One of the key ways any business can grow is through the introduction of new products or services, or through expanding the scope of existing offerings. As markets progress there are increasing numbers of such potential opportunities – for example, prepaid cards, contactless payments, mobile commerce.
How can Accourt help?
The background of a number of Accourt's consultants is in product management and product development. As such we are particularly well-equipped to support our clients in the creation, development, launch and enhancement of new products and services.
Key areas of expertise along with example projects are set out below.
Proposition Definition
The success of any potential innovation starts from a clear understanding of the target audience, their needs and how the proposed new offering will meet those needs – and how it will do so better than the competition. Accourt has extensive experience of working with clients to identify market opportunities, to develop distinctive new propositions and to translate those into live new services.
Example
- For a major ATM operator – conceived the proposition for them to offer to international cardholders withdrawing cash in sterling and being billed in their own currency, leveraging Direct Currency Conversion (DCC).
Requirements Capture and Analysis
Once the proposition for a new offering has been identified (and, generally, the business case approved), the critical next step is to articulate the relevant requirements for that offering, taking into account the needs of all functions across a business as well as externally imposed requirements – for example legal and regulatory. Accourt has successfully delivered many such projects across numerous clients. We are particularly proficient at engaging across a client organisation, documenting the identified needs in a structured manner, and facilitating the resolution of potentially contradictory requirements of different stakeholders.
Examples
- For a specialist e-wallet provider – defined all payments-related requirements (including relevant regulatory and compliance obligations). Also selected the most appropriate Payment Services Provider and acquiring partners, and on behalf of the client negotiated those third party contracts.
- For a global terminal vendor looking to expand into the outsourced acquirer processing space – performed requirements gathering, vendor selection and negotiation, project management and project delivery.
Product and Technology Development
It is often the case that an organisation will look to base its new offerings on solutions available from third parties, in which case a focus of activities is on selecting the right partner offering. And of course, strong project management is also important.
However, it is also often the case that because of the nature of the new offering, or because no suitable external solutions are available, it makes sense to develop the new product. Accourt's consultants have experience with the development of strategic solutions in the financial services sector, including mission-critical, extremely high volume payment processing capabilities.
Example
- For the UK retail banking industry – in support of UK Payments (formerly APACS) and the UK retail banking industry, Accourt developed and successfully delivered all aspects of the industry's Fraud Intelligence Sharing System (FISS). We continue to provide support and maintenance to this strategic industry-wide solution.