The payments industry is experiencing an era of innovation, with a slew of both opportunities and challenges emerging as a result of COVID-19.
When social distancing took hold at the beginning of the pandemic, consumers abruptly changed how they shopped and paid. Merchants had to respond just as quickly to accommodate these changes. As a result, digital payments are accelerating at full speed.
There is a lot happening in the payments industry right now. Consumers once hesitant to adopt digital payment methods have entered the fold. An omnichannel experience with convenient order and delivery options is table stakes for many merchants. The need to close the gap between the underbanked and those participating in the digital ecosystem is at an all-time high.
For consumers, digital and mobile payments are increasingly favored. This extends to in-store shopping experiences, where contactless methods such as tap-to-pay are gaining traction. While the pandemic itself will not be permanent, it is very likely that the changes in consumer behavior will be.
On the merchant side, embracing digital payments has become a matter of survival. Omnichannel experiences such as buy now, pay later (BNPL), curbside pickup, and QR code payments improve the shopping experience and bring customers back.
Of course, not every merchant has the same needs. For example, in the restaurant industry, which has been historically slower to adopt new technologies, establishment needs vary. Some restaurants might be looking to add options like mobile ordering and curbside pickup, while others want kiosk ordering and table checkout.
So, despite how harrowing the pandemic has been, it has brought with it new opportunities surrounding payments innovation.
Anyone looking to bring a successful payment solution to the market needs willing customers and the rapidly evolving mindset of merchants and consumers alike has provided just that. Today, consumers are looking to stay safe and have a great shopping experience and merchants are looking to build deeper relationships and better serve customers. Both are more willing than ever to embrace innovation.
Possibilities for merchants exist across nearly every aspect of the customer journey. Companies are looking to provide solutions surrounding onboarding, customer engagement, rewards programs, mobile apps, fraud monitoring, contactless payments, BNPL lending, and more.
In an upcoming payments innovation panel, a number of payments industry professionals will come together to discuss emerging trends in payments, new opportunities and challenges, and why the customer experience needs to stay at the heart of the payments process.
- Featured speakers will include: Rajiv Appana, Head of Merchant Products at Google Pay
- Sharon Heiny, Director of Technical Project Management, Grabango
- Millicent Tracy, Fintech Advisor/Board Member at Park Place and Digital Payments Advisor at Nacha
- Amin Yazdani, Co-founder and CEO at Craver
The panel, which will take place on May 12, 2021 at 2 p.m. EDT, will be one of several sessions at PAYMENTSfn 2021, a free virtual conference for payments professionals supported by platinum sponsors Cybersource, PayPal, Spreedly, and Google Pay.
Interested in learning more about the exciting developments in payments innovation?