Joules preps expansion with payment services
By Retail Technology | Thursday March 6 2014
Payment service provider is working with UK fashion retailer to expand online and telephone order payment options in support of international growth
UK fashion retailer Joules has revealed it is working with payment service provider (PSP) Computop to extend its payment capabilities and widen the choice of payment methods available to customers both home and abroad.
In addition to processing all card payments globally, the service provider will also expand the payment options open to Joules’ customers within Germany. This will enable customers from within Germany to choose from a wide range of local options, including electronic direct debit, open invoice and automated bank to bank transfers via giropay and PayPal.
These localised options are a key development for the British clothing brand as, the preference among German consumers for direct debits and invoices has historically limited the success of some UK retailers when moving into this major market.
A recent survey by market research firm Forsa found that ‘payment on account’ was the most commonly used payment method for online shopping in Germany. Over half (58%) of German online customers order online and pay afterwards via invoice. Credit card usage lags behind (where 34% use MasterCard, Visa or American Express).
Exploring international options
James Davey, director of e-commerce at Joules, said: “On deciding that we wanted to expand our payment footprint internationally, we began a journey of discovery, speaking to a number of payment service providers about the options open to us. We chose Computop’s Paygate 5.0 solution because it enables Joules to dramatically expand the payment options available for our overseas customers and in particular, for markets like Germany, where alternatives to cards are preferred by consumers.
“In addition we are using Computop’s tokenisation functionality, which is helping to simplify the buying process for retuning customers, and Computop’s fraud protection tools, which we expect will dramatically reduce overseas fraud," he added.
Ralf Gladis, Computop chief executive, added: “There have been significant developments in the German payments market recently that has made payment on account a more attractive option for international retailers. A number of open invoice companies like BillPay and Klarna will now guarantee payment on behalf of the consumer, subject to a credit check, and mitigate the risk of default for the merchant.
“This has encouraged British retailers to consider Germany, and its 41 million online shoppers, as a key strategic market for expansion,” he said.
E-commerce platform integration
Computop has also developed an integral, supported and certified plug-in for the retailer's SAP e-commerce platform, hybris Commerce Suite, as part of the hybris Extend Programme. Computop said this tool has allowed it develop different platforms for different markets and is key to Joules’ international expansion plans on top of its instance of hybris.
The service will also provide a fraud prevention module, which verifies the internet protocol (IP) address of the computer against the origin of the credit card. Computop will identify if the internet connection is via satellite or through an anonymous proxy server in order to warn Joules of or decline high risk transactions.
