Carol Grunberg of Yuno On The Top 5 Future Payment Processing Trends

An Interview With Rachel Kline

By empowering individuals with the knowledge and tools to make informed financial decisions, we can reduce poverty, promote economic stability, and foster opportunities for growth and prosperity on a global scale.

As we move further into the digital age, the world of e-commerce continues to evolve, particularly in the realm of payment processing. Cryptocurrencies, mobile wallets, contactless payments, AI-based fraud detection, and more are constantly reshaping how consumers make purchases and how businesses collect payments. Keeping abreast of these changes and understanding how to leverage them is crucial for any business operating in the e-commerce space. What are the upcoming trends in payment processing? How can businesses adapt to these trends to provide a seamless and secure transaction experience for their customers? In this interview series, we are talking to ecommerce experts, fintech innovators, and payment processing specialists, to share their “Top 5 Future Payment Processing Trends”. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Carol Grunberg.

Carol is the Chief Business Officer at Yuno, the world’s leading payments orchestration platform, serving a global customer base across 60 countries. With deep experience in the global payments and commerce industry gained through senior roles at Citi, AntGroup/Alipay, Google and Northwestern Mutual, Carol is passionate about transforming global commerce by revolutionizing the payments ecosystem and helping democratize finance worldwide. As CBO of Yuno, she leverages her expertise in new business development, product innovation, client experience, and strategy to expand Yuno’s reach and impact across markets and industries.

Outside of her work at Yuno, Carol is a committed investor and mentor for early-stage startups, particularly in fintech, digital transformation, and social impact. She champions women in fintech, having served as President of the Board of Directors of Paytech Women. Currently, she sits on the Board of TeamUnity, which focuses on elevating communities within New York, especially in Harlem.

Thank you so much for your time! I know that you’re super busy. Before diving in, our readers would like to get to know you. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory and how you grew up?

I am very fortunate to be a first-generation American. My parents moved to the U.S. from France after leaving their countries in North Africa. From them, I learned the art of taking risks and navigating uncharted waters, which has served me well throughout my life. Growing up in France gave me a unique perspective on the world, as many technologies we use today, such as the Minitel by France Telecom (a predecessor to the internet), originated there.

I fell in love with financial services when I realized how it offers a window into human behavior. The inner anthropologist in me was intrigued, and I’ve been hooked ever since. After graduate school, I moved to Bangalore, India, where I worked with IBM and Indecomm Global for almost four years. This eye-opening experience helped me understand how the lack of access to traditional financial services keeps people in a cycle of poverty, unable to store, save, or invest their money. Later, while working at Alibaba group, I spent a lot of time in China and Southeast Asia and saw how quickly technology and cashless, fully digital economies could drive societal change within one generation. This insight set me on my path to making financial services more accessible and secure.

What led you to this specific career path?

What we buy reflects who we are. My fascination with financial services began as a child when I realized, while walking down the street, that the world was like a giant shopping mall. I don’t recall what triggered this thought, but I vividly remember that moment of insight. It was captivating to me, and from that day on, everything about financial services has held my attention.

Can you share the most exciting story that has happened to you since you began at your company?

In the past six months, two experiences stand out. First, I met with an executive from a Fortune 100 technology company who was amazed by our technical capabilities and how user-friendly our platform is. While I knew this when I joined, hearing it from him was incredibly validating. Second, the culture of our organization is unparalleled. We recently brought the entire company together for strategic planning and culture building, and the camaraderie was so strong that team-building exercises were almost unnecessary. The company meshes incredibly well together, which is particularly exciting because growing an organization requires everyone to collaborate and execute seamlessly. Having this kind of innate synergy is incredible.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?

The core Yuno business elevates society in numerous ways. Yuno facilitates global commerce by allowing businesses of all sizes to accept and disburse payments worldwide, promoting financial inclusion. Through Yuno, businesses gain access to over 300 payment methods globally, alongside innovative features such as one-click checkout, AI-powered smart routing, and comprehensive anti-fraud tools, all within a single, user-friendly interface.

By enabling payment orchestration, Yuno enables consumers to buy goods and services using their preferred payment methods, from cash to mobile wallets. This inclusivity ensures that everyone, regardless of their payment preference, can participate in the global economy. Additionally, merchants can expand their reach, selling their goods and services to customers worldwide, breaking down geographical barriers and fostering global commerce.

You’re a successful business leader. What are three traits about yourself that you feel helped fuel your success? Can you share a story or example for each?

Three traits that have served me well in life are empathy, a willingness to step out of my comfort zone, and a genuine interest in people. When I was a child, my father taught me to find something to care about in each person I met within 30 seconds of meeting them. This practice became an inherent part of me, fostering my curiosity about people and enabling me to truly understand and empathize with them. This is crucial in today’s world, where success depends not only on our learned skills but also on our ability to work well with others. Authenticity is recognized and valued by people.

I also embrace fear. In 2005, I moved to India sight unseen to lead a new team, a daunting yet exhilarating experience. This was the first of many times I pushed myself beyond my known limits and reaped great personal rewards. Comfort does not foster growth, and leaning into fear has enabled me to experience new countries, and industries, and become proficient in building teams and innovative solutions.

Excellent, thanks so much for sharing that. I want to shift gears and talk about e-commerce. What was the original vision for your e-commerce business? What pain point(s) were you trying to solve for your customers?

Yuno was founded to address a clear marketplace need identified by its founders, who came from Rappi, one of Latin America’s largest marketplaces. They realized that providing payment optionality to service their customers was essential yet extremely complicated. The payment landscape is fragmented, with hundreds of payment methods and providers worldwide, each varying in terms of reconciliation, ledgering, and performance across different markets and payment types. For example, a provider might excel in transaction approvals in one region but perform poorly in another or have costs that are higher than market averages.

Managing multiple payment providers involves dealing with various systems that are not standardized, leading to increased operational complexity and costs. Consumers often face limited payment options due to geographical and technological barriers, which restricts potential sales and growth for merchants. Cross-border transactions present challenges like currency conversions, compliance with local regulations, and varying payment preferences. Yuno addresses these challenges by unifying disparate payment systems into a single, streamlined interface, supporting a wide range of payment methods, and handling the complexities of cross-border commerce. This allows merchants to expand globally without worrying about payment intricacies, ensuring compliance with financial regulations such as PCI compliance. Yuno was born to make it easier, more cost-effective, and more secure to do business worldwide with a click of a button, allowing companies to focus on their core competencies and scale efficiently.

How do you see the e-commerce industry evolving in the coming years?

In the coming years, every company will become an e-commerce company. One of the major benefits of digitization is the ability for companies to engage directly with consumers in unprecedented ways. For instance, industries like car manufacturing, which traditionally sold through dealerships, can now sell directly to end users, eliminating enormous distribution costs.

Digitization occurs in three stages. First, organizations digitize their core offerings. Next, they add value-added services through strategic partnerships or other means to complement these offerings. Finally, they weave everything into a cohesive ecosystem, supported by seamless payment experiences. This latter stage is crucial for ensuring client satisfaction and provides a comprehensive view of customer interests both on and off the platform.

As such, every e-commerce company will, by definition, become a payments company. They will enable consumers to easily purchase or sell goods and services from anywhere in the world, at any time, and pay or receive payment in any form — fiat, cash, or digital currency. Additionally, all organizations will operate cross-border and globally, further enhancing their reach and capabilities in the digital marketplace.

How do you balance the need for innovation and experimentation with maintaining a stable, reliable e-commerce infrastructure?

Business as usual (BAU) and innovation are not mutually exclusive; for both to be effective, they must be interdependent. BAU inherently requires a strong understanding of operational, regulatory, and client needs. Maintaining a stable and reliable infrastructure necessitates adopting tools and methodologies optimized for stability and ease of use. Innovation should be integrated into daily operations, ensuring that new ideas are continuously tested and refined. Understanding client behavior, both on and off the platform, is crucial for new product development. At Google, we used the “Toothbrush Test” — anything a client does at least twice a day eventually becomes commonplace. This insight into daily consumption behaviors is vital for integrating new developments into core operations.

To achieve this integration, organizations should implement a dual-track approach, separating teams into those focused on innovation and those maintaining current infrastructure. Agile methodologies, with clear goals and iterative sprints, ensure flexibility and quick issue detection. Staging environments, feature flags, and automated testing help identify and resolve potential issues before deployment. Comprehensive monitoring, robust infrastructure, and a culture of collaboration between teams are essential. Strategic planning and prioritization of innovation efforts ensure steady progress without compromising stability. These elements create a seamless blend of BAU and innovation, fostering continuous improvement and client satisfaction.

Ok super. Here is the central question of our interview. What five emerging trends do you believe will have the biggest impact on payment processing in e-commerce? Please explain each in detail.

• Payment orchestration is central to several emerging trends poised to revolutionize e-commerce. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) solutions are on the rise, increasing conversion rates and customer satisfaction by allowing purchases to be paid over time.
• Additionally, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) enhance payment orchestration by detecting fraud, personalizing payment experiences, and optimizing transactions. These technologies improve security and efficiency while providing valuable customer insights for tailored payment solutions.
• Platform interoperability is also essential, with payment orchestration platforms managing multiple payment methods, gateways, and fraud prevention tools through a unified interface, orchestrated to ensure the highest transaction approval rates and lowest processing costs. This ensures a client-centric, flexible payment ecosystem.
• Another significant trend is the integration of interoperable payment tokens, which streamline transactions across different platforms and enhance the flexibility of payment systems. Cryptocurrency and blockchain integration can also offer secure, instant and transparent transactions.
• Additionally, the demand for omnichannel payment solutions is growing, requiring seamless integration across online, in-store, and mobile channels to provide a consistent and smooth shopping experience, especially as B2B companies move into direct-to-consumer spaces.

Is there a past trend that’s now common practice in payment processing that you would have spent 50% more time focusing on? Which one and why?

Yes, the rise of mobile payments is a trend that has become common practice and I would have spent 50% more time focusing on it. Mobile payments have revolutionized the way consumers and businesses conduct transactions, offering convenience and speed that traditional payment methods lack. Focusing more on this trend early on would have positioned everyone better to capitalize on the rapid adoption and technological advancements in this area, globally.

Looking ahead, what are the biggest opportunities and challenges facing payment processing for e-commerce, and how do you plan to address them in the coming years?

On the opportunity side, it’s no secret that there has been a significant shift from cash to digital payments, including some major cities around the globe already being cashless. This trend opens up a fantastic chance for us to reach underbanked regions by partnering with local financial institutions and mobile wallet providers. Moreover, the growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies offers an exciting new frontier for secure and user-friendly payment options. Enhancing the user experience is also a key focus, as consumers increasingly demand seamless and frictionless transactions. Advances in AI and machine learning will further enable us to deliver personalized experiences, smart routing, and robust fraud detection.

On the challenges side, cybersecurity threats are becoming more sophisticated, requiring us to continually enhance our security protocols and invest in advanced encryption technologies. Navigating regulatory compliance across different regions is another critical area, and our dedicated compliance team works tirelessly to ensure our solutions remain globally compliant. Addressing fragmented payment preferences is also essential, so we offer a wide array of payment methods and localized solutions to meet specific market needs. By tackling these opportunities and challenges head-on, we aim to continue being the dominant force in global payment orchestration, fostering global commerce and financial inclusion.

You are a person of significant influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

If I could start a movement that would bring the most good to the most people, it would be centered around universal financial literacy and inclusion. This movement would focus on providing accessible education about financial management, investment, and digital payments to everyone, regardless of their background or location. By empowering individuals with the knowledge and tools to make informed financial decisions, we can reduce poverty, promote economic stability, and foster opportunities for growth and prosperity on a global scale.

My third-grade teacher, Mr. Simeons, is someone I will never forget. He had us create a mock bank account where we learned about saving, spending, and investing. This experience taught me that financial literacy is a foundational skill every child should learn early. It’s as important as understanding mathematics and crucial for fostering lifelong financial stability and success.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

I regularly post thought articles on LinkedIn, participate in podcasts and interviews and speak at conferences and events worldwide. Soon, I will also be releasing a brief E-book on the revolution in payments. You can also follow what Yuno is up to via our company’s Linked page and website.

I want to thank you so much for your time and for sharing your expertise with us. I wish you continued success!