Invisible Payments and the Rise of Frictionless Transactions

In the world of instant gratification, more consumers are gravitating towards frictionless transactions. A frictionless payment is any mode designed to be easy and quick for the paying customer. For instance, remember how payment gateways store your credit card information so that you can complete the transaction with a single click.

According to this Forbes article, digital payments as the means for frictionless payment will continue to grow in 2024. In the U.S. market, the convenient “tap to pay” facility is projected to cross $300 billion in value. Similarly, contactless mobile payments are set to cross $1 billion users in 2024.

In the domain of frictionless transactions, another emerging trend is that of invisible payments. As the name suggests, this mode of payment occurs without any visibility between the paying customer and the payment system.
Here’s a deeper dive into the world of invisible payments.

What are Invisible Payments?

To put it simply, an invisible payment is any form of transaction where the payer does not have to click, tap, or initiate the payment manually. Essentially, the entire transaction occurs as a backend process – without being visible to the payer. A real-life example is that of Uber service, which initiates the payment automatically on completion of the ride.

As a form of frictionless payment, invisible payments occur automatically once the requested service is delivered to the customer. Invisible payments are the next wave of innovation that will replace the physical use (or “swiping”) of payment cards.

This form of contactless payment eliminates the need to:

• Install a payment device like a swipe machine for charging a credit or debit card.
• Provide user credentials for authentication purposes when validating a payment transaction.

Instead, an invisible payment system authenticates the customer using their biometric information through voice commands, facial recognition, or both.

5 Benefits of Invisible Payments

How can banks and payment processors benefit by implementing invisible payments? Here are some of the benefits:
• Convenience
Invisible payments make the entire transaction frictionless and convenient for customers, thus encouraging them to switch to contactless forms of payment. Customers no longer have to manually enter credit card details for every transaction that they initiate.
• Faster payments
As is the case with any contactless form of payment, invisible payments enable faster transactions by eliminating multiple steps in the payment process. It also enables B2B companies to receive and process customer payments in a shorter duration.
• Lesser manual errors
An example of invisible payments is the Amazon Go store which does not need a human cashier to collect the payment from shoppers. Effectively, by eliminating human intervention, companies can reduce human errors, which can be costly to their business. With the use of automation, businesses are less dependent on manual data entry during B2B transactions.
• Secured payments
Traditional payment systems depend on a host of systems including payment cards, mobile apps, swipe machines, and wearables. Cybercriminals and fraudsters can target these systems to “steal” sensitive customer data and transaction details.
Invisible payment systems are more secure from cybercriminals as they rely on automatic authentication using biometrics. Hackers find it more challenging to exploit biometric data such as fingerprints, retinal scans, and voices.
• Improved customer relationship
When it comes to using the latest technology, customers demand both simplicity and convenience. With traditional payment systems, companies needed to overcome the customer’s “fear” of using new technology.

This is no longer a problem with invisible payments. By eliminating the customer’s interaction with digital payment systems, they can facilitate frictionless transactions. This will encourage most consumers to switch to digital payments, thus improving customer relationships.

How do Invisible Payments Work?

Invisible payments work when the entire payment process is fully integrated with the purchase of any product or service. This integration is necessary to run the payment process automatically as a background service. Customers no longer have to initiate or execute the payment process.
How can a payment processor automatically initiate the transaction? An invisible payment transaction initiates automatically whenever the customer performs any contextual action such as:

• Placing their products in a shopping cart and walking out of the store.
• Issuing a voice command to a virtual assistant tool.

On initiating the transaction, the payment system authenticates the customer using their biometric or account information. After authentication, the payment details are transmitted to the payment processor, which validates the transaction and charges the correct amount to the customer. On completion of the entire transaction, the customer receives a confirmation message (or email) about the transaction.

Conclusion

As more customers demand frictionless transactions, invisible payments are the latest innovation that can elevate customer satisfaction. Retail merchants and financial companies can also leverage invisible payments for benefits like reducing human intervention, financial fraud, and data security.
At Verinite, we have transformed the payments domain and enabled financial services companies to stay ahead of the curve. Our industry solutions have enabled banks, payment processors, and Fintech companies to leverage payment innovations to grow their business.
If you want to know about the latest in frictionless transactions, get in touch now.