CX Assist partnered with Synapto to give their merchants better payment economics, hands-on support, and a payments partner they can actually reach.
Key Outcomes
Lower payment processing costs for merchants
White-glove merchant onboarding and support
A direct line when payments go wrong
Overview of CX Assist
CX Assist is a telecoms and communications platform that helps businesses manage inbound customer calls through a combination of AI and human agents.
As part of its service offering, CX Assist frequently processes payments on behalf of clients, including deposits, invoices, and customer transactions handled over the phone.
As payment volumes increased, they needed a more efficient and scalable way to support merchants while maintaining a high level of service.
As part of its service offering, CX Assist frequently processes payments on behalf of clients, including deposits, invoices, and customer transactions handled over the phone.
As payment volumes increased, they needed a more efficient and scalable way to support merchants while maintaining a high level of service.
The Challenge
Payments aren't a back-office function for CX Assist. They're part of the customer experience.
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As the business grew, managing payments across multiple merchants became increasingly complex. CX Assist needed better visibility into what merchants were actually paying, faster support when something went wrong, and a partner that treated their merchants as well as they did.
The challenge wasn't simply processing payments. It was ensuring merchants received the level of service, responsiveness, and commercial value they expected from a modern payments partner.
The challenge wasn't simply processing payments. It was ensuring merchants received the level of service, responsiveness, and commercial value they expected from a modern payments partner.
For a relatively small disputed transaction, a significant amount of revenue became inaccessible. That was the moment I realised we needed to look at alternatives.
What triggered the switch
One incident highlighted the risks of CX Assist's existing payment setup with Stripe.
After a customer incorrectly flagged a legitimate transaction, an investigation was triggered, which resulted in a month's worth of revenue being temporarily frozen.
Stripe froze the account. Not just the disputed payment, but a full month's revenue across all merchants was held, while an investigation ran for up to six months. With no way to speak to anyone at Stripe about it, there was nothing to do but wait.
For CX Assist, the experience exposed the importance of having greater visibility, control, and access to responsive support when payment issues arise
After a customer incorrectly flagged a legitimate transaction, an investigation was triggered, which resulted in a month's worth of revenue being temporarily frozen.
Stripe froze the account. Not just the disputed payment, but a full month's revenue across all merchants was held, while an investigation ran for up to six months. With no way to speak to anyone at Stripe about it, there was nothing to do but wait.
For CX Assist, the experience exposed the importance of having greater visibility, control, and access to responsive support when payment issues arise
Limited visibility into payment costs
No direct contact when something goes wrong
Frozen funds with no timeline or recourse
Need for a more scalable payments partnership
The Solution
CX Assist partnered with Synapto to give their merchants a better payment experience.
The Synapto team worked closely with CX Assist to understand their requirements and support the migration of merchants onto the platform.
The Synapto team got involved from day one. They ran fee comparisons for each merchant, walked them through the onboarding process, and remained available throughout. Every merchant CX Assist introduced got the same hands-on treatment.
The Synapto team worked closely with CX Assist to understand their requirements and support the migration of merchants onto the platform.
The Synapto team got involved from day one. They ran fee comparisons for each merchant, walked them through the onboarding process, and remained available throughout. Every merchant CX Assist introduced got the same hands-on treatment.
It feels like a concierge service. Every merchant we've introduced has been supported throughout the process, and that's made a real difference.
The Results
Since partnering with Synapto, CX Assist merchants have had a more transparent and hands-on experience regarding their payment review process. From fee comparison through to migration and direct access to the Synapto team.
For most of them, it was the first time they'd properly looked at what they were paying to process payments. Once additional fees and add-on products are factored in, the processing fees increase significantly over time.The costs were always there. They just weren't visible.
For CX Assist, the benefits go beyond what their merchants save. Introducing merchants to Synapto has become a revenue stream in its own right, one that grows as more merchants come onto the platform.
Synapto Advance creates an additional revenue opportunity for platforms that pay subcontractors before clients settle. By advancing funds against outstanding invoices, platforms can offer faster payouts, typically charging 1.5–2% for instant pay, while the financing cost sits at 0.06% per day.
What was once a cashflow gap can become a positive-margin revenue line.
For most of them, it was the first time they'd properly looked at what they were paying to process payments. Once additional fees and add-on products are factored in, the processing fees increase significantly over time.The costs were always there. They just weren't visible.
For CX Assist, the benefits go beyond what their merchants save. Introducing merchants to Synapto has become a revenue stream in its own right, one that grows as more merchants come onto the platform.
Synapto Advance creates an additional revenue opportunity for platforms that pay subcontractors before clients settle. By advancing funds against outstanding invoices, platforms can offer faster payouts, typically charging 1.5–2% for instant pay, while the financing cost sits at 0.06% per day.
What was once a cashflow gap can become a positive-margin revenue line.
The Outcome:
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Dedicated support throughout onboarding
Direct access to the team when assistance was needed
A smoother merchant migration experience
Greater visibility into payment processing costs
Lower processing costs for merchants
A revenue share that grows with merchant volume
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It can be easy to stay with what you're already using, but having a conversation with Synapto is absolutely worth it. The support has been excellent, the onboarding experience has been smooth, and the savings opportunities can be significant.
Oliver Codrington
Founder, CX Assist
