Wirecard and Cognigy facilitate smooth payments in conversational commerce

Wirecard, the global leader in innovation for digital financial technology and Cognigy, the leading provider of conversational AI software solutions, are introducing digital payment integration for conversations with chatbots. For the first time, online customers from Germany and the USA are able to complete the entire purchasing process, including checkout and payment, while carrying out a dialogue with a virtual sales consultant. With the integrated payment solution, the customer can pay via credit card, iDeal or PayPal.

As a result of the service provided by Wirecard and Cognigy, there is enormous potential to change personalized online retail. According to a survey by HubSpot Research in six countries (USA, UK, Ireland, Germany, Mexico and Colombia), almost half of all consumers are open to making a purchase only with the help of a virtual purchasing advisor. This form of customer interaction, using artificial intelligence as a consultancy tool as well as incorporating the digital payment function in the purchasing process, takes the individual shopping experience in conversational commerce to a new level.

Sascha Poggemann, Founder and COO at Cognigy: “For billions of users, messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are by far the most popular apps on their smartphones and are playing an ever more important role as an online shopping tool. It is a great benefit for consumers if they can find and purchase products directly on their smartphone by way of automated, fully digital dialogue. We are pleased that we, together with Wirecard, have found a solution that enables digital payment transactions within a chatbot."

Catharina Tiede, Head of Partner Management for Consumer Goods and Product Innovations at Wirecard, adds: "The fact that the customer does not need to leave the chat with the virtual sales advisor at any point during the purchasing process is a key factor for the perfect user experience. Even when paying! With this product, companies can optimize their digital service and ensure greater customer retention as they are available around the clock and in any desired language. We are pleased to provide an important element for this smooth user experience with our digital payment method for conversational payment."

Written by Ralf Schobert