Values vs Value: The Future of Ethical Payments

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By Toby Aikins, Merchant Experience Lead at Paydock

My latest online purchase was a water filter jug fuelled by sustainable and renewable pellets (Phox Water – in case you’re interested). I felt that surge of serotonin knowing that I will be sending less plastic to landfill, but it also occurred to me that I didn’t even consider the payment provider processing that payment, let alone whether they were an ethical payment provider.

As a consumer, I often feel remorse about how disconnected I am from the issues I care most about. So I wrote a few words to explain why ethics and morality matter in payments.

74% of consumers will always consider a brand’s values before purchasing from them

If everything else is equal – cost and ease of access – I think most people would prefer to use a provider with a strong commitment to equality and equanimity. According to a recent study by Feefo, 74% of consumers will always consider a brand’s values before purchasing from them. So what does this mean to Paydock and what is the role of ethics in payments? Where do we stand in 2022 when it comes to long term suppliers and business partners? Do we genuinely care about how they treat their employees and their suppliers? And why do we prioritise values over money?

In my view, this is the best time ever to scrutinise every part of our supply chain and reflect on what really matters in a post-pandemic world. Can we truly consider ourselves an ethical payment orchestration platform if we are profiting from misery or turning a blind eye to things we don’t agree with?

Values-Based Ethical Payments

Paydock is committed to equality and human rights. We are a values-based organisation, inclusive and fair in every sense. As a company, we focus our efforts and work with businesses that genuinely contribute value to the world. We do not support pornography. We do not support gambling. We do not support human misery and are proud to leave money on the table to live our values. We invest in our people by paying fair wages and creating exciting careers. But we want to do more.

Paydock offers a democratic approach to payments.

We don’t proselytise or pontificate. We make it easy for every business to offer their customers genuine choice. Our mission is to deliver a best-in-class payments software so merchants can align their ethical decisions to every part of their business, from order to fulfilment. We are committed to the communities we support and will always invest in the great humans we work with and for. And we want to work with businesses that will appreciate this.

Why should ethical payments matter? Aren’t we ‘just’ building software? Actually, it’s not just software and nothing is in isolation in 2022. With a global team of more than 70 employees spread throughout the world, we are a company where aspirational developers, managers, product owners and executives can exercise their skills whilst living our values and empowering local communities. We know that everything we do and every decision we make has an impact. We are committed to making decisions that are not just good for business but are also good for our collective conscience.

The Future for Paydock

In 2022, Paydock will be giving even more back. We already support many of the world’s largest charities, but this year our staff will be volunteering in the communities we operate in, while also continuing to work towards B Corp certification. In an industry which to date, has often been known for opportunism, over-hype and blind eyes, we think it’s the least we can do to create products and businesses that reflect the important values we believe in. I am extremely proud to be part of a team that genuinely wants to leave the world in better shape than before we started this journey.

Payments orchestration platforms change the game for merchants by empowering them to now, for the first time, rapidly align with companies within the payments ecosystem that reflect their own values as well as those of their valued consumer bases.

If you work or partner with Paydock, you can have every confidence that ethics come with the partnership too – we will always be ethical in our approach and we will always be optimistic about humankind and committed to transparently serving our customers, team and communities. Yes, we make payments at scale easy, but this is just part of the story. We also want our partners, friends, employees and merchants to feel positive about the future and to be confident that we feel the same way. It’s the least we can do, and we look forward to sharing some of our positive contributions as we continue to grow in 2022.