Challenge
Neuron Mobility was expanding into cities that prioritized the movement of people over cars, working closely with councils and community and safety advisory groups to tailor its offering for each city. This approach required careful management of launch costs. However, Neuron operated in markets such as Australia, where interchange fees were regulated and debit cards were common, so off-the-shelf payment cost-optimization strategies yielded diminishing returns. For a substantial impact, Neuron needed creative solutions.
Solution
Stripe professional services partnered with Neuron Mobility for an eight-week cost-optimization advisory engagement to identify high-impact opportunities to lower Neuron’s interchange fees.
Identifying revenue opportunities with Stripe’s improved network cost insights report
Rather than starting with analyzing the individual transactions, the Stripe professional services team experienced Neuron’s payment flow firsthand, including signing up for and riding Neuron scooters in Australia. Then the team used Stripe’s fee reporting—including detailed network-cost reporting—to assess added transaction fees. These activities gave the team a full view of the payment flow and related costs, from both the customer and Neuron experience.
The professional services team combined this comprehensive data with market information to build customer journeys for each of Neuron’s local markets. Detailed local customer journeys gave the Stripe team a clearer picture of Neuron customers, enabling them to define customer lifetime value more easily.
Using the local customer journeys and Stripe’s tools for reporting on fees and network cost plus, the Stripe team segmented Neuron’s customers and identified opportunities to improve both customer experience and efficiency. By creating happier customers, Neuron could reduce customer churn while improving profit margins.
Creating a revenue model to increase profit margins
The Stripe professional services team created a plan outlining high-impact opportunities to increase Neuron’s profitability, including reducing interchange fees. The plan included models that considered Neuron’s users, business goals, and pricing nuances in each market. This document was the source of truth for the remainder of the engagement, while the team built and refined a new payment business model for Neuron.
Results
Neuron gained valuable insight into network costs, improving its overall financial reporting and payment flow analysis. As a result, Neuron Mobility launched more convenient and flexible payment choices, including new pass options based on customer preferences. These improvements helped Neuron increase profits and achieve positive return on investment (ROI) within eight weeks of completing the engagement.
Engaging with Stripe’s professional services team was a great opportunity for Neuron to gain insight into the entire payment fee structure. We achieved ROI by implementing many practical cost-saving actions, based on Neuron’s business model. We really appreciated the transparency and customer focus expressed by Stripe’s professional services team.