In the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the global demand for faster and contactless forms of digital payments continues to rise with the adoption of innovative technologies. If 2021 was the year when we moved to the next era of digital payments, 2022 will be the year when business growth will be driven by next-generation payment technologies.
In the B2B space, nearly 64% of B2B customers are expected to make online purchases in 2022, while over 55% are looking for multiple payment methods. The future of digital payments will be dominated by the emergence of non-traditional banking companies and continuous innovations in payment technology.
Among the largest markets, India has witnessed a 5-times growth in contactless payments over the last 5 years. Going forward in 2022, there is a growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies among leading payment networks.
What will be the leading payment trends for 2022? Let us explore more.
5 trends that will drive the Payments industry in 2022
Here is a look at the top 5 payment-related trends that we will witness in 2022:
- Next-generation payment methods
Over 50% of the global population will be using mobile (or digital) wallets by the year 2025. By the year 2025, there will be a 27% increase in the number of mobile wallets with yearly transactions of over $1 trillion. Effectively, next-generation payment methods will replace traditional payment instruments like cash, bank cheques, and credit transfers.
According to the 2021 Mobile Wallets report, mobile wallets are now the most used form of payments globally, having overtaken credit cards in 2019. Among the major catalysts, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of mobile payments, digital wallets, and touch-free virtual cards. The 2021 World Payments report concluded that 86% of online consumers are willing to share their personal information with non-traditional banks, thus enabling the development of personalized payment experiences for banking customers.
- The emergence of BigTech companies in payments
The booming digital payments industry is already attracting the attention of BigTech companies like Amazon, Meta, and Google. A CB Insights report reveals that BigTech companies have invested over $1.2 billion in FinTech companies (including payment companies). One such example is Amazon’s direct purchase of payments company, Perpule in March 2021.
Similarly, tech company Apple has completed its acquisition of Canada-based Mobeewave to explore the market potential of contactless payments and touchless terminals. BigTech companies are venturing into the B2B payments space through the use of virtual cards, cross-border payments, and B2B eCommerce.
The 2021 World Payments report found that 31% of payment companies are likely to collaborate with BigTech players to improve their market reach and distribution.
- Cybersecurity
The year 2022 will also usher in the use of advanced cybersecurity technologies in the payment domain. It is being driven by multiple factors such as eCommerce growth, non-cash transactions, and an increase in cyberattacks. For instance, financial fraud will cost the payment card industry over $400 billion over the next decade. Similarly, account takeover-related frauds grew from 34% in 2019 to 54% in 2020.
To build their consumer’s confidence in digital payments, both banks and FinTechs are expected to increase their investment into automation and data analytics solutions in 2022 and beyond. For example, 73% of Singapore-based banks believe that the use of Artificial Intelligence will improve their anti-money laundering initiatives.
- Mergers & Acquisitions (M&As)
The year 2021 also witnessed many mergers & acquisitions (M&As) in the changing payments industry. Some of the notable M&As included the acquisition of SaaS company, MineralTree by Global Payments, and the Ireland-based financial services company, Stripe’s acquisition of the authentication company, Bouncer in May 2021.
What is driving this industry trend? The highly disruptive form of the global payments industry is making payment companies realize the importance of scaling up their operations and improving their product portfolio. M&As present the easiest way of consolidating with an existing technology enabler, in place of developing an in-house solution from scratch.
With added consolidation in 2022, payment companies of the future may be able to act as a one-stop solution provider for all payment-related services and added value propositions.
- Payment-as-a-Service (PaaS)
The 2021 McKinsey Global Payments report shows that global payment revenues have declined to $1.9 trillion for the first time in 11 years. With the advent of the cloud-enabled SaaS platforms and APIs, third-party non-financial service providers can now offer easy payment-related services. Nearly 45% of business executives rate their existing payments business as being unprofitable.
To improve their revenues and profits, banks and financial companies must consider business models like PaaS and open banking to reduce their operational costs. For example, the Lloyds Business Group is partnering with FinTech company, Form3 to design and implement a cloud-native PaaS platform. According to the 2021 World Payments report, 75% of companies believe that implementing PaaS will enable them to overcome their business challenges.
Going forward, payment companies must take a holistic approach towards both employee and customer experience. Let’s see how in the following section.
How Payment Companies Can Integrate Customer and Employee experience
“They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
For a long time, payment and financial services companies adopted an outward-looking approach that measured business success by the growth rate and customer acquisition. Employee experiences were managed as an objective that was separated from the customer experiences. With the remote (or hybrid) working model gaining more acceptance, companies must follow a holistic approach towards both customer and employee experience. Besides improving customer loyalty, this approach can improve the overall confidence in the financial brand.
Here are some of the ways in which financial companies can integrate customer and employee experience:
- Enable open and transparent communication and collaboration between employees and customers at every stage of the customer lifecycle.
- Eliminate departmental “silos” and facilitate collaboration across business functions and combine front-office and back-office operations for maximum engagement.
- Adopt an employee-first approach across the organization, which conveys a “strong” working culture to prospective customers at every touchpoint.
- Implement a multi-channel communication strategy that enables employees to engage with customers using multiple channels including CRM tools, email, chatbots, social media platforms, and more.
- Leverage digital technologies to improve both customer and employee experience and equip employees to provide exceptional customer services using technology tools.
Conclusion
In the face of changing trends, the global payments industry is witnessing the most disruptions enabled by new technologies and the emergence of new players in this growing field. The 2020 global pandemic is focusing the limelight on digital payments and is set to transform the way we conduct our day-to-day payments.
At Verinite, we have enabled banks and payment service companies to accelerate their adoption of innovative digital payment solutions. Whether it is for adopting cryptocurrencies or embedded finance, we design and develop the right payment solutions that work for your business.
Are you looking to unlock the potential of digital payments? Get in touch with us!
Ashish Katkar
Ashish is Managing Director @ Verinite. His passion is to build a next generation technology company focused on BFSI industry in emerging economies. An ardent Arsenal, Amitabh, Kishore Kumar and Sachin Tendulkar fan.
