How are Payments Evolving in 2021?

Friday, October 29th, 2021

Payments is an ever-evolving industry! As we continue to move away from swiping and tapping our way through life, the integration of biometrics payment methods will become a new standard in payment processing.

Technology is advancing at a faster rate. This makes it easier for companies to offer innovative products that change the way consumers live their lives. But while technology has made life more comfortable, we must never forget to protect ourselves when evolving.

The Distributed Cloud

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal stated that “The most important technology in finance today is not blockchain, AI or machine learning. It is the cloud.” The consumer experience that we have all come to know and love has been altered by technology, specifically the cloud, and it’s no secret that it is now impacting payments.

The shift from legacy to cloud-based payments represents an opportunity for payments providers to grow their businesses better and satisfy customer demands.

Payments providers can take advantage of this shift by making it easier for customers to transact with their payment service provider through a combination of modern API technology and open standards.

All Eyes on 5G

5G is the fifth generation of mobile network technology and promises to bring about a new era in telecommunications and payments. Running on a frequency range that has not been used before, 5G will deliver data at up to 20GB per second.

The next generation of consumer payments is big data and fast, low-latency networks that can support new technologies like biometrics and instant payments.

One of the great things about 5G internet is that it speeds up data transfer so much that it allows for faster payments. For businesses, this means speedier order placement, faster payment processing, and faster delivery times for customers.

AI & Deep Learning

We are seeing a significant shift in how payments are processed, not merely due to the need for speed but also because of the increasingly complex requirements for fraud management. 

Fintech is supplying new solutions that rely on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Deep Learning methods to address these challenges. AI-driven algorithms are being used to process enormous amounts of data within milliseconds. This can help detect fraudulent transactions at a significantly higher rate than previous methods.

Other use cases involve tracking customer trends, mass personalization, and Know Your Customer (KYC).

A Remote Working & Payments Environment

Remote working is becoming more and more popular in the modern workplace, but this trend has also changed how we work with payments. This change includes processes for making payments, businesses that provide payment services, and how people use their payment cards.

Companies like WeTransfer and Stripe have developed new ways to make money transfers easier when transacting remotely. They both allow you to transfer money all over the world seamlessly and effortlessly. Also, many companies like Buffer and Zapier enable employees to take care of all their payroll needs online. 

The bottom line

As tech gets better, payments will get even better. But new processes will also present unique challenges, so payment enablers, business owners and customers must remain flexible even as they evolve.