Accessibility is a top priority for Ecommpay, a payments platform committed to inclusive design and support. With an estimated £274billion in spending power among families that include a disabled member, Ecommpay has set accessibility as a core objective, enhancing its website and payments platform to ensure easy access for all.
In this week’s In Profile, we chat to Miranda McLean, chief marketing officer at Ecommpay, who discusses the platform’s commitment to accessibility and her own journey through the fintech sector.
Tell us more about your company and its purpose
Miranda McLean, chief marketing officer at Ecommpay
Ecommpay is a truly inclusive global payments platform that has been designed to empower businesses to achieve global growth. The business was founded in 2012 on a vision to revolutionise the digital payment landscape for e-commerce. We now offer global and local acquiring, over 100 payment methods and comprehensive payment processing and orchestration – all accessible through a single, seamless API.
What sets us apart from traditional providers in the market is that we view ourselves as a partner committed to ensuring client payments flow smoothly while optimising every transaction for maximum value. Promoting financial freedom and accessibility for all is at our very core; the Ecommpay platform is, therefore, designed to make it easy to connect to global financial ecosystems to deliver secure, convenient payment options that enhance the digital economy worldwide
What are some of your recent achievements you’d like to highlight?
We’re extremely proud to have recently launched our new brand identity and inclusivity programme; Ecommpay for Good. Accessibility, inclusivity and sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. Being able to launch our dedicated ongoing programme that focuses on inclusivity, as well as provide merchants with critical support to improve their own accessibility is extremely special to us.
One of our key missions is to achieve ultimate financial inclusivity and empower merchants to also improve their digital presence. We have worked closely with the Digital Accessibility Centre to create a Guide to Digital Accessibility. This not only helps merchants to create the most inclusive e-commerce presence; it also enables their customers to have an accessible and inclusive payment experience. It’s a small step in the right direction and we’ve had some brilliant feedback so far.
We’re committed to inclusivity and have some incredible partnerships, including with Project Nemo, a grassroots initiative that works with disability champions and service providers to educate on how to make the industry more inclusive. It’s a perfect partnership for Ecommpay as we want to solve accessibility within fintech and payments by providing support and expertise across multiple areas.
How did you get into the fintech industry?
For over two decades my focus had been on developing and executing successful strategic and operational marketing strategies for financial services businesses. I led the marketing communications function for businesses such as Thomson Financial in Europe, Standard & Poor’s, Equifax, Reuters and Ukash. My first big move into fintech came in 2015 when I joined Banking Circle (then Saxo Payments) as part of the founding team and created and launched the brand identity and marketing strategy. This took the firm to a multi-million-dollar business in less than three years.
I joined Ecommpay at the start of 2024 as chief marketing officer, which will always be a personal highlight as it further strengthens the representation of women in the senior leadership team.
What’s the best thing about working in the fintech industry?
The culture is hands down the best thing about working in fintech. The people who work in the industry and those who are just entering the market bring a fantastic blend of hard work and innovative ideas that are going to mould the future of the sector. We couldn’t function without our people, and that’s exactly what has shaped the Ecommpay values; Vibrant, Impactful, Collegiate, Inspirational.
The fintech industry promotes individuality, so at Ecommpay we’re always celebrating our team and business offerings. Enabling the incredible minds that power our teams to express their unique points of view is how we achieve greatness.
What frustrates you most about the fintech industry?
When equality, diversity, sustainability and accessibility are seen as the latest buzzwords rather than being essential for business success. The latest Payments Association data suggests that just five per cent of payments businesses see ESG as a priority in the next 12 months, yet over 99 per cent of the merchants we surveyed recently said they would select their payment providers based on their commitment to ESG. Not only that, but 94 per cent said sustainability values influence their decisions on which brands to work with.
Clearly the sustainability priorities of payment providers and their merchant customers are nowhere near aligned and it is time for payment providers, fintechs and banks to up their game. At Ecommpay, we see this lack of commitment to ESG as a missed opportunity. Ensuring all products and services are accessible to as many people as possible makes business sense, and there is plenty of evidence proving inclusivity and accessibility drive revenue.
Luckily awareness of accessibility requirements is growing, and many businesses are taking steps to ensure they deliver services in a way that’s easy for everyone. Our goal at Ecommpany is to be there to help them along the way as part of our mission to achieve financial inclusivity for all.
How have your previous roles influenced your career?
All of my previous roles have taught me the key skills needed in order to be a successful marketer; agility, flexibility, creativity and the ability to work in an extremely fast paced environment. My previous role at Banking Circle undoubtedly gave me perspective, unlike that of any of my other roles as I joined the business from its inception and was involved in every stage of its evolution and growth. Being given a blank canvas to create and launch a brand as well as building the marketing function and strategy gave me insights and experience that are certainly valuable in my current role.
My previous roles have also tapped into my passion to achieve equality and equity in the sector. I am incredibly proud of my role as an Executive board member of the not-for-profit European Women in Payments Network (EWPN). This community is unlike any other, with members supporting one another, sharing experiences and driving the agenda for diversity in fintech and banking. I am also on the Payments Association Editorial Board and a lead on Project ESG, encouraging fintech companies to adopt progressive, sustainable strategies for how they impact the environment, society, and their governance.
What has the future got in store for your company?
The world of payments is becoming ever-more complex as the choice of payment methods grows almost daily. At Ecommpay we are, therefore, focused on building a full payment stack that gives merchants access to all the current and future payment methods they might want to offer to their customers in an integrated way – backed by the right infrastructure and processes. It is our responsibility to keep on top of the big industry issues, like regulation, compliance and evolving business models to give merchants the confidence to grow in a changing landscape.
It is no secret that we are working towards the goal of financial inclusivity, and that begins with how the business engages with every customer and potential customer from the first point of contact. This means that Ecommpay for Good and our work with industry organisations that improve inclusivity and diversity will also develop as the future of fintech grows.
What are the next key talking points or challenges for your industry as a whole?
While innovations in payments have been driven by demand, it has created several layers of complexity that merchants are having to navigate in terms of requiring multiple providers for different services. The next generation of payment service providers (PSPs) will hold the key to this by bringing all these services, features and solutions back within the stack.
While buy now, pay later (BNPL) is also a potential contender in the list of fastest growing payment methods, the rapid growth and significant potential of e-wallets cannot be overlooked. The simplicity of tokenising payments into a single click, or at least a greatly reduced number of clicks, is something the industry is really embracing. Businesses wanting to enhance their payment offerings, as well as provide security against sophisticated fraud methods, are also going to need to look at Click to Pay and Open Banking as a priority.
Tokenisation of payments will be the biggest shift businesses need to consider as they plan ahead. If consumers can’t complete a transaction on a phone while rushing through the airport or between stops on the London Underground, they will not make the switch from browser to customer – the transaction will be lost. Optimisation to create the perfect purchasing environment will continue to drive adoption and cut cart abandonment.
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