Evolution of Payments
Sunil Sachdev is managing director, International Payments Group, at Fiserv
One common thread unites developed and emerging economies across the globe – the ubiquity of mobile devices are changing the way people interact with businesses and each other, writes Sunil Sachdev.
In many countries, the number of mobile phones in use surpasses the number of consumer bank accounts. This shift in consumer behaviour is changing the face of payments as we know it.
As electronic transactions via mobile phones or tablet devices continue to rise, the companies that provide services on these devices have been quick to offer a variety of payment transaction types for their customers. With this risk of disintermediation for financial institutions, comes opportunity. To remain at the centre of consumers’ financial lives, financial institutions must prioritise the consumers’ experience at the centre of the payment transaction.
This evolution starts by enabling banking services through channels that best meet the needs of the institution’s customer base – such as ATM, online, mobile and tablet. Each market and each institution is unique in addressing this need. Australia and the UK are working hard to realise the promise of real-time payments. In Cambodia, Colombia and India, mobile phones are helping extend electronic payments capabilities to consumers who’ve never had a bank account.
The innovation doesn’t end there. Financial institutions must provide access to tools that make it easy for businesses and consumers to pay and get paid. For example, financial institutions can now provide access to tools such as mobile point of sale solutions for their small business customers and mobile bill payment and personal payment solutions for their retail customers – all made easier by the decreasing cost of technology. By integrating these solutions into the larger payments ecosystem, financial institutions can provide consumers the ability to conduct any transaction, regardless of channel, at the speed to which consumers have grown accustomed to when using other digital services.
Financial institutions that put the right solutions and strategy in place will remain the preferred conduit for consumers to pay and get paid as mobile devices become the preferred medium for accessing daily services.
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