Editorial Note: This is the first of a two-part series on Carat product developments, informing clients on progress and milestones related to ongoing investment from Fiserv in the Carat global commerce platform.
Just over a year ago, our Carat product team began to execute on an ambitious development strategy underpinned by an extremely basic goal – to simplify the complexities of commerce for our clients. In doing so, we knew we could create value for clients by optimizing their cost structures and enabling them to deliver new, engaging experiences to their customer base.
Continuing to invest in our clients’ success
Executing required us to transform our own platform to be more adaptable to our client’s needs, so our technology would always be evolving as client needs change. So, to kick off 2023, we defined three product principles (Simple, Configurable, and Iterative) pivotal to our ambitious goals.
As clients continue integrating and consuming more Carat features and functionality, I would like to share some thoughts on how we saw our product principles evolve in 2023, and where we will invest further throughout 2024.
Simple
Each year, we have consistently grown our solution suite to add more value for our clients through a single-entry point, called Commerce Hub, where our clients are able to access solutions that optimize commerce flows, enable new experiences, and connect to third-party providers. By simplifying how our merchants connect, our clients can consume more capabilities while investing less resources as they implement new technology.
In 2023, we were able to deploy several new experiences that drive consumer engagement. A few examples include Apple Tap to Pay on iPhone on carrier devices, omnichannel wallet services that store post-purchase transaction rewards, and providing merchants a more seamless recognition of consumers – no matter where and how they shop. In addition, we made universal documentation, best practices, and universal APIs available on our award-winning Developer Studio to streamline how clients integrate to our solutions. By continuously improving our delivery of API documentation, we are expediting merchant boarding.
Through a simplified approach, Commerce Hub continues to allow more merchants to rapidly integrate and consume unique features and functionality that help their businesses operate more effectively and enable them to deliver experiences that keep customers engaged with their brands.
Configurable
Through the Carat global commerce platform, we serve some of the largest, most respected brands in the world. With that comes the challenge of managing complexities that span industries, payment networks, and international markets. We have heard from these clients that they are moving away from customizable solutions which are difficult to maintain, and looking to Fiserv to provide modular tech that is configurable so their commerce stack can benefit from upgrades and enhancements without the need for ongoing investment in development.
As we engaged with merchants in 2023, we were able to display our unique strategies for enabling complex, orchestrated calls that can streamline their payment flows. Our investments in Commerce Hub continue to allow us to create unique payment experiences that drive consumer engagement and achieve higher payment authorizations.
We are constantly delivering on our long-term goal to let our clients to use a variety of value-added services through simple configurations within the Commerce Hub RESTful API endpoint. As an example, we are introducing embedded financial services in mid-2024 that will allow businesses to issue bank account and associated debit cards through Commerce Hub. Our focus on delivering more features and functionality will help our clients grow their brand and expand consumer offerings.
Iterative
As consumer behavior evolves, and business needs follow suit, our iterative innovation process is providing us the flexibility to adjust our delivery model as our clients encounter new challenges.
In 2023, our team was the living example of “iterative.” From how we plan our efforts, to how we are constantly adjusting our methods, to the very construct of the product and technology organizations, we were foundationally challenging ourselves to deliver quality to our clients. Our consistent investment even had us delivering a micro service architecture that led to many innovative, new discoveries. More on this in part two of this series.
Our iterative approach is allowing our teams to engage in productive ways with internal and external third parties that are rapidly growing our offerings without the need for sole investment from our own team.
Maintaining a heritage of innovation
In 2024, we will invest deeper in removing friction from the commerce journey, including:
- Developing complex orchestration models, such as split tender, multi-acquiring, and omnichannel experiences that connect the digital and physical
- Pushing unified commerce journeys down market, democratizing access to stretch beyond big box brands
- Integrating new tender types within the merchant digital experience
These ongoing investments build on the innovative capabilities the Carat team has brought to market for decades. And most of all, these investments will serve as the leading edge of innovation for years to come with a tech stack that is robust, yet simple. One that addresses pain points while expediting implementation. Configurable to meet businesses goals. And built with our clients in mind.
To learn more, contact a Carat expert today.
