PayTech Awards USA 2023 WINNER: Ansa

Ansa is an innovative fintech infrastructure platform that transforms how businesses manage small-scale transactions through its embedded customer balance system. This cutting-edge solution equips B2C businesses to integrate bespoke closed-loop payments systems directly within their digital interfaces. Similar to mobile applications like the Starbucks in-app balance, Ansa Anywhere allows businesses to create their own digital wallet, where customers can load money, make purchases, receive incentives, tap-to-pay in store, all within a merchant’s app or from popular wallets (Apple Pay and Google Pay). With Ansa, brands are able to take control of their customer journey through embedded balances and deepen relationships with their best customers. Ansa’s approach aligns with evolving expectations of the modern-day consumer, who seeks more control and convenience at every point of sale.

Features and Functionality

Ansa’s distinctiveness lies in its ability to provide a comprehensive solution that combines payment processing, customer retention, and loyalty incentives.

Key components include:

• Branded/White-Labeling: Merchants can brand the wallet according to their own identity, offering a seamless extension of their customer experience.
• Closed-Loop System: Funds are stored within the merchant’s ecosystem, reducing transaction fees and improving margin retention.
• Loyalty/Rewards Programs: The Ansa platform allows for a seamless integration with loyalty programs, which gives merchants the ability to offer incentives that will drive customer engagement and customer rewards for repeat business.
• Integration: Ansa’s APIs and SDKs offer merchants a quick and effortless integration into existing systems, therefore minimizing downtime and resource expenditure.
• Security: Ansa handles the regulatory and compliance requirements and ensures that transactions are secure and compliant with relevant laws and standards.

Unique features:

• Ansa’s platform is able to accommodate unique merchant-specific customer engagement strategies with payment processing into one streamlined platform, reducing the complexity usually associated with multiple service platforms. Ansa stands out in the fintech landscape due to its comprehensive, end-to-end solution for branded customer wallets that is flexible and user-centric. - - - Ansa addresses a number of major pain points for merchants.
• Merchants spend over $138 billion annually on fees, microtransactions and small transaction volume payments, such as a $4 latte purchase can incur additional costs exceeding 12.5% — a massive burden on businesses.
• Costs are going up across the board as inflation and high interest rates impact businesses, which according to recent Forrester research, may discourage consumer spending and decrease sales volume.
• As customer loyalty becomes more unpredictable, enabling consumers to leverage rewards and loyalty incentives to supplement their everyday spending at checkout becomes essential to retaining customers and off-setting customer acquisition costs. Ansa helps brands defend against tightening customer budgets and drive increased frequency.
  While digital wallets have dominated e-commerce payments with a 37% market share globally (50% in India and over 80% in China), they have faced major challenges with physical PoS, mostly due to interoperability issues and user frictions such as QR code scanning and authentication processes.

Ansa’s introduction of Ansa Anywhere, its in-store tap-to-pay solution marks a significant stride towards leveling the playing field for in-person point-of-sale (PoS) payments, particularly in the realm of digital wallets. Its in-store, tap-to-pay feature directly tackles the limitations of traditional point-of-sale systems by facilitating payments from embedded customer balances, supporting smoother transactions at physical locations. No need for QR code scanners, standalone hardware, or month of integrating between in-store systems.

Supporting Evidence and Metrics

Ansa’s effectiveness is evidenced by its impressive metrics and client successes. For instance, Compass Coffee, which implemented Ansa’s wallet, saw a 26% increase in revenue and a 65% boost in engagement.

Payment processing costs were reduced by 28%, showcasing the tangible financial benefits of the platform. Additionally, Compass Coffee experienced a 113% month-over-month adoption rate of the branded wallet, demonstrating its appeal and utility to customers.

Use Cases and Tangible Benefits
Compass Coffee utilized Ansa to create a branded wallet that significantly enhanced customer engagement and reduced payment processing costs. The closed-loop system allowed customers to store funds within the Compass Coffee ecosystem, making frequent transactions more efficient and cost-effective. The result was a substantial increase in both revenue and customer engagement, underscoring the platform’s effectiveness in driving business growth.

Sweetfin, a popular quick-service restaurant, leveraged Ansa’s platform to launch a customer wallet directly within its existing app. This integration, facilitated by a partnership with Thanx, enabled Sweetfin to build loyalty and encourage first-party ordering. The wallet allows customers to load balances, make payments, and earn rewards seamlessly, all within the Sweetfin app. Early adopters of the wallet received bonus funds as incentives, driving rapid adoption and repeat business.

“Before we engaged with Ansa, we had an app that customers already use and love (a 4.8 rating on the App Store). The beauty of using Ansa to launch the Sweetfin wallet was that we were able to embed it directly into our app, and because of their partnership with Thanx it was easy. The Sweetfin wallet offers customers a convenient, rewarding way to pay. In the past couple of years, we have seen consumer behavior change, which is why we’ve invested more in digital experiences. Today, more customers are looking for a seamless experience that makes it easy to order online, pay, earn rewards, and ultimately, save time. Our goal is to provide an easy-to-use, easy-to-pay experience that makes dining with us swimmingly better. The wallet reduces friction within the Sweetfin app. Ansa, our partner, helped us create an entirely white-labeled solution that provides our customers with a streamlined payments flow while reducing a major hurdle — loading a payment method. For frequent diners, holding a balance makes it even easier to check-out — something especially important for lunch time diners.” said Seth Cohen, President at Sweetfin.

Broader Applications
Beyond quick-service restaurants and coffee shops, Ansa’s technology is applicable to a wide range of industries. For example:

Retail and Convenience Stores: Ansa’s wallet can serve as store credit, streamlining returns and enhancing customer satisfaction.
Marketplaces: Sellers can keep funds within the marketplace ecosystem, facilitating seamless transactions and reducing fees.
Micromobility Services: Users can store balances for small, frequent transactions, improving convenience and reducing operational costs.

Consumer Trends and Adoption:
As Seth mentioned, consumer behavior and desires are evolving. They are demanding more rewarding and streamlined payment experiences, particularly for habitual use, low transaction-value (HULT) transactions. Ansa is meeting these demands with a flexible, consumer-focused payment solution that promotes loyalty and minimizes costs, important in a period of market inflation and increasing operational expenses.

Ansa’s Digital Wallet stands as a transformative force, reshaping how retailers interact with customers and manage payments. Ansa’s integrated loyalty programs foster greater customer retention and increased transaction frequency, thereby enhancing the lifetime value of each customer.