Top five advantages of being an early adopter of payment tech
The definition of mainstream is an idea or activity that is widely shared and regarded as normal by the majority.

Pat Phelan, Chief Customer Officer and Managing Director of UKI, GoCardless
Whilst I can spot the open banking payment option when shopping online, I’m acutely aware that isn’t the case for most people. The UK may now process over 22 million payments via open banking a month, but it’s still several years away from being considered a mainstream way to pay.
Whilst there’s a myriad of reasons why that’s the case, all of which are detailed in GoCardless’ open banking report with 11:FS, the reality is that new payment technology takes time to perfect. Take your credit card as an example. Today, it’s just a typical payment option, with one always in your physical or digital wallet. But that didn’t happen overnight.
Credit cards were first released in the UK in 1966 by Barclays, and the Consumer Credit Card Act was launched 11 years later in 1977, but even then ATM access didn’t become available until the 1980s and the version of contactless that we’re familiar with today only launched in 2007. That’s over four decades of evolution. For comparison, open banking has been live for just seven years.
If there were one lesson I would want businesses to take from this, it’s that being an early adopter of new payment technology can be hugely advantageous. Yes, you will have to weather the inevitable kinks in the road as open banking develops and is gradually tested across a growing number of use cases. Still, with 96% of businesses today saying they’re frustrated with their current payment processes, there is far more to be gained by adding a payment method that’s still developing into your mix versus not trying it at all.
As part of GoCardless’ aforementioned report, we surveyed businesses who have implemented open banking to ask what benefits they’d achieved since offering it to their customers – 48% said faster payments, 35% had reduced payment fraud, 35% had better visibility into their payments and 33% had managed to reduce their overall cost of managing payments.
These are just a few examples of what can be gained by trying new payment technology. There are also benefits that could have a significant impact on your business’s total outgoings and overall market position, including the five below:
1. Competitive advantage
Early adoption of new technology is one of the strongest ways to differentiate yourself from competitors. At the very least, offering new and exciting features allows you to catch customer attention and initiate a conversation. At best, it enhances your market share, positioning you as an innovator compared to the alternatives available.
2. Access to enhanced efficiency
Emerging technologies often introduce tools and systems that streamline operations and enhance efficiency. Just think back to the survey respondents saying that open banking had enabled better visibility over their payments – this means greater knowledge of your cash flow, which in turn allows you to reinvest money where it’s needed most without putting yourself at risk of overspending.
Efficiency gains often translate to faster time-to-market, enhanced scalability and a better allocation of human and financial resources, which all stack up to create long-term benefits.
3. Market leadership and reputation
A myth that I want to debunk is that adopting new technology means you have to first remove or completely change your existing solutions or processes. You don’t have to ditch the old to embrace the new and move with the times – it should be viewed as enhancing what you offer. Businesses that embrace new technologies early are often perceived as thought leaders and pioneers in their industry, which can open up opportunities for new business deals, partner collaborations and greater recognition.
4. Customer acquisition and retention
Early adopters of new technology can attract customers eager to experience innovation first-hand. This strategy often captures a niche market segment that values cutting-edge solutions. Additionally, delivering superior experiences enabled by new technology fosters customer satisfaction and loyalty. Retaining these early users creates a solid base for growth as the technology becomes more widely adopted.
5. Learning curve advantage
Engaging with new technology early gives businesses a critical head start in understanding its nuances, applications and limitations. By the time the technology reaches mass adoption, these businesses are already proficient.
There’s also the rare benefit of early adopters being able to influence the direction that newer technology develops. An example of this is when GoCardless began building a new open banking-powered product to enable variable recurring payments (VRPs). There were some details we simply couldn’t know from internal testing alone, so real-world feedback from our customers was vital to us. It meant we could improve the product, making it more practical and efficient, and that the businesses providing the feedback gained the confidence that the product would meet their needs and match the checkout experience they were aiming to give their customers.
There’s never a “best time” to try new or unknown payment technology. But if there’s any part of your payment strategy that could be improved, any inefficiencies that you want to leave behind in 2024 or any part of your prospect base that you don’t know how to win over with your existing offering, then being an early adopter of open banking could be the opportunity you’re looking for.
Sponsored by GoCardless