New Study from FreedomPay and Stripe Shows Outdated Payment Systems Are Driving Customers Away

FreedomPay, a global leader in Next Level Commerce™, and Stripe, the programmable financial services company, today released the “Enterprise Payments Playbook,” a new report in partnership with Forbes Insights. The report, based on a survey of 250 global financial services enterprise leaders, finds that outdated payment technology is a direct cause of lost sales, reduced customer loyalty, and significant competitive disadvantage. The findings highlight a critical need for businesses to adopt a unified, omnichannel commerce strategy to meet modern consumer demands.

The High Cost of Outdated Technology
The study reveals a major disconnect between consumer expectations and what businesses can deliver with legacy systems. A significant 74% of executives confirm that consumers now expect faster, frictionless transactions. This pressure is exposing critical vulnerabilities, with 58% of retailers directly attributing lost sales and higher cart abandonment rates to their current payment technology. Furthermore, 59% of business leaders believe their outdated technology puts them at a competitive disadvantage, and 55% name customer dissatisfaction as the single biggest risk of failing to modernize their payment infrastructure.

“This research confirms the tipping point for payment modernization has arrived,” said Chris Kronenthal, President of FreedomPay. “In a world where a single bad checkout experience can lose a customer forever, a unified commerce strategy isn’t just a competitive advantage, it’s a survival strategy. Our platform is designed to be the central hub that allows enterprises to solve today’s challenges while building the agile, data-driven infrastructure needed for the future of AI-powered commerce.”

The Strategic Shift to Unified Commerce
The report’s data shows a clear consensus on the path forward, with 62% of leaders agreeing that a unified payment system will have the biggest future impact. The solution requires a paradigm inversion, where businesses choose a flexible technology architecture first, then integrate financial partners. This unified approach breaks down data silos, allowing businesses to gain a single, actionable view of the customer across all online and in-person touchpoints.

“To understand the shift in enterprise payments, you have to start with consumer expectations. Today, they want a simple, seamless experience, no matter where they engage,” said Kate Brennan, Business Lead for Terminal at Stripe. “Consumers want flexibility in payment options. They want to pay with cards, buy-now-pay-later, or any relevant payment method. Flexibility is where the entire enterprise industry is changing, which can be a tough adjustment for those using legacy payment systems.”

The Future of the AI Readiness Gap
The report also uncovers a significant gap between the industry’s ambition for AI and its current capabilities. Only 18% of companies feel prepared to integrate AI for personalized payments, and just 10% currently use it for fraud detection. This readiness gap highlights the need for a modern, agile payment infrastructure, the kind provided by platforms like FreedomPay and Stripe, to support future AI-driven innovations.

Download the full report here.