Will payabl. and Visa’s Partnership Cut Checkout Friction?

In a move to streamline the digital transaction process, payabl. has launched Click to Pay with Visa. 

This new card payment experience is designed to help merchants reduce checkout friction, improve authorisation rates and deliver a faster, more secure online payment journey.

By replacing manual card number entry with a token-based experience, the solution allows customers to complete purchases in just a few clicks once enrolled. 

This eliminates the need to re-enter sensitive card details – mirroring the speed of physical contactless payments while upholding rigorous security standards.

Driving conversion through tokenisation

The move to tokenisation addresses two of the most persistent challenges in fintech: cart abandonment and fraud. 

For merchants, the impact is measurable.

According to Visa, Click to Pay can deliver up to an 11% uplift in authorisation rates compared to manual card entry, alongside significant fraud reduction through network tokenisation.

Faster checkout also helps reduce cart abandonment, particularly on mobile, where typing card details remains what payable terms as a “major source of friction”.

The technical integration is handled via the payabl. checkout, allowing merchants to activate the service without adding layers of complexity to their existing stacks.

“With online checkout, every extra step costs conversion,” says payabl.'s Chief Product Officer Breno Oliveira.

“Visa Click to pay removes one of the biggest points of friction at the moment of purchase.

“It helps merchants approve more legitimate transactions, reduce fraud exposure, and give customers the experience they already expect.”

A multibillion-euro opportunity

The partnership highlights a significant commercial opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across the continent. 

By adopting more intuitive payment flows, the industry could see a substantial rise in total transaction volume.

Michael Ioannides, Country Manager for Visa Cyprus, says: “Consumers have come to expect a highly personalised, intuitive and seamless payment experience, whether they’re buying a coffee, shopping online or applying for a loan. 

“Visa Click to pay aims to meet these expectations by removing the need to manually enter card details, thus enhancing both security and the consumer experience in online card payments. 

“With the support of network tokens, Visa Click to pay enabled a more secure and smoother transaction process, available in many countries around the world.

“According to European VisaNet data, Visa Click to pay may allow a 4.5% uplift in merchant sales, meaning a possible annual increase of €51bn (US$60bn) in SMB eCommerce sales in the UK and EU.”

Meeting consumer expectations in Europe

Frictionless checkout experiences are now a commercial imperative, a finding highlighted by payabl.’s State of European Checkouts report.

The research indicates that consumers prioritise speed (46%), convenience (44%) and security (41%) when selecting a payment method.

This data demonstrates a strong consumer willingness to adopt fintech innovations.

Specifically, more than half of consumers (53%) are open to adopting newer payment methods and nearly half (48%) would use one-click checkouts, especially if supported by a trusted brand like Visa.

“Checkout is no longer just the final step of a transaction,” Breno explains.

“It is a critical part of the overall customer experience.

“Our research shows that 43% of European consumers will not return to a site after a poor checkout experience.

“For merchants across the UK and Europe, that translates directly into lost customers and lost revenue.”