Case study
Adobe Case Study: Maximising profit in subscription payments
How Adyen helped Adobe, the software enterprise, optimise debit payments, simplify global operations, and find hidden profit in their payment systems.
Adobe, a subscription software enterprise for creatives, decided to extend its creative spirit to payments. Initially treating payments as a commodity, Adobe partnered with Adyen in 2018 to optimise payments for their Creative Cloud business, including Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
As a US-based enterprise expanding globally, Adobe’s head of payments wanted it to be a best-in-class payments organisation. The subscription giant wanted a fintech partner to match their payments teams’ expertise and innovation while offering simple integrations and the ability to experiment in order to optimise the success of their payments. Together, Adobe and Adyen have transformed payments into a strategic advantage for Adobe's global subscription business. To explore the evolution and success of this partnership, we spoke with Valerie Kondratova, Senior Payments Manager, and Adam Hollenberg, Principal of Global Payments.
Challenge 1: Keeping up with complex regulations
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Adobe saw the US debit payments landscape shifting. In July 2023, the 2010 Durbin Amendment was revised, mandating that all debit cards issued in the US be branded by at least one additional unaffiliated network, such as NYCE, STAR, PULSE, and Accel. The Durbin Amendment led to more opportunities for cost savings on debit payments but also increased complexity. Which card network should be prioritised? Where are the most efficient cost-saving opportunities? Since many of Adobe's customers pay their subscriptions via debit card, Adobe wanted to look for any cost-saving and revenue uplift opportunities they could unlock from processing via alternative debit networks. Solution: Combining technologies to increase profit margins
Adyen served as a holistic hands-on partner for Adobe in navigating the new landscape in US payments. Adobe combined Adyen’s Least Cost Routing (LCR), a segment of the new Intelligent Payment Routing for US Debit solution, with their own internal data that could help them make the best decision for Adobe regarding conversion rate. The AI solution fueled by Adyen’s ecosystem data was able to help Adobe determine which cards were co-branded and the specific debit network (or debit rail) each card was linked to. This helped Adobe to do a cost analysis and route the traffic to alternative debit rails (vs. Signature rails) before sending authorisation requests to Adyen. Result: Significant profit realised
By implementing Intelligent Payment Routing for US Debit transactions, Adobe achieved a 2.25% increase in authorisation rates, reducing costs and driving higher performance – ultimately leading to more sales and greater profitability.
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Challenge 2: Consolidating global operations
It is critical for global enterprises like Adobe to shift payment strategies with minimal manual uplift, especially given the new opportunities in debit routing in the US.
Changing consumer trends, such as the increasing use of debit payments in the US, and ever-changing global regulations and mandates, for example, in Australia, where they heavily encourage the use of LCR, necessitate that payments be dynamic.
At the same time, enterprises like Adobe must ensure they are compliant. If not, they could face fines and lose customers, affecting their profit margins. Solution: Simple data management across regions
Adyen’s unified solution helped Adobe achieve its goals faster by simplifying operations that are typically inefficient such as accessing and analysing reporting data. Real-time reporting and a centralised dashboard allowed Adobe to have instant access to transaction data as well as a single view of their transactions across different regions. Result: The US, France, and Australia were activated
Thanks to the simplicity of Adyen’s solution, Adobe was able to implement local card schemes in major markets like France with Cartes Bancaires, Australia with eftpos, and debit card routing in the US – while achieving high conversion rates and reducing costs by routing transactions through alternative networks. Adobe achieved over $2 million in cost savings by leveraging Adyen’s routing capabilities.
Key results:
Adobe achieved over $2 million in cost savings by leveraging Adyen’s routing capabilities to optimise special pricing negotiated directly with the unaffiliated networks.
Leveraged Adyen’s Eftpos integration in Australia to save $90,000 over one year.
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Challenge 3: Experimenting on payment flows without risk
Adobe is always looking for new ways to increase conversion, letting more "good" or legitimate customers through their checkout flow. Recognising that with strict rules, some legitimate transactions may be unintentionally blocked (10-20%), Adobe sought to refine its process to safely let more payments through without increasing chargeback rates. Since any minor tweak can have a significant impact because of the sheer scale at which they operate, Adobe had to make sure any changes wouldn’t have a negative consequence. Solution: Easy testing capabilities
Adobe was able to identify and execute innovative solutions in real time, thanks to Adyen’s API-first approach, which allows for a safe and simulated space to test new configurations without affecting live transactions. Result: Two-way innovation
With easy experimentation and testing, Adobe was able to adjust their analysis and traffic routing, allowing more high-value customers to complete their checkout process – resulting in $2 million in cost savings. Additionally, due to said testing, and the increased transparency of data, Adobe is going to branch out and optimise other payment flows.
And it’s a two-way street. Adyen incorporated some of the reporting learnings into Adobe’s product roadmap to improve our new AI product, Intelligent Payment Routing for US Debit in order to benefit all our customers.
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Conclusion
In the evolving landscape of US Debit, Adobe values its partnership with Adyen. By streamlining debit payments and enhancing global operations, Adobe is unlocking efficiencies and capturing additional value in its payments ecosystem.
As a global subscription business, this added value directly contributes to improved customer satisfaction, reduced churn, and increased revenue retention, ultimately impacting Adobe’s bottom line.
