offering for its partners across the region.

For Andrade, those entering Latin America for the first time may sometimes make the mistake of replicating their European strategy in South America. But this kind of approach fails to recognise the various regulatory dynamics at play across Latin America, both within igaming and across other industries too.

Andrade continues, “Companies aiming to choose a payment option for Latin America must consider several aspects. Firstly, unlike other regions such as Europe, every country has different currencies, regulations, distinct payment methods, etc. They should also consider the diverse needs of users across various industries, finding ways to reach both the banked and unbanked populations.”

Understanding the different dynamics

The igaming industry has had a chance to mature to the point that local regulations are having an impact on what operators can offer. For Andrade, a bespoke payment solution is crucial for business continuity and building trust with players.

“Having payment solutions tailored to this industry, with appropriate methods and security standards for optimal processing in a sector requiring speed, security, and support, has become crucial. A reliable payment partner becomes strategic for business continuity. In a real-time industry like gaming, any payment reception failure implies a significant loss of performance.

“This is why PayRetailers has identified these challenges and minimised the effort for operators through its all-in-one solution with a localised strategy, understanding each market and offering methods that users prefer.”

PayRetailers currently offers more than 250 different payment methods across the 12 markets that it operates in.Andrade believes that the breadth of different payment methods has been “the best facilitator for achieving higher conversion rates”.

But with so many payment methods to choose from, operators need to be considerate of what they offer their customers. It is a fine balancing act between offering a range of methods without bombarding the bettor.This is where PayRetailer’s all-in-one platform comes in.

“Our solution is characterised by offering tailor-made services according to the needs and expectations of our operators. Doing this allows us to view the end user from the operator’s perspective, prioritising them based on the needs they communicate to us. This strengthens the solution and enhances conversion rates,” Andrade says.

“To achieve this, we provide features and functions appealing to various industries. These include smart routing, ensuring transaction success, our security tools, real-time transaction monitoring, pay-ins and pay-outs.

“We offer both traditional and alternative payment methods, reaching even those not using traditional banking. Additionally, we incorporate language localisation, ensuring responsiveness on any device, among other features.”

Taking the alternative route

Alternative payment methods such as cryptocurrency, Apple Pay and Google Pay have arguably cemented themselves as mainstream payment methods in our day-to-day lives. But it’s only recently that such methods, and others, have found themselves being used within the igaming industry.

In fact, Andrade notes that in Latin America, alternative payment methods have in fact become “the primary means of payment for the igaming industry”. It would therefore be remiss of operators to not offer such methods to players.

“PIX, for instance, has gained prominence in recent years by revolutionising the payment landscape. Originating from the Central Bank of Brazil, this instant payment method has become the primary choice in the country, with everyone from beach vendors to iGaming platforms adopting it. Currently, 10% of PIX transactions in Brazil are facilitated through PayRetailers.”

By giving players the chance to make deposits using alternative payment methods, the likelihood of converting them into a long-term customer will no doubt increase. “Other methods that have proven effective for conversion rates include SPEI in Mexico, NEQUI in Colombia, Khipu and VISA in Chile, among others,” he adds.

Driving conversion to new heights

Localisation is very clearly a key component for PayRetailers’ success in boosting conversion for operators in Latin America. But this isn’t the only strategy at play.

As with much of the industry, and in fact the world, artificial intelligence (AI) can play a significant role in identifying new ways to optimise player conversion and flag issues within the overall customer experience. PayRetailers has been no exception to utilising this technology.

“We operate in a market where AI and data analysis become fundamental to boost conversion rates and optimise the behaviour of our solution. We focus on the security, speed, and robustness of our platform to minimise fraud cases, ensuring successful transactions through our Smart-routing, and maintaining a high conversion rate.”

The use of AI is complemented by PayRetailers’ customer success team which primarily focuses on understanding and addressing the needs and concerns of igaming operators.

Andrade highlights that this efficient combination of technology and a dedicated team will take PayRetailers to new heights over the next 12 months. He concludes that “The year 2024 presents itself with many challenges, new features, launches, payment methods, and new regions in sight to continue strengthening our solution. An example is Bulgaria, where our company recently opened an office in its capital, Sofia, or the African continent, where we anticipate expanding soon.

“Above all, we hope for an increasingly close relationship with operators, supported by a growing commercial team to always provide comprehensive assistance.”