Viewpoint: Money20/20 Highlights Emerging Payments Trends
By Clive Williams, Limonetik
In case you didn’t notice, more than 10,000 attendees gathered at Money20/20 last month to catch up on the latest trends in payments and innovative financial services, with in-depth and broad coverage on everything from retail service solutions and data to international innovations in technology, especially mobile.
We at Limonetik have attended the conference for the past two years, and among the many discussions, speeches and seminars, we identified a few hot-button trends everyone was talking about this year:
1. Omnichannel Dominates
It was not a surprise that omnichannel payment were the buzz words in Las Vegas, especially the shopping experience on the mobile device. What customers prefer today are cross-channel services and designs, faster access, integrated customer journeys, cardless and screen-less transactions. Physical cards and computer screens increasingly are being replaced by mobile payment systems. As the millennials become the main driving force in commerce, meeting their cross-device shopping demands is the key to growing the industry. And, greater consumer adoption requires more advanced technology in the fintech sector.
2. Alternative Payment Methods with More Innovation
Despite the widespread use of physical screens and card readers, experts predict that physical gift cards and prepaid cards will be replaced by digital and virtual versions that are more convenient for customers to purchase, with no need to carry physical cards everywhere. Digital cards also are available instantly and with their rapid growth, customers could enjoy more comprehensive features and functionality from these payment methods, such as balance checks, points redemption and reloading, etc.
Additionally, the merging and blending of different payment methods will become a popular way for consumers to shop. For example, completing one transaction using a gift card, another prepaid card and wallets on multiple devices. However, the process will have to be simple to gain mainstream use and awareness.
3. Cross-Border Innovation for Borderless Business
Being part of the astronomical cross-channel e-commerce acceleration and growth is tough to manage for all the international players in the value chain because companies need to learn the complex nature of various local markets, acquire insights regarding local consumer habits, and the various and often complex regulations in different regions.
To be aware of international trends, there must be more borderless collaboration and innovation on a global scale. Such borderless innovative technology also could help enterprises, merchants and businesses gain more advantageous positions in the highly competitive international environment.
4. Spotlight on Blockchain
Besides alternative payment methods like prepaid cards and wallets, bitcoin was another hot topic at Money20/20 this year, with an even greater focus on the blockchain, bitcoin’s underlying distributed public ledger technology.
Around 20 percent of attendees predict that bitcoin’s blockchain technology will impact the financial services industry in the next few years. Meanwhile, banks are exploring how to create products with blockchain technology because they believe it could play a major role on financial security and fraud prevention.
5. Fintech Opportunities Abound
In contrast with previous conferences, this year, Money20/20 covered a broader range of topics, including opportunities for fintech to address payment security, authentication, wearable payments, ATM innovations, data digging, data sharing and the Internet of Things, whereby household items and vehicles enable secure payments.
Security is a major issue for users and issuers alike, and there was much discussion of biometric technology solutions, continuous authentication and persistent mobile identity to combat fraud.
As we head into 2016, these trends will continue shaping payments. At Limonetik, we are optimistic about the future and how, as innovators in our industry, we can vastly improve security and the customer experience across channels and across borders.
Clive Williams, a 14-year veteran of prepaid in Europe, is global business development manager at Limonetik, where he is responsible for new business development activity in Northern Europe and Asia. Clive also is in charge of key strategic focus areas, including payment methods, retail/merchants and Marketplaces and payment service providers. He can be reached at [email protected].
In Viewpoints, payments professionals share their perspectives on the industry. Paybefore’s goal is to present many points of view to offer readers new insights and information. The opinions expressed in Viewpoints are not necessarily those of Paybefore.
