Been running external payments for a few months now and the usual conversion metrics don’t tell the full story.
What KPIs are you actually looking at to know if it’s working? Revenue per user seems obvious but there’s got to be more nuanced stuff I’m missing.
Look at customer feedback. It helps identify pain points not shown in data.
Switching to external payments cut our time to first purchase by 23%. No more users stuck on endless loading screens.
We tracked payment method mix too - way more Apple Pay and Google Pay usage after going external. Those are usually your high-intent users.
Biggest win: users who bail at payment can retry easier without redoing the entire flow. Makes a huge difference for recovery.
Payment completion rates matter more than funnel metrics.
Track your payment abandonment recovery rate. That’s where external payments excel. Most apps lose users after a failed payment, but with external systems you can offer different payment options. Also check your average transaction value by payment method. External payments usually drive higher purchases because of less friction. The metric that surprised me was repeat purchase velocity. Users return much faster when they do not need to re-enter their info.