CSG’s payments division may have started with ACH, but today it processes for over 140,000 businesses across North America. That scale demands more than technical capability. It demands a product mindset that respects the reality of legacy infrastructure while building for what’s next.
Sukanya Madhavan, Chief Product and Technology Officer for the payments division, explained the core philosophy. “Whether you’re running a legacy tech stack or something brand new, we have to meet you where you are,” she said. “That means offering modular, cloud-native tools that integrate quickly and scale cleanly.”
The platform runs entirely on AWS and is designed to support both large enterprise merchants and smaller businesses through a single cloud-based architecture.
Listening as a product discipline
Madhavan described CSG’s product approach as iterative and grounded in long-term customer proximity.
She outlined multiple feedback loops, including customer advisory boards, quarterly reviews, and real-time testing throughout the product lifecycle. This engagement extends not only to clients but also to their customers. “With our bill pay product, for example, we have to consider both the business and the end payer,” she said.
Rather than chasing features, the team focuses on solving problems. “I might build the best space shuttle, but if it doesn’t solve the customer’s problem, it doesn’t work,” she said.
Competing on trust, not just speed
In an industry crowded with well-funded entrants, Madhavan sees differentiation in reliability and foresight. CSG invests not just in new product launches but in continual modernisation of its stack.
This includes stress-testing infrastructure for future volume, preparing for 30x or 50x load scenarios before they occur. “It might work now,” she said, “but the question is—can it scale? Are we ready to take the tough calls today for what the business might need tomorrow?”
The double-edged sword of AI
Like most modern payments players, CSG is leaning into AI but not in ways that compromise its operational discipline.
The company is using AI to shorten merchant onboarding and integration timelines, including chatbots that auto-generate code snippets and developer documentation. AI is also deployed in customer support, fraud detection, and issue resolution analysis.
Still, Madhavan is cautious. “There are places where speed is great,” she said, “and places where trust matters more. We deal with people’s money. That comes with responsibility.”
Security, scale, and smarter services
Madhavan outlined several adjacent services CSG is already delivering or preparing to expand. These include open banking account validation, embedded login for added security, and merchant services like faster funding and embedded lending.
Importantly, the platform is designed to be flexible. Merchants can use just the services they need, even if they don’t process core payments through CSG.
Education is part of the strategy too. “We’re not just moving businesses to the cloud,” she said. “We’re helping them understand why it matters, and how to use it well.”
Leading with clarity
When asked about her leadership approach, Madhavan returned to the fundamentals. Clarity of purpose. Trust in teams. A bias for action.
“I don’t believe in dictating from the top,” she said. “I believe in aligning around a vision, empowering people with the right tools, and giving them space to execute.”
Her analogy was simple: leadership should work like a family. Shared values. Constant learning. And some joy along the way.
The Unofficially ETA Transact Team
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