Customer experience is no longer measured only by how easy it is to find a product or how fast it gets delivered. More and more, the decisive moment happens at checkout: when the customer faces the payment step. That’s where a smooth process builds trust and converts, and where just a few seconds of friction can mean losing the sale.

The numbers are clear. Close to 70% of online carts are abandoned before payment. This means that out of every ten customers who reach the cart, only three complete their purchase. Abandonment isn’t always about the product itself: very often it’s the payment process that causes the loss.

At Zru, we believe the shopping experience and the payment experience are inseparable. That’s why we focus on enabling businesses to design flexible flows, with higher approval rates and fewer frictions. Here are five keys that make the difference in 2025.

1. Simple = satisfaction

A long checkout or one with unnecessary steps is the perfect recipe for losing customers. Baymard Institute recommends that a payment process should take no more than two to three steps. Yet many merchants still force customers to create an account, request duplicate information or redirect them through multiple screens.

A simple payment flow means the customer pays without interruptions, within the same environment where they’re shopping, with minimal clicks and maximum clarity. Simplicity doesn’t just improve conversion: it also builds trust and loyalty.

How Zru helps: we offer a customizable checkout with just a few clicks. It integrates into your website or app, adapts to mobile and includes the option to use an iFrame to avoid external redirects. This means customers complete their purchase in a secure environment that matches your brand.

2. Adapt the checkout to each customer

Not all customers pay the same way. And it’s not just about cards. In Spain, Bizum has become essential; in Germany, Sofort or Giropay are popular; in Brazil, Pix is almost ubiquitous. And everywhere, wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay are gaining ground because they remove friction: customers don’t need to pull out their card, it’s already stored on their phone.

The data is striking: 17% of shoppers abandon their cart if they don’t see their preferred payment method. Which means failing to adapt your checkout to local preferences and customer profiles is leaving money on the table.

How Zru helps: with a single integration you get access to multiple PSPs and alternative methods. From cards and wallets to financing options like Klarna or Pepper, you can activate the Connections you need in each country.

3. Personalized shopping experiences

Personalization is no longer just part of marketing. It also matters in payments. Showing the same checkout to everyone means ignoring real customer needs.

Simple but effective adjustments make the difference: showing financing only for purchases above a certain amount, or giving wallets more visibility on mobile. Each detail reduces friction and increases conversion.

How Zru helps: from the panel you can tailor the checkout to match your business and each market: keep your brand’s look and feel, activate different payment methods by country or customer type, or display specific options in certain cases, such as financing above a set amount.
Payment orchestration also makes the experience smoother by reducing technical declines. If one processor fails, the transaction is automatically retried through another. This boosts approval rates and avoids the customer perception of a “payment declined for no reason.”

4. Visibility in every transaction

A declined payment without explanation is one of the worst experiences for a customer. They don’t know if the bank rejected it, if the card was expired, or if there was a technical issue. All they see is that they tried to pay… and couldn’t. That uncertainty erodes trust and lowers the chance they’ll try again.

On the other hand, for business and finance teams, not having visibility into what’s happening in each transaction makes decision-making harder. Without clear data, it’s impossible to know which processors fail more often, which methods perform better, or where margins are being lost.

5. A complete payment ecosystem

Cards and banks remain the most widely used payment method globally. But they’re no longer enough on their own. The rise of fintechs, wallets and local payment methods shows that customers increasingly value flexibility. The future lies in combining both worlds.

How Zru helps: our Connections let you integrate both traditional providers and alternative methods in a single panel. You decide how to combine them according to your strategy and markets, without multiple integrations or added complexity in your operations.

In summary

Customer experience today is largely defined by the payment experience. An optimized checkout — with relevant methods, personalization, visibility and the right mix of providers — reduces cart abandonment, improves conversion and builds customer trust.

With Zru you design the payment flow your business needs: more methods available, higher approval rates and fewer frictions in every transaction. The way you manage payments can be the difference between a checkout full of obstacles and an experience that inspires confidence.