13: Your payments provider can be doing more for you; here’s how to get it

In this compelling conversation, old friend of the podcast Eric Horgan of Elavon shares an insider’s perspective on how retailers can unlock far greater value from their payments partnerships and why the smartest businesses are now treating payments as critical infrastructure, not just another operational process.

With retail under mounting pressure from rising fraud, shrinking margins, and escalating customer expectations, Eric pulls no punches in addressing the most common blind spots he sees in payment strategy today. He offers practical, data-driven advice on tackling the 40 per cent surge in chargeback volumes expected by 2026, improving approval rates through Transaction Risk Analysis (TRA), and identifying the overlooked inefficiencies that could deliver immediate financial gains if fixed.

Drawing on his dual experience as both a revenue leader and product executive, Eric highlights the opportunity retailers miss when they focus solely on cutting costs rather than exploring payment-driven revenue growth. He also delves into the growing shift toward consolidated payment providers, weighing the benefits of efficiency against the risks of over-reliance, and offers measured strategies for building resilience into modern payment ecosystems.

Above all, Eric emphasises partnership, proactivity, and continuous improvement as the foundations of success in a fast-evolving landscape:

“It’s tough out there for retailers, and it’s on us, the payments providers, to be a true partner to you and help you optimise. It’s our job to make sure your solutions are running as efficiently as possible.” — Eric Horgan, Elavon

Packed with actionable insights and forward-thinking perspective, this episode is essential listening for retail leaders who want to protect against disruption, eliminate hidden costs, and ensure their payments strategy is working as hard as they are.