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Case Studies

Unlocking $25M in Savings: A Global Retailer’s Payments Success Story

Circle K, a leading global convenience store and fuel retailer, sought to further optimize its North American payments strategy aiming to reduce costs while enhancing operational efficiency

Introduction

Circle K, a leading global convenience store and fuel retailer, sought to further optimize its North American payments strategy aiming to reduce costs while enhancing operational efficiency. What started as a journey to streamline payment arrangements turned into a collaborative multi-million-dollar win.

Key Achievements

  • Delivered eight-figure annual savings that reshaped the cost of acceptance.
  • Provided in-depth analysis comparing key differences between U.S. and Canadian markets, empowering data-driven decisions.
  • Unlocked actionable insights across all locations with enhanced data analytics.

The Challenges

Circle K, like many merchants, faced rising cost of payments acceptance and were managing through a few key challenges, including ensuring correct implementation of pricing components, enhanced visibility into network enablement progress, and preparation for upcoming network agreement renewals. Additionally, the payments team needed greater visibility into payments data across the U.S. and Canada, to make better informed decisions.

The Solution

Using a data-driven approach and market knowledge, CMSPI partnered with Circle K to uncover additional value and recognize areas for immediate optimization. The initial collaboration identified suboptimal application of fees which resulted in an eight-figure rebate (as well as go-forward improvement), enhanced network agreements, and direct contract negotiations support.

CMSPI’s custom-built analytic tools enabled detailed store-level trend analysis. A deep dive report provided clarity on the distinct differences between the U.S. and Canadian markets, so that Circle K’s payments team had dynamic market intelligence coupled with store-level data-driven actionable insights to inform their strategy recommendations to internal business leaders. CMSPI also worked together with Circle K payments leadership to conduct a market assessment of their Canadian operations which resulted in getting approval for a dedicated role managing the complex Canadian market.

The Results

The outcomes were transformative. Together, CMSPI and Circle K achieved an additional $11 million in annual cost reductions, with total forecasted savings exceeding $25 million since the engagement began. This strategic partnership resulted in eight-figure annual cost reductions and a stronger, data-driven payments infrastructure across all North American markets. CMSPI’s unparalleled data analytics provided the Circle K payments team with essential details to substantiate their business acceptance strategy and through the partnership we continue to monitor ongoing optimization opportunities together.