Payment Expert’s ID Check: Payments Professionals offers insight from industry leaders and experts on how they got their start in the financial industry, from their early years in education, to how they have been able to climb the corporate ladder.
This week, Robin Anderson, Head of Product Management at Tribe Payments, emphasises the importance of learning no matter what your age, and reflects on howhis love for gaming design helped his success within the e-commerce space.
Where did you go to university and what did you study? What impact did this have on your current journey?
I went to what is now the University of Northampton and studied both English and Cultural Studies (BA) and Computer Communications (BSc). I later studied Natural Sciences at the Open University. Sadly, these have had very little impact on my career journey to date.
Were you part of any sports clubs or societies at university and has this influenced your educational and professional development?
No, although I did spend a considerable amount of time coding simple computer games in the library during lunch with like minded friends (both at school and university), so I think I was always going to have a career in a software/technology field.
Did you have any jobs outside of the industry before making your start in it and was this experience a motivation to get into the industry you aspired to be in?
Before I joined the payments industry in 2005, I was a retail store manager in my hometown for a few years.
The management experience I gained in this (very different) field convinced my hiring manager at Barclaycard to try me out as the e-commerce support team manager instead of one of the analysts, and so began my career in e-commerce.
What was the first job you had in the industry and are there any lessons from this you still draw on?
My first job in the industry was e-commerce support team manager in 2005. I learned that customers (merchants) just want their payments to work when they need them to, not to be oversold, and to be protected from fraudulent transactions.
Fundamentally, this is the bread and butter of acquiring customers. Other things may add value, but these core needs haven’t changed in at least 20 years.
Who was your biggest role model outside of the payments industry who continues to inspire you in your current career?
Francois Lionet, the French developer of the 16-bit games programming integrated development environments (IDEs) called STOS (for the Atari ST) and AMOS (for the Amiga series) in the 1980s and 1990s.
His commitment to making games design easier for the common enthusiast led indirectly to modern game engine design (Unreal, Unity) and sparked an interest in me that has lasted now for over 30 years. I love games design and programming, and I enjoy making payments and e-commerce topics more accessible for those who want to learn.
When was your first big break in the payments industry? Why was this such a significant moment for you?
Moving from operations to a product role in 2008 was undoubtedly the most important pivot point in my working life to-date. It kickstarted my product management journey and led me into a career that combined my new professional passion (e-commerce) with my love of building and learning new things, particularly in software.
I like to know as much as there is to know about a subject, and with commerce, I love the fact I’m still learning.
Was there a moment you faced in the industry that really challenged you? How did you overcome this?
Building a new e-commerce payment gateway from scratch was the most challenging (and most rewarding) experience of my professional career, and it’s unlikely to ever be unseated from that position.
From its initial release in late 2018, N-Genius Online has now grown beyond a simple e-commerce platform, and now drives the majority of payment acceptance solutions for Network International, the Dubai-based acquirer that now dominates much of the MENA region from a payment acceptance point of view.
Lastly, what is some advice you would give to an aspiring person looking to get a start in your respective industry?
You don’t have to find it interesting to be good at it. Also, try to avoid getting caught up in the hype for new and innovative ways of paying – particularly if it ever ‘signals the death of card-based payments’ or similar.
I’ve been hearing that my entire career, and the closest we’ve come is Apple Pay and Google Pay, both of which are still fully tied into – and dependent on – the traditional cards ecosystem. Also, cash will always be a ‘thing’ – just stop it, you’re trying too hard.