The challenge with email notifications
Coda Payments runs Codashop, the leading independent website for gamers to purchase digital content, games, and in-game currencies. It currently offers more than 250 safe and convenient payment methods, and is visited over 90 million times a month.
On Codashop, gamers can top-up their games: the in-game currency they purchase is instantly added to their game. In other cases, they receive a voucher code that they redeem in the game after the payment is completed. In the past, Codashop used to send these voucher codes and receipts to customers over email. The team realised that email was not a particularly popular engagement channel, especially in emerging markets. This, together with a rising number of email-related fraud attempts, prompted Coda Payments to switch to SMS.
However the team had a dilemma: how were they going to find an SMS solution that would help them combat fraud and improve the customer experience without placing extra burden on their team?
Coda Payments had worked with various telco providers and SMS service providers before but had always come away with mixed experiences. They found the process of connecting to APIs offered by telcos overly time-consuming, and wanted to ensure whichever solution they chose wouldn’t end up further complicating internal processes.
The requirements: minimum friction, reliability, and cost-efficiency
To continue scaling their business, the team at Coda Payments wanted a solution that was simple to implement, flexible enough to be adjusted to different market needs, and easily extendable to all their supported countries.
“To be able to scale quickly enough, we need a solution that can support us globally. I also prefer a solution that our team can implement with minimum friction,” said Ville Nordström, Program Director at Coda Payments.
High reliability and cost-efficiency were also among their top priorities. “We didn’t want a massive migration project that required a big budget,” said Anthony Thornton, Senior Product Manager at Coda Payments.
The solution: 8×8 provides high SMS deliverability with more efficient workflows
When the Coda Payments team first tried 8×8’s SMS API, they were extremely pleased with how painless the integration process was. Anthony shares, “It was very quick and straightforward, I don’t even think we had to reach out for any integration support.”
Coda Payments now sends SMS messages to customers in 30 countries, and with 8×8’s API, the company can also automate messages and easily check on their delivery status via the reporting and analytics dashboard. While past experiences with telcos and other SMS service providers had actually increased their internal complexity, 8×8’s solution achieved the exact opposite – simpler workflows, increased automation, and consistent deliverability so that the team could spend less time on manual tasks and more time developing and rolling out new products to new markets.
“8×8’s solution has had a positive impact on our workflow by making it quick and easy to switch between preferred communication methods, and that has freed up resources for us to focus on other aspects of our product,” said Anthony.
The benefits: security, productivity and customer engagement in tandem
As a fintech company, security is vital. Which is why, in addition to delivering voucher codes and receipts, Coda Payments also uses 8×8’s SMS API to send one-time passwords (OTPs) for authentication. This has further strengthened security and helped the company combat fraud. Today, Coda Payments delivers OTPs daily to secure the transactions of millions of people all over the world.
Adding this extra layer of transaction security has helped Coda Payments further increase customer trust and satisfaction. The company has seen a significant reduction in support tickets related to delivery issues, and they have received fewer complaints regarding voucher codes and fraud. This also gives the Coda Payments team more time to focus on serving their users better, rather than fighting fraudsters.
Scaling with 8×8
With 8×8’s SMS API, Codashop is now available in a record number of new markets. Coda Payments was able to quickly scale and easily roll out products in new countries with minimal friction. In an industry where time is of the essence, Coda Payments company is reaping the rewards of agility and flexibility as they say hello to new customers in new markets and goodbye to complexity.
To learn more about what SMS can do for you or to request a product demo, contact us at cpaas-sales@8×8.com.
