When it comes to payment services, there's a key difference between a transactional vendor and a strategic partner. But actually what separates the two? 

Across recent discussions with Adyen customers in multiple industries, four themes came up again and again: transparency, speed, strategic thinking, and ongoing communication. 

Learn how these foundations define strong payments partnerships, and how Adyen brings them to life.

Foundation 1: Transparency builds trust

True partners don't simply execute requests. They give clear, honest guidance about the best path forward. 

For ServiceTitan, a software platform serving field service contractors, this mattered even more after going public in 2024. Embedded payments became a core part of their growth plan, and Adyen helped focus them on long-term outcomes that would support that strategy. The team also worked together to train ServiceTitan commercial teams on selling embedded payments.

“[Adyen is] always coming from the perspective of, ‘How do we set this up for long-term success?’” said ServiceTitan GM and VP of Fintech Rahul Hampole. “That really helps ground us with respect to what the opportunities are and what the risks are. Things like that really matter and help us build confidence that Adyen is in this for the long haul, and doing it the right way.”

Foundation 2: Speed shows respect

Responding quickly isn’t just operational hygiene; it shows respect for customers' time and urgency.

For athletic apparel giant Under Armour, this fast, reliable communication is essential to payments operations.  

“Fast service is super valuable to us, because sometimes [we] need to make a decision today,” said Under Armour’s Lead Digital Product Management Giulia Andriuolo. Adyen’s practice of always picking up the phone instead of relying on email gave Under Armour “the confidence that we can reach out to our account manager and get an immediate reply,” she said. 

Speed also shapes delivery timelines. Oracle, for example, integrated Adyen’s charitable donation solution in under three weeks, a company record for deployment.

“We were able to get [rapid] support from Adyen’s legal team, program managers, and product managers; that was fantastic,” said Oracle VP of Strategy and Product Keshav Kiran.

Foundation 3: Strategic thinking adds value

Vendors sell products. Partners help teams make informed decisions that lead to better outcomes. 

For ServiceTitan, this looked like evaluating multiple paths and understanding the trade-offs. 

"[Adyen] gives us a lot of options and says, ‘Here are the pros and cons of each,’" Hampole said. "That [set us on] the journey to have conversations internally about [those] trade-offs.”

Oracle’s Kiran agreed, noting Adyen’s willingness to suggest pivots that “help us reevaluate and…. refocus on [steps that can make] the biggest impact.”

And streaming platform Roku, another Adyen customer, highlighted the value of being proactive: 

"[Adyen is] bringing in ideas frequently,” said Roku Senior Product Manager Bryan Valladares. “We really love that kind of strategic partnership where we're….  both bouncing things back and forth.”

Foundation 4: Regular communication

The final foundation is the one that powers the others: open, ongoing communication. 

For Under Armour, this means regular strategic meetings with Adyen’s account management team and subject matter experts.

“It's a very close relationship, [and] that’s crucial,” said Andriuolo “We meet in person…. with the Adyen account management team and just talk about everything that we are working on." 

This regular communication also prevents issues before they arise, a cornerstone of reliable payment operations.

"You want payments to be there, but you don't want to know about it,” said Oracle’s Kiran. “Payments just need to work,” he said, adding that ongoing communication is key to maintaining this critical payments stability. 

The Partnership Difference

These four foundations — transparency, speed, strategic thinking, and regular communication — distinguish true partners from transactional vendors. 

When payment providers excel here, businesses see faster launches, clearer decision-making, meaningful innovation, and sustained success.  

Want to learn more about how Adyen partners with industry leaders? Get in touch at adyen.com.