Thriving through the demand surge: resilient payments for Retail

With peak demand periods approaching, businesses across all industries are preparing for a significant increase in payment transactions. From travel bookings and hotel reservations to concert tickets and online shopping, the expected surge will be massive. Last year, 134 million consumers shopped online, pouring over $38 billion into the economy on Black Friday and Cyber Monday alone. As consumers increasingly rely on online payments, payment systems are under tremendous pressure, and any disruption could lead to catastrophic financial losses and irreparable damage to brand reputation.

What happens when systems fail?

Disruptions during the crucial buying season have devastating consequences for large B2B businesses. Delayed deliveries, order cancellations and customer churn can cost millions, while the damage to brand reputation is irreparable. The stakes have never been higher.

Besides, the strong growth of financial inclusion has increased reliance on online payment platforms. We were reminded of these risks in July 2024, when the CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System) experienced a technical outage led by a disruption in the global Swift network. This incident affected around 200,000 payments per day, demonstrating how quickly systems can break down at times when we need it the most. Investing in resilience engineering is not just a strategy today; it’s a clear necessity.

To prevent these disruptions, payment companies need to invest in resiliency engineering. This includes implementing fault-tolerant architectures, such as distributed systems and active-active failover, to minimize the risk of a single point of failure. In addition, real-time monitoring, load balancing, automated failover mechanisms and simulating outages to identify vulnerabilities and proactively detect problems can ensure that any issues are quickly identified and resolved to prevent widespread outages.

Getting the act together 

In order to survive in times of high demand, businesses must make the reliability of their payment systems a top priority. In doing so, businesses strengthen the loyalty and trust of their customers and at the same time secure their financial performance. In an increasingly competitive market, securing sales, maintaining brand reputation and nurturing lasting customer relationships depend on smooth transactions. Be prepared to deliver a flawless shopping experience that turns busy periods into successes, not detriments.

Benefits of resilience engineering for the Retail and Payment Industry 

When resilience is not prioritized, core business functions in the retail and financial sectors are vulnerable, increasing the risk of costly outages. By incorporating resilience engineering, these organizations gain critical insight into processes and assets and are prepared for unforeseen service or process failures. Find out how building resilience tests strengthens payment systems: